I visited Croatia as a tourist; you have a beautiful country, and I was especially captivated by the beauty of the Kornati islands. But to get to know a country through a colleague you work with brings a whole new dimension. Bernard Korak introduced me to his Zagreb County not only as a destination but as a gastronomic region of rich tradition. Croatia and Italy share some common ingredients, but we use them in different ways. It is precisely those differences in tradition, alongside the similarities in culture, that inspire us chefs, enrich us and spur us on to better collaboration, said chef Carlo Cracco after the exclusive 4 Hands Dinner – prepared, as the name suggests, with four hands – at the Cracco restaurant in Milan on 21 October. 
They served dishes such as a tender saffron salad with caviar and shallots, puffed nori seaweed with horseradish and mortadella, smoked trout with fig and goat’s yoghurt, and vineyard snails paired with Korak’s Sauvignon & Riesling 2017; raviola del plin with a garden sauce and black truffle alongside the wine La Ciola 2022; black pork served with Korak’s Pinot noir 2023; while the desserts were pomegranate, chestnuts and juniper, and montebianco with a fresh persimmon sauce paired with Moscato d’Asti 2024.
It was a wonderful dinner and a very fine experience from which I learned a great deal. I was especially delighted that we had the chance to work with ingredients characteristic of our county and to present our dishes to an important audience, said Bernard Korak. Carlo Cracco added that it had been an exceptional pleasure to work with Bernard, the first Croatian chef to prepare dishes at the Cracco restaurant. The dinner was organised by the Croatian National Tourist Board, the Zagreb County Tourist Board and the Michelin restaurant guide for Italian influencers specialising in gastronomy and lifestyle. 
The 4 Hands Dinner project is conceived as a dialogue between two chefs who share a passion for authentic local ingredients and refined cooking, and as a chance for guests to experience a special eno-gastronomic story across six courses and carefully chosen wines. Bernard Korak’s family owns a winery on Plesivica – an upland wine region southwest of Zagreb – and a restaurant with a Michelin star.
26.10.2025.
