Gault&Millau Slovenia announces the 2020 award winners

The winners of special Gault&Millau Slovenia 2020 awards included Simon Sitar for best waiter, Jakob Pintar for young talent and Ksenija Krajšek Mahorčič for the best pastry chef. Bazilika Bistro was named the best POP place. Among the restaurants with the highest ratings, 6 received four toques or chef's hats and 29 of them can boast three hats. The awards were announced yesterday at a gala event held at the Slon Hotel, where 26 top Slovenian restaurants and 20 Slovenian wineries impressed more than 300 guests with their culinary creations.

Mira Šemić, CEO of Gault&Millau Slovenia, who together with Lado Bizovičar entertained the guests from the stage, described the event as a wonderful evening full of outstanding achievements. "Gault&Millau Slovenia follows the international Gault&Millau standards. It has reviewers who strictly follow the specified evaluation criteria and determine their ratings by sets without knowing the final score. The number of awarded points and hats and the selection of the best restaurants and chefs are the result of neutral ratings of several reviewers," she explained the Gault&Millau methodology, adding, "We believe both in the creativity of the chef and the importance of the entire service. Therefore we actively participate in the education of future waiters, sommeliers, chefs, etc."

Maja Pak, Managing Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board, which is the main partner of Gault&Millau Slovenia, participated at the event as an award presenter. On this occasion she said: "I am glad that Slovenia has now got its second, even more extensive edition of the very renowned Gault&Millau guide. The Slovenian Tourist Board has been part of this project from its very beginnings, as we are aware of how important it is for the promotion and development of Slovenian cuisine. Thanks to the outstanding chefs, waiters, restaurants and others who are distinguished by excellence, creativity and passion, Slovenia is already a top gastronomic destination. We congratulate all the award winners and also Mira Šemić, project director, for her boundless enthusiasm and passion for discovering the best with which she not only evaluates but also inspires, encourages and educates Slovenian culinary professionals."

This year the reviewers of Gault&Millau Slovenia visited more than 180 restaurants, some of them several times. They assessed the entire guest experience in accordance with the Gault&Millau evaluation standards. Based on these reviews, this year's Gault&Millau Slovenia guide presents 157 restaurants, 57 wineries and 12 craft breweries. As a new feature, the guide also includes 20 farm stays and some well-known Slovenian food products. It contains photos of Slovenia and its attractions bearing the Slovenia Unique Experiences label.

Only the names that we have been awaiting with great anticipation were revealed at yesterday's gala event at the Slon Hotel: the winners of special Gault&Millau Slovenia 2020 awards and the restaurants with the highest number of chef's hats.

The entire Gault&Millau Slovenia 2020 guide will be revealed on 22 November 2019 at the November Gourmet finale.

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