Bled, the Alpine Meeting Pearl destination with the fairy-tale image of a lake, an island and a castle standing on a rocky overhang above the lake, offers magnificent views to the visitors, but the eyesight is not the only sense you will satisfy when you visit the destination, also your taste buds will thank you once they get just a small taste of Bled. The qualities of Bled’s chefs are a great passion for local gastronomy, use of pure and fresh products, top approach to innovation and high level of creativity. Have a nibble on some of Bled’s culinary treats but be careful – you just might fall in love with their top local ingredients spiced up with some rock’n’roll of the young and professional chefs.
Main Chef de cuisine in Bled, managing Juliana Restaurant
One of the youngest and most creative main Chefs de cuisine in Bled is Simon Bertoncelj, managing Juliana Restaurant, the intimate restaurant that accommodates just over 20 people and with a beautiful view over the lake, located in Bled’s oldest hotel, the elegant Grand Hotel Toplice. Simon was just 10 years old, when he discovered his enthusiasm with top cuisine, around that time he first started experimenting seriously with food in his home kitchen. Cooking as both a mission and a profession was therefore his logical choice, a path that led him all the way to the famous restaurant of Gordon Ramsey in London, also perfecting his culinary knowledge with the famous Michelin-starred chef Marc Meurin and Bobby Bräuer, who holds 18 Gault Millau points and two Michelin stars.
Chef Bertoncelj is extremely proud of dishes he is creating together with his team, adapting the menu to each season and advising guests on the specialties of the day. Their typical style is seasonal cuisine with local ingredients, prepared by top culinary techniques and combined perfectly with the excellent Slovenian wines which are becoming more and more recognized worldwide, also winning some prestigious wine awards in recent years. So … if you visit Bled, you simply must visit Juliana Restaurant at Grand Hotel Toplice, a hotel which is famous for hosting royals, celebrities and some prestigious guests. Just treat yourself to this creative, fresh and indescribable journey of tastes by Chef Simon Bertoncelj and his team to find out why his exceptional talent ranks him alongside the top 3 chefs from what is currently the Slovenia’s hottest culinary destination.
REFRESH YOUR CULINARY KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BLED:
- Kremšnita, the original Bled cream cake has been made since 1953
- The figs used in hazelnut potica with figs are actually grown on the Bled island
- Slovenia’s most known chocolate Gorenjka is produced near Bled
- You can have dinner on a Pletna boat
- Besides Kremšnita, another popular local dessert is Blejska grmada
- Original Bled cream cake ice cream, made by Sava Hoteli Bled, was chosen for the 3rd best world ice cream at the Soolnua World Ice Cream Index Contest in 2016
