The foodie guide to Ljubljana, Slovenia

Slovenia is pretty centralised; whether you go to an opera or the theatre or to a party as a student, you have to go to Ljubljana. The farmers’ market is the heart of the city. On Fridays and Saturdays, there is a really lively atmosphere. Small farmers come in from all around Slovenia and we can buy an incredible selection of very good fruits and vegetables. On Fridays, there is also the Odprta Kuhna (Open Kitchen), a street food market. And then, of course, there are plenty of small bistros and wine bars nearby where you can have a glass of wine and enjoy good food.

I’ve always drunk skin-contact wines (where the grape skins remain in contact with the juice during making). In this part of the world, drinking skin-contact and slightly oxidised wines is something that is completely natural. We have a big culture of natural medicine, and a natural way of eating and drinking, so drinking and eating things without additives was always cool for us. When I was a kid, I remember the Malvasia from the farmer was always slightly oxidised and orange. The wines from those days were really crazy – their volatility was super high and they were not balanced at all. Today, you can find things that are a lot more rounded, such as those made by Aleks Klinec, Marko Fon or Aci Urbajs.

When I visit other chefs, I always give them fermented cottage cheese, which is a unique product from the Soča Valley. It’s fermented in the high mountains and has a very individual flavour as the fermentation process brings in sourness and spiciness – and it’s something you can’t find anywhere else in the world. You have to buy it directly from the farmers in Slovenia – you can’t even find it in the farmers’ markets here, you really need to know where to go. At Hiša Franko, we use this cheese in the corn beignets. It’s served with smoked trout roe and wild chives.