IGOR JAGODIC (STRELEC RESTAURANT)

1) Gastronomy enthusiasts know you as a chef who often creates dishes as a different interpretation of a single ingredient. For example, beets, cauliflower... What is the process behind it? How do you coax this sort of multiplicity from a single ingredient?

This approach used to be more pronounced at Restaurant Strelec than it is today, as practically all the dishes on the menu were my own creations. Today, there are quite a few dishes on our menu that are assembled and contributed to by my colleagues, especially the sous chef and the pastry chef. Although, some of our classics that were created in the style of one singular main ingredient still remain. For example, cauliflower, onion...

The process of creating a dish like that mainly concerns thinking about the given ingredient - what can be prepared from it, what goes well with it - and then just surrendering to inspiration. For a long time, for example, we had our beetroot dessert on the menu, which we would constantly be “tweaking" over a few years, looking for improvements. 

2) Precision and technique, creativity and imagination, ingredients and equipment - all these are key elements of superior gastronomy. How are they related to each other in your kitchen and which do you put first?

This is also something that changes with time. It used to be that we wanted to showcase as much of our knowledge and technique on the plate as possible, but today this is a thing that is receding into the background more and more. The foremost priority is that the dish is really good - it can be completely simple or extremely complex - the flavour is the important part, and it’s not related to technique. Also, while local ingredients used to be almost mandatory, nowadays we are more open to adding something more exotic if, of course, it contributes significantly to the flavour.

So, as far as priorities go, flavour irrevocably comes first, with the rest of the order of priority being a little more difficult to define. Of course, technique is important, but so are quality ingredients. We are still looking to have as many local or regional ingredients as possible, from all over Slovenia.

3) We often talk about the criteria of locality or regionality in Slovenia. Due to our small size, we are quite strict when it comes to this terminology, but for a Ljubljana restaurant, fish from the Adriatic is more local or regional than is even physically possible for a restaurant in larger cities and countries.

What we mainly look at is that the ingredient is brought to us by a trustworthy person, so that we know where it comes from and who vouches for it, even if it may sometimes come from beyond our borders, perhaps from Austria, Croatia... One of the best things about vegetables is that if our supplier also has a stand at the city marketplace, we can quickly hop on down and pick up some other thing that we might have forgotten or maybe ordered too little of. 

4) In addition to an exceptional menu based on quality ingredients, Restaurant Strelec also boasts a striking castle ambience. To what extent does the castle environment direct your menu, how much and in what way does it inspire your menu? Is it ever limiting, perhaps?

Today, the space just provides an extremely beautiful ambience for me, which I really like and which certainly helps with the guest experience - some of our guests probably still come to us primarily for the ambience and the view more than the food itself, which most likely helps with our story and better occupancy of the restaurant.

Regarding the latter part of your question, we are no longer as self-limiting in regard to the castle environment as we were in the beginning. If I'm not mistaken, the idea laid out in the tender for renting out the space already described a connection with tradition, Ljubljana dishes, and that's how we started. But we soon realized that as a creator, this limited me too much, because it is just too difficult to keep refreshing and reinterpreting a handful of dishes all year long. We then continued the story for some time with special thematic names in collaboration with anthropologist dr. Janez Bogataj, and with the special castle uniforms of the service staff, and with time this also played itself out. Today we are a classic fine dining restaurant. We do what we like and we are not burdened by the space in which we operate.

Make no mistake, Restaurant Strelec and its atmosphere are still very dear to us, which is why we recently renovated the existing furnishings to keep it as beautiful as can be for a long time.

But we are changing nonetheless. You might think that you remain the same, that you haven't changed at all, but when you look back at all these stories... We think differently now, and the plates are completely different to those from years ago...

4) In the world of haute cuisine, plates are often the stars featured in photographs, which is not just useful for marketing purposes - by keeping track of old photos, both you and your guests can document your development. Would you say your regulars notice your evolution over time? How many regular guests do you have and what does this term mean to you?

We have had some regular guests for many years, companies are also among them - I'm talking about those real regular guests, with whom you sit down, toast, and chat when they visit, and that you are always happy to see when they show up.

I am talking about those who come 2-3 times a year, because due to the style of our restaurant, the menu does not change much in a year, it is a process unfolding over ten or more years. Often these are guests who contact me personally, not through the reservation system, as well as those whom I do not know at all, but I still remember their name because they have visited us so many times. This makes me very happy because these are merry, friendly people who come to enjoy themselves and are glad to talk with us after their meal. There are also those who even come a few times a month, but these are few and far between.

5) Restaurant Strelec is also the proud recipient of a prestigious Michelin star. What does it mean to you personally and how did the star affect your work in the restaurant? Are the guests significantly different, more demanding?

I have never denied the fact that this is a great confirmation and reward for me as a chef. It's not that I ever particularly chased the star or was disappointed when we didn't get it. I knew we were doing good work and if we continued like this we would probably get it some day. You're never sure you will, of course, but still. This was a great confirmation for me. However, I am not talking about some kind of competition in the sense of, "We have it, but others don't." We slowly hoped, worked intensively in our own way, and tried not to let up.

