Chef Daniela Kramaric – The Very First Woman Sommelier in Croatia

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Croatia is best known for their fresh seafood, and this year, this country was made all the more popular by Plavi Podrum and its manager/head chef, Daniela Kramaric. Under her leadership, the restaurant was named as the world’s 81st best restaurant, a very big accomplishment for Ms. Kramaric and her staff at Plavi Podrum.

Daniela Kramaric was born in Istria, Rijeka on the 7th of February 1969, the very same day that her father purchased a restaurant, Mali Raj, so it can be said that she practically grew up in a restaurant. The restaurant is now long gone, but he also opened a restaurant in Volosko and called it Amphora, of which he was the head chef. Although her mother was also helping her father manage the restaurant business, she did not, however, work in the kitchen, so it was from her father where she got the passion for cooking from.

Of course, Ms. Kramaric would help out at their restaurant, and she was assigned to work at Amphora’s bars. Clients would often ask her about famous Croatian wines, and it frustrated her that she could not give them all the answers that they were seeking. For this reason, she decided to study wines. She enrolled herself at the Croatian Sommelier Association in Zagreb, which was then its headquarters. However, they now have relocated their headquarters to Pula.

It was from the Croatian Sommelier Association that she received her sommelier diploma, making her as the very first woman sommelier in her country. After graduation, she traveled all over Europe to study wines and to keep herself up to date with all the new wine-making techniques, the popular trends and fashions, and, of course, the new wines, in the wine industry. Her experience and skill as a sommelier have made her as Croatia’s representative in some of the most prestigious competitions for sommeliers, and it has given her numerous awards and praises. In fact, in 2002, she was even named as the best sommelier in the Central and Eastern regions of Europe. However, after this big accomplishment, she stopped competing to take over the management of Plavi Podrum, another restaurant that her parents bought in Volosko.

Her training and experience as a sommelier taught her the importance of passion and determination, and she applied both to her duties as a manager and head chef of Plavi Podrum. She admits that she has never had any experience as a chef and that the recipes of both Plavi Podrum and Amphora came from her father, but she works with her team of Croatian chefs in the kitchens of Plavi Podrum to create new dishes, 99% of which is seafood cuisine.

To assure quality and freshness of produce, she herself purchases all that the kitchen needs on a daily basis to ensure that the seafood, the fruits and vegetables, the herbs and ingredients, et cetera are all fresh. Of course, she chooses the wines that will go best with Plavi Podrum’s cuisine.

Together with her team at Plavi Podrum, they are working hard to give their diners the best seafood cuisine and the most unforgettable gastronomic experience that they can ever have. Their efforts have greatly paid off as they got into the prestigious list of San Pellegrino’s top 100 restaurants.

Image Credit: epicurean-traveler.com

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