Josip Bitunjac

Known among his friends as Manolić Jr., chef Josip Bitunjac was born in 1993 at the source of the Žrnovnica river, on the day Pablo Escobar “fell”! It was a sign that great things were waiting for him in life. He won his first golden spoon when he was on an internship at the Jajce restaurant in Čitluk. At the invitation of the experienced F&B manager Stipe Vardić, he returns to his hometown and to the Hotel Le Meridien Lav, where he worked for 3 years.

After Lava, he honed his talent for two years at the Pelegrini restaurant, 1 Michelin *, in Šibenik, under chef Rudi Štefan. He continued to collect awards, and in 2015 he won the Golden Finger, and in 2016 in Sydney, the Great White Award. He returned to Split and spent another three years in the Dvor and Mazzgoon restaurants. Rich experience for the young chef who finally settled down in the Corto Maltese restaurant where he has been “mining” for 5 years. As the owner of the restaurant says, he was first disguised as an “ordinary” chef, and then, last year, he “came out of the closet” and took over the Chef’s corner. And one more thing, of all the fish, his favorite is Rib eye!