UMAG, July 19, 2018
Wednesday at the Istria Gourmet Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tennis player Damir Džumhur had his hands full as three top chefs met him at the Michelin stand and handed him the cooking spoon. Džumhur joined Mario Coslovich, assistant to Pergola’s chef Fabricio Vežnaver, to prepare an octopus with an octopus mayonnaise as well as chili and bergamot, while San Rocco’s chef Teo Fernetich welcomed him with ingredients for a cuttlefish cappuccino with potatoes and truffles, and chef Aleksandar Grubić of the Badi Restaurant taught him to make fish tartar. Last year, Džumhur claimed two titles, and this year, he won the tournament in Antalya. He is also the best tennis player his country has ever had. However, when it comes to cooking, he is a better eater than cook.
“My mother always cooked and I never felt the need to learn how to do that. Of course, I can cook a few simple dishes, like pasta and roasted meat, but I can’t cook anything that is more complex than that. Honestly, I would like to learn. I like watching cooking shows and I know how to make quite a few dishes in theory. It’s just that I’ve never tried to actually prepare them,” said the Sarajevo native. Still, with the help of professional chefs, he handled himself great. The Michelin stand, where Džumhur was yesterday, is a place where, each day, the visitors of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag can taste specialties by this year’s Michelin-recommended restaurants: Pergola, San Rocco and Badi.
Damir Džumhur cooks with chefs of Michelin recommended restaurant (photo: ATP Umag 2018)
Džumhur is quite often on the road but when he goes home, there is nothing that he likes eating more than burek or sirnica (baked phyllo pastry filled with meat and cheese, respectively) or even the famous Sarajevo ćevapi (grilled dish of minced meat).
“My favorite dish is my mother’s aščikadunine sarmice, basically, pancakes filled with chicken meat and cheese. That’s a phenomenal dish,” he concluded.
At the Taste Istria Zone, visitors of the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag can enjoy the gourmet offer available from ten different stands, Michelin stand included. We also fully endorse the recommendation for the Zigante Restaurant, which has become an integral part of the Istria Gourmet Festival. There is also the Naša Kužina Restaurant, with chef Zdravko Tomšić at its helm, and Marin Medak’s RougeMarin. As part of the Skrivene čari istarskih vina (Hidden Charms of the Istrian Wines) events, the visitors can taste as many as ten top Istrian wines that have also been recommended by Michelin.
