The people you meet while traveling can be a significant slice of each Journey. Often, some of the encounters I’ve enjoyed are more impactful memories than the scenery – amazing individuals I’ve met along the way. Chefs, home cooks or professional, guides or strangers– I collect nuggets from my random chance meetings, every Journey is transformative and the strangers who become friends are to be cherished.

Only 20 minutes from the old town of Dubrovnik is an ancient garden estate in Trsteno, known now as Trsteno Arboretum. The oldest arboretum in the Dalmatian coast doubles as the gardens in Game of Thrones. My VIP Croatia team know I love to visit home chefs and take private cooking classes, I’ve learned not to take classes in India and in kitchens where a complex menu requires serious cooking skills. I am a good cook, lesson learned in the Maldives with a Michelin chef at the yummy Indian restaurant, my kitchen skills cannot do justice to such a complicated meal. I’m quite efficient at making reservations!

Double pleasure when I dined at Taste Dalmatia, arrive at sunset to the private gate of a massive overgrown garden and walk through the Trsteno Arboretum to reach the cozy home of Katja. An exclusive offering from our VIP Croatia team. Gardens and yummy home cooked dinner! We have clients in Croatia now who will be dining in Katja’s garden this week!

In 1494, a Nobleman named Ivan Marinov Gučetić-Gozze erected a summer villa and laid out a beautiful garden at his estate in Trsteno, a small fishing town just outside Dubrovnik. Both the villa and its botanical gardens soon became a hub of Renaissance humanism in the Croatian city. The garden arboretum extends across 70 acres overlooking the Adriatic Sea and is the oldest arboretum on the Dalmatian coast. It’s home to more than 300 species of plants and trees, including many exotic types. The highlight of the collection are two rare Oriental Plane trees that are around 150 feet tall and over 500 years old.

Trsteno Arboretum came to life when the Gozze family requested the returning ship captains to bring seeds and plants from their travels. The gardens house banana trees, cactus and are decorated with ruins and sculptures including the remains of an old olive press. The scent of lavender, rosemary and fuchsia fills the air.

Stroll to the edge of the gardens and enter a small estate owned by a local family for over 250 years, a well-maintained olive grove with a stunning view of the Elafites.

Leafy winding paths lead to vegetable gardens, more olives and humble stone homes ending at the beach. The vegetable garden is amazing, the soil and sea air produce massive show stopping vegetables and flowers.

This fresh organic produce and herbs are incorporated by the home-based chef, Katja who serves dinner or brunch on her cozy terrace. Classic Home Cooking, comfort food. She offers classes or in my case, a delightful dinner and a couple of hours of cooking conversation! Her terraced garden is the perfect location to end a hot summer day in Dubrovnik. Oh, did I mention the summer cicada symphony?!

Cooking classes can include bread making as no true traditional meal in Croatia is complete without a hot loaf of bread. Baked in an iron pot with a dome called a peka, as their ancestors used to make every day. Fresh fish, her father offers catch of the day.

A bottle of Croatian wine and her special rose liquor aids in the telling of stories. Local olive oils, Adriatic salt and just picked vegetables are served in abundance.

Delicious vegetable dishes, fish from the sea, caught at dawn by her father – this is a family affair and a rare private peek into a local home with an engaging talented chef and host.

A silver crescent moon emerged over the cozy garden; I could have chatted with Katja all evening!

Rosolio. Rose Petal Liquor from Katja: Layer rose petals and sugar in a large glass jar, making sugar the last layer. Keep in the sun for 1.5 months, until the sugar melts and the rose petals begin to release their scent. Filter juice and mix it with grappa- this is the extraordinary elixir!

The wine captures the delicate floral aroma of fresh rose petals in a light and fresh summertime aperitif.  Serve over crushed ice. živjeli!

Rosolio, also known as “the liqueur of the past” for its extremely ancient origins, started spreading at the end of the 17th century. It was first produced in monasteries, where nuns used to macerate rose petals in alcohol to produce a liqueur for important guests.

Croatian food and wine are one of the most popular aspects of each travel arrangement but also a major reason for arrival for an increasing number of travelers and groups. Food and wine travel in Croatia is diverse as the country’s cultural heritage itself. From the Central European North, Hungarian influences East to Italian flavors of Istria and unique East-meets-Mediterranean on the coast. Each region has its own dishes, treasures they value and cherish.

Food and wine travel in Croatia brings these treasures closer and opens the closed doors of old konobas, wine cellars, grandmother’s kitchens and introduces the travelers to the authentic tastes of the region. The private class or dinner includes a driver to and from your five-star hotel.

Highly Recommend!