November Gourmet Ljubljana

Over the last few years, gastronomy has become a distinctive reason for guests to visit Ljubljana. Last year began its promotion under a new trademark, Gourmet Ljubljana, which coincides with the development of cultural tourism at the strategic level to achieve the key objectives of extending the average period of stay and boosting consumption.

With the new trademark, we want to take advantage of the immense culinary potential of Ljubljana and Slovenia, and place them amongst Europe’s premier culinary destinations. At the same time, we want to better connect the caterers in Ljubljana who create dishes under the Taste Ljubljana Trademark, and familiarise Ljubljana’s residents with its culinary tourism, enabling them to become its ambassadors: this way, tourists will follow, too.

The festival is held in November; this month has a lot to offer, yet it lags behind other months in terms of overnight stays. We want the festival to become a tradition and recognizable abroad. We plan to enrich the culinary offer and events every November so that guests will always return.

The four key events this November are two Ljubljana Wine Routes (9 November), Slovenian Wine Festival (14., 15. November), and a unique event simply called November Gourmet Finale to round off the month. The Finale will be held on Friday 22 November 2019, in the City of Design, Dunajska 123, Ljubljana.

A wide content choice is organized for the month, including the culinary experience of Ljubljana Tourism, cooking classes, show cooking, educational events and debates where first-class chefs will join us. In the same month, various caterers will prepare their menus, and selected hotels will prepare a range of packages.

Moreover, every cooking enthusiast will have the opportunity to present their own dishes. The “New Taste of Ljubljana” competition aims to attract the broadest general audience to the November Gourmet Festival Ljubljana event, and reach out to those attracted by the world of cuisine. The three dishes that get the most votes in the competition will be prepared by the competitors themselves at the closing event, a jury will select the best one, and this will become a new dish in the Taste Ljubljana range for one year, until next year’s festival. The recipe will be made available to everyone. We will encourage caterers in Ljubljana to include this dish in their menus.

The various events throughout November will be posted on Instagram under the hashtag #gourmetLj, where you’ll also find the "Best Food Photography" competition. This way, we aim to establish a firm foundation for the later, organic use of the hashtag when posting photos of Ljubljana’s culinary treats. The events and activities held in November are our way of showing the residents of Ljubljana and the world that Ljubljana is a true culinary gem.

The festival takes place under the Gourmet Ljubljana brand, which links together a wide range of culinary and gastronomic events in Ljubljana and Slovenia. The festival programme is essentially a selection of the best that domestic and foreign visitors can taste in Slovenia. Participating chefs revive the traditional dishes of the past and present their own innovative creations, which are frequently inspired by their own experiences both at home and around the world.

As a result, the finest culinary creations of Slovenia are concentrated in Ljubljana in the month of November, at a range of events, tastings, guided tours and cooking workshops.