What has changed? That whole period was a bit crazy. Before we even got the star, the ownership changed a bit and I became a partner in the restaurant. It was a great start for a newly formed company - winter was approaching, which was usually the worst part of the year, but thanks in part to the star, we did extremely well the first winter.

Another important aspect is the impact on the team, as we have all become more confident. I think it is important that we let the team know from the very beginning that the star is not only mine or that the restaurant got it, but that it is ours. With the increase in turnover, we were also able to increase the size of the team by as much as a third in the last three years. In this way, we can also ensure that they are not overworked, that they are rested, and thus more collected and creative. With such a large team, it is also easier when someone decides to go somewhere else - these are young people aged 18 to a little over 30, with their own ambitions, who must be supported and understood in regard to this desire.

To my surprise, the guests remained the same, or even more grateful to be able to dine with us, so from this point of view, the star is a welcome plus.

6) You also give a lot of weight in your work to the mentoring of the younger generation. What is the most important thing they learn from you? What is the most difficult thing to teach young people or for them to get used to? What have you learned yourself as a teacher?

This is difficult, as I would like to say knowledge, but it is definitely followed very closely by discipline, especially among young people, it is worth its weight in gold. By this I mean order and hygiene, which are extremely important in the kitchen, but perhaps not mentioned enough.

I myself am constantly learning, adapting - in the past no one adapted to their employees, but today it is different. The habits of young people are completely different, we had to become more flexible, even me, although I am known to be quite strict. Well, I never go crazy and shout in the kitchen. I'm calm, but I demand a lot, while at the same time adapting and learning something new that needs to be paid attention to every year. We have to listen to young people and communicate with them if we wish the team to function well and to have a good workplace atmosphere. A friendly atmosphere is very important - not necessarily with me, as I keep a bit more distance, but I like that there are friends in the kitchen - they go for a drink after work, they hang out in their free time. I join them from time to time, but it is even more important that they are collegial with each other.

7) In your younger years, of course, you yourself learned from various exceptional mentors and teachers. Which of the chefs you studied under most influenced your style, cooking language, and view of gastronomy? Which of them do you consider to be an example in imparting knowledge to future generations?

Maybe the first one, when I started working after high school... By the way, I already became a chef de cuisine at a large hotel, Grand Hotel Toplice in Bled, at the very young age of 25, having 30 cooks under me. So I didn't have many mentors, but Andrej Goljat left the biggest impression on me. And that was at a time when there were no fine dining restaurants in our country, but still he had a lot of knowledge, he knew how to show you things, and I really learned a lot from him. Today, it's different for young chefs, as they can learn a lot on the internet, they have a lot of opportunities for internships abroad, there are so many books to read. Whereas we started learning about all these things later, sometime after the year 2000. We learned with what we had at home.

8) You have already achieved a lot in your career and left an indelible mark on the Slovenian culinary scene. Is there another culinary or personal goal you want to achieve?

I just want to maintain the level of what we have achieved without letting up until I retire or beyond. It seems to me that Strelec is a restaurant that could remain famous among connoisseurs, even when I am no longer here and someone else takes up the reins. This is my great wish – that in 20 years Strelec will still be a good restaurant.

Business-wise, I might take on something simpler, but given that we are increasing the number of staff in the kitchen, my personal wish is to be able to work a little less. For the last two or three years, I've been working much more than I used to, and I don't really wish to continue in that trend. It’s necessary to have goals in your private life as well, as all young people have, such as hobbies, sports. Make no mistake, I have them too, but I can't devote as much time to them as I would like.

Personal goals are very important to me at the moment, but in business I really just want to maintain the quality we have and make a little progress every year so that we don't stagnate. I have no ambitions to chase another star or anything like that.

9) What are some of your favourite restaurants and bars in and around Ljubljana? Where would you refer a guest visiting Ljubljana for the first time?

That’s a difficult question, I don’t spend a lot of time in Ljubljana proper, actually. For fine dining in the immediate vicinity, Grič is certainly one of the best options around - in fact, not only in the immediate vicinity, but for far and wide as well. I can always expect something new there, it's always interesting and guaranteed to be good. When it comes to bistros, I choose among several: I really like to go to Georgie, Aftr, TaBar, the classics. I often decide to visit not just for the food, but because I can also meet the chefs, since otherwise I don't have the time or opportunity to socialise like that. For an authentic Slovenian experience, the first choice for Sunday lunch is certainly Mihovec, there is always good homemade food, and during the week I like to visit Gostilna Pri stričku for a traditional lunch. For a beer with the team, we go to Sir William's Pub, and for a glass of wine I like to visit Wine Bar Šuklje. What I often crave most after work is burek... And then I go, where else but to Olimpija!

10) Where and when do chefs, outside of their restaurants, even have the opportunity and time to meet and chat?

The Open Kitchen culinary festival is definitely an occasion when there are many chefs in one place and I can meet them. Otherwise at some opening or other event, often as part of JRE, where we also work together. If I do find some free time in my busy schedule, I like to spend it outside the culinary world with my chef friends, for example Uroš Štefelin, Bine Volčič, and Marko Pavčnik.