Adam Rajndl

After graduating from catering high school in his native Osijek, Adam Rajndl, 25, had no doubt about the path he wanted to pursue. Further education at the Kul IN Culinary Institute in Sisak, where he earned a Professional Chef certificate in 2022, only strengthened his determination to learn, grow and develop his craft in professional kitchens. His education continued in Switzerland at the Business and Hotel Management School (BHMS) in Lucerne, where he graduated in Culinary Arts in 2023. As a Valamar Riviera scholarship recipient during his studies, he began his professional career in the company’s hotels and camps in Baška. Alongside his experience in hospitality, he also worked in traditional restaurants across continental Croatia, gaining a deeper appreciation of the country’s regional culinary heritage. Yet professional curiosity soon took him further afield. Adam wanted to experience the standards of leading international kitchens firsthand and discover what he could learn from chefs operating at the highest level. After moving to Lucerne in 2022, he joined Mandarin Oriental Palace, where he worked at the hotel’s Colonnade restaurant under the leadership of charismatic chef Gilad Peled. In 2024, Colonnade was awarded two Michelin stars. His two-and-a-half years at Colonnade proved to be both demanding and transformative. “I always say it was my best and worst experience, but in the end, it was wonderful because they turn you into a dedicated chef the hard way,” he recalls. After his time at Colonnade, Adam moved on to become sous chef at Antons, one of Lucerne’s popular restaurants. Six months later, however, he made a decisive choice: to return home to Slavonia and bring the knowledge, discipline and skills he had acquired abroad back to the Croatian culinary scene. Restaurant Josić had always been close to his heart, and he saw in it the right setting to explore new possibilities within the rich tradition of Baranja cuisine. Dishes such as duck with orange sauce, piri-piri chicken and trout roulade with farce – in Adam’s interpretation, made with black Slavonian pig – may have international roots, but his approach gives them a distinctly local identity. Rather than simply reproducing familiar classics, the young chef reinterprets them through the lens of Slavonia and Baranja, guided by the terroir and the availability of authentic local ingredients. The result is a cuisine that bridges tradition and contemporary technique, drawing on international experience while remaining firmly rooted in the landscape and culinary heritage of his native region.