Text by Martin Novak
Ana Roš was named the cook of the year in 2017 by the British magazine “Restaurant”. The self-taught chef and daughter of a Slovenian country doctor studied international relations at the University of Nova Gorica and should have been a diplomat instead of a chef.
But her love for her husband Valter changed her life’s plans. At Restaurant Hiša Franko in Kobarid, the westernmost community in Slovenia, barely 45 kilometres from Udine, in the meantime, Ana is cooking in a big way, coordinated precisely with her husband, who, as the sommelier, is responsible for the right wine pairings.
When I entered the kitchen for the first time, I felt like Alice in Wonderland. I had no idea what was going to come to me.
Ana Roš remembers about the beginnings
Today, the one-of-a-kind, marbled Soča trout with purslane, ginger-honey soup and persimmon one of the dishes why gourmets from all over the world come to the upper Soča Valley. The Netflix series “Chef’s Table”, which dedicated an episode to the ambassador of Slovenian cuisine, has contributed to Ana’s fame.