Adrijano Nikolić

Adrijano Nikolić spent 44 long years as the head chef of numerous hotels and restaurants – on his native Lošinj and in Italy. In the winter, when there were no tourists, he worked as a cooking instructor, and presented his skills at various culinary competitions in Croatia and abroad. In Italy he was a sous chef, in charge of soups, pasta, gnocchi, ravioli… the things that Italians are the alpha and omega in.

He received the title of knight of culinary arts for his achievements. He is a true legend of Lošinj gastronomy, and although he said after retiring in 2015 that he would never pick up a cooking spoon again – he simply could not keep that word. Long ago, in cooperation with the Tourist Board, he organised cooking workshops for small private caterers and apartment renters, and later he continued to participate in gastronomic events in Mali Lošinj, such as the tourist-attractive Advent or the Bread Day, or preparing educational spring brunches for elementary and high school students, as well as working in kindergarten with the youngest. For the last two years he has been participating in the event Old Tastes of Our Islanders, organised by the Chamber of Crafts and with the students of the Catering School, in front of the Lošinj fish market.

Equally interesting is his research and writing work, which he devoted himself to while he was still working seasonally in Italy in the late 90s. He has published several books dedicated to the culinary traditions of Lošinj and the recipes of, as he likes to say, “our grandmothers and grandfathers”. His fourth book is ‘Apoxsyomenos’ Gastronomic Story’, published in 2016 and presented in Zagreb, at the Mimara Museum, on the occasion of the decision of the Ministry of Culture to permanently house the statue of Apoxyomenos in Mali Lošinj. The book was the basis for Nikolić to organize several thematic banquets, one of which he organized in Trieste in 2018. With the help of the staff of the restaurant Za Kanturni, he will prepare an ancient feast for the guests of the opening ceremony of the 13th Festival Taste the Mediterranean at the Apoxyomenos Museum in Mali Lošinj.