As so many people say the food is as important as the walking on a Pri Lenart holiday, we thought a short blog about our cooking might be welcomed!
Our holidays attract walkers who are also foodies, and many guests come back year after year for the hard-to-find combination of great walking and great eating! We think an essential part of a good holiday is lovely food, but we also try to keep balanced meals with plenty of fruit, salads and vegetables available. We have our own fully organic fruit and vegetable garden, which during the summer months provides much of our produce and inspiration for seasonal dishes.
Typically breakfast has a buffet plus a hot dish each day, with lovely multi-grain bread baked for us by a local farmer. A packed lunch is provided on walking days with home-baked rolls with a variety of fillings such as cured ham and cream cheese; smoked salmon, lemon and rocket; soft cheese with sun-dried tomatoes, etc. A bowl of fresh fruit and another of a variety chocolate/muesli bars let guests choose what they prefer to complete the picnic.
When the guests have left we get busy in the kitchen, preparing for dinner and baking a homemade cake, which is served at tea on the guests' having been walking all day in the foothills of the Julian Alps and often the pull of the cake makes the last few kilometers a bit easier!
Unlike a normal restaurant, our menu changes daily, so everything has to be freshly prepared. We vary our menu according to the local produce available, the current season, and even the day's weather! No two weeks are the same. We always start dinner with canapés - some examples might be chilli tiger prawn on a celery and apple smoothie; mini risotto balls with melting mozzarella; home smoked trout with fresh horseradish and beetroot, or pan-fried porcini mushrooms from the woods.
Once the guests have enjoyed the canapés with a glass of complimentary prosecco, beer or wine, everyone moves to the table to start the main event - a three course dinner with complimentary, free-flowing Slovenian wines. For us, it's like preparing a dinner party for 10 every night, and to help with the planning there are lists of everything - early prep, late prep, and then a time plan for service. This way we aim to keep the kitchen running smoothly with no last minute drama, just serving best quality, imaginatively cooked food, attractively presented. Often extra vegetables are brought to the table for guests to help themselves to.
After dinner we serve a last taste of Slovenia - our own schnapps liqueurs! Then we join the guests at the table and relax with a glass of wine. Every week someone asks us to open a cookery school or write a cookbook - we might even get round to doing the latter one day!!
