The culinary story of the green destination

The sun’s rays penetrate the richly loaded branches and shyly illuminate the dark bunches of grapes that abound in all their juiciness. They announce that it is almost time, the harvest, the new wine, the joy. It is pleasant to sit in the embrace of a vine, indulge in the play of light and shadow created by the vine leaves, and watch the red wine slowly flow from the mighty carafe into the glass.

It might not seem like that at first glance, but this glass is inseparably linked to the destination flavours. It was created in a local glassworks factory that overcame the destination limits, and today it's known to the whole world. Once, so many years ago, it was the way of life and the symbol of the survival of Rogaška Slatina inhabitants. They worked so hard and lived modestly, which is also confirmed by the snack they brought from home. It was simple, yet it reflected the spirit of the destination.

Homemade

The flow of thoughts is interrupted by Janko, who places a nice wooden board with a cold snack right next to the glass of wine. "Homemade," he winks at the triangular-cut jerpica and the spread on the crispy homemade bread. In addition, the cured sausage, meso iz kible, is a Styrian specialty. Salted according to traditional procedures, smoked and cold-soaked in special buckets (kibbles) with minced lard, where it matures for at least 30 days, it has a recognizable aroma and juicy taste that just calls for more.

From Glassworks snack to "Steklarska južn'a" (Glassworks Lunch)

There is no time to linger too long over appetizers. Chef Tomo is already actively creating new culinary masterpieces - Glassworks Lunch for her and for him. It was inspired by the story of the glassblowers and the grinding women, žlajferke, from the glassworks as well as by the food they ate at the time. New dishes are already ruling on the table. Iron soup, the soup with potatoes, lard and cream, is the one that gave the glassblowers the strength to blow glass in demanding conditions. The fairer sex was in charge of fine work such as grinding and carving glassware, that's why its food was also lighter. Everything that comes into the kitchen straight from the home garden gives flavour to the vegetable soup. And there is really a lot of flavours.

The main course enchants even the most demanding carnivorous man. Buckwheat rolls go well with pork fillet roulade, while the sweetness of pear puree completes the whole. A few moments ago, we observed pears in an orchard almost competing with yellow quinces, among which diligent bees were flying, about which one was more round and yellow.

In the menu for her there is chicken thigh, the chicken is of course home-grown. Millet porridge with carrots is so colourful that it instantly brings a smile to your lips.

Sweetness from the glass

There is still room just for dessert. Buckwheat triple is on his menu. Buckwheat flour was plentiful at that time, so it is still present in traditional dishes today. She gets a mlinčevka, which is that special rolled pie with egg cheese filling that the farmers baked on major holidays. In the menu, it is made in a modern version, in a prestigious Steklarna Rogaška glass.

From Tradition to Prestige

These are Rogaška Slatina flavours – what was once a modest snack for glassmakers or a Lunch made from local ingredients is today a tribute to a tradition that has become modern prestige.

However, the story does not end here and there are still many flavours to be known, as they imprint their own mark on each house. At Janko's in Pomona, it is a fragrant mint liqueur…