Chef of the Year 2022 Marko Pavčnik: “Nature is my inspiration.”
The advocate of wild food in Slovenia serves art, flawless dishes that takes us on a chat with nature and its fruits.
Imagine walking through a forest that glistens in the morning dew and gives shelter to wild animals. Then you step on a spacious meadow where grass is rarely cut and where nothing cultivated is grown – it hides incredible riches in its green oasis. We have just described the source of inspiration and the primary food market of culinary virtuoso and recipient of the prestigious title Chef of the Year in 2022 Marko Pavčnik from the Pavus restaurant at Tabor Laško Castle. When we listen to his words, the honesty and passion with which he talks about seemingly modest ingredients that he picked himself, then honed them to perfection in his kitchen, it seems that it is a true artist who stands before us.
The advocate of wild food in Slovenia, everything that is not cultivated, that is at hand and we can pick ourselves, puts these ingredients on the pedestal! He makes sure the ingredients like the red clover, nettles, raspberry leaves, chickweed, purple salsify, rowan, and beech leaves will never again feel shy when in the company of duck breast, goose liver, or venison filet. He evokes unprecedented combinations of aromas and flavours, the most beautiful transformation of ingredients, and adds the modern and innovative to the local. Furthermore, he is a man of the world who also loves to include unexpected culinary elements in his combinations that bring a touch of Asia or some world metropolis to the dish.
Imagination is the culinary technique Marko Pavčnik loves the most. “Be original, if you do anything the way others do, you will be nothing more than a copy,” is something he is well-aware of. He also says that visiting a restaurant is very similar to visiting a gallery or a concert: “It is a kind of indulgence, and we go to a restaurant, not because we are hungry, but because we want to experience something.” To his restaurant Pavus that is situated in the Grad Tabor Laško castle, we come for experience, to have a chat with nature and its creations.
