Promotion of Slovenian culinary arts successfully launched in US
In what is the first in series of events of the Restaurant Slovenia campaign, six events took place, including at the Slovenian National Home and the Bratenahl Place Bistro restaurant in Cleveland, and the SNPJ Lodge in Imperial, Pennsylvania.
Jurček Žmauc, the chairman of the Slovenian-American Business Association (SABA), praised the Pintarič duo as "phenomenal representatives of the younger generation of Slovenian culinary experts and great promoters of Slovenia and its culinary culture".
According to him, the Slovenian community in Cleveland stepped together to help ensure every ingredient was available to the chefs.
"The extremely crafty Slovenian cooks know exactly where to find the ingredients required to prepare authentic Slovenian dishes," he said. Nevertheless, some integral ingredients had to be mailed from Slovenia.
The campaign, organised by SABA and the Slovenian Chamber of Trade Crafts and Small Business (OZS), involves 43 Slovenian restaurants, with the project also being welcomed by US First Lady Melania Trump.
With the first restaurant to be presented in the campaign coming from Prekmurje, Žmauc noted that SABA would help oil maker Fram with exports of traditional Slovenian pumpkin seed oil to the American market.