FRENCH CUISINE CHARM AT KINOOKUS

The second festival day was set off by a workshop for children Ojo de dios Mobili hosted by Maša Žarnić. Together with some twenty children Maša was making unusual colourful rhombus-shaped objects, God's eyes, that ancient Central American Indians used to give to the children for their fifth birthdays to protect and safeguard them on their life paths.

In the afternoon the focus was on an interesting gastro-duo from Brittany who were the guests in the section Cinefocus thanks to the cooperation with the festival of France in Croatia Rendez-vous. A rare cooperation of a baker and a chef – the two professions that rarely collaborate – make this tandem unusual. Xavier Hamon, a famous French chef, decided at one point of his career to find out where the ingredients he daily uses come from and how they are produced. That “new task” brought together several professions, so Xavier had to become a butcher, greengrocer, …. and – a baker for a few minutes every day. An excellent baker, Julien Floch, helped him do that, and a successful cooperation between Xavier and Julien is based on their mutual slow food philosophy – both of them use only local produce whose origins can be traced, and there are no needless technology in the restaurants (not even a telephone!) – everything is in the service of the original taste. They have prepared for the visitors finger food bringing together the culinary tradition of Brittany and local produce of Ston. So, we tried oysters with fennel, pesto from carrot leaves, paté garnished with radish and fig, slowly roasted pork and Brittany sausage – each accompanied by a type of bread specifically thought of and baked for the occasion.

The gastronomic pleasure was extended to the new evening section Taste the Screen. In the boathouse in Mali Ston a famous Irish chef, JP McMahon, together with an American chef of the Croatian origin, Richard Gruica, prepared a four-course dinner for a limited number of guests. During the screening of a specifically chosen film about an avangard culinary gathering Cook It Raw in Charleston unusual combinations of pork and seafood, typical for the American southern cuisine, were served while appearing on the screen.