Taste Festival®, the biggest gourmet event in the Alpe Adria region has started with a press conference in the Vander Hotel on Monday the 23rd of September 2013. Organizers of the festival offered a carefully selected menu to many reporters from the biggest Slovenian media. The next day, on the 24th of September, restaurants and other facilities have offered their special services to their guests and the festival has officially started.

The lovely roof of the Vander Hotel was filled to the rafters with the media representatives who were very interested in the festival. Organizers explained the concept and the business model of the festival, which are a novelty on the field of culinary events of this kind in Slovenia. The festival is not taking place at one location but simultaneously at more than 150 locations throughout the country - its open platform will enable restaurants and other participating facilities to offer services at their own premises.

The organizers of the festival highlighted its major role in strengthening and sophisticating Slovenian culinary identity - creating synergies between the participating restaurants and other catering facilities. The festival involves and linkes restaurants of various types and different price grades which is particularly important during the current period of economic crisis. The owner of the trade mark Kaval Group, Mrs Dada Jerovšek, supports this concept and is proud that their network of restaurants, cafes and bars is taking part in the event. Their restaurant Strelec is also hosting an extravagant dinner on the 5th of October and Mrs. Jerovšek kindly invited everyone to come. The potential of the project and its

extraordinary importance for gourmet tourism in Slovenia is recognized by Spirit Slovenia, SPIRIT Slovenia - Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Development, Investment and Tourism, which became a partner of the Taste Festival® and is responsible for its promotion abroad. Other two very important partners of the festival are Kuharska Akademija (Cooking Academy), label of Žito company, which will organize cooking courses during the festival, and newspaper Večer.

About the organizer

Taste Festival® 2013 is organized by Restaurant Club, which links gourmets and those who are seeking unique pleasures in other areas. Restaurant Club has more than 25,000 supporters; among its honorary members are well-known names of politics, business and showbiz. Restaurant Club cooperates with more than 250 restaurants in the Alpe Adria region, in which members can submit the membership cards and enjoy gourmet moments with discount up to 25% on food and drink, discounts and benefits at room bookings and many other services. You can become a member of Restaurant Club by signing up online, calling our call centre number 031 200 000 or sending us an e-mail to pomoc@restaurantclub.si.

Taste Festival® 2013

Taste Festival® 2013, in Slovenia from 24th of September until 8th of October and in Croatia from 10th of September until 24th of September 2013, takes place in a total of more than 300 restaurants and other catering establishments in Slovenia, border areas of Italy and Austria and Croatia. At the festival you will get to know cutting-edge chefs and oenologists, you will indulge in various wine tastings and see interesting cooking shows. The program is based on an open platform and at the time of the festival participating restaurants will offer special discounts and spoil you with culinary masterpieces. During the festival the Restaurant Club's offer is even more special - discounts up to 50% on selected menus. With such an offer the festival wants to present new flavours, restaurants and their chefs and other creators of everything gourmet to the widest circle of connoisseurs.

More about the festival can be found here: http://www.festivalokusov.si/program-festivala-okusov/.

You can buy festival tickets here: http://www.festivalokusov.si/vstopnice/

Ada Cajnko                                                                                                           

Public relations centre

Email: PR@festivalokusov.si

Telefon: +386 31 200 000

Aškerčeva 13  I  Ljubljana  I Slovenija