Dinner in the Cable Cars

Yesterday, we’ve had the chance to experience an amazing culinary adventure in the heart of Kamnik – Savinja Alps, Slovenia. The so called “Večerja na zajli” (Dinner in the Cable Cars), organized by restaurants Dvor Jezeršek and Krištof, is a unique event at which your three course dinner is served to you in the cable cars of the Slovenian ski resort Krvavec.

The event started at the bottom station of the Krvavec cable cars where we were escorted to our own little moving restaurant and where we were greeted by a warm blanket, a glass of champagne, a candle to add to the romantic atmosphere and, since today is St. Nicholas day, an edible devil which traditionally accompanies St. Nicholas in Slovenia. The three-course dinner prepared by Dvor Jezeršek was served between two upward and one downward ride of the cable car. Following the clever advice of the organizers, we brought our own music player loaded with romantic music, suitable for such event, which helped to further brighten the already romantic atmosphere.

The first ride up started with a cheese “lollipop” with the taste of thyme from Krvavec and salami with a prune stuffed with smoked cheese. The devil did not survive the way to the top station either. At the top we were welcomed by “real” devils and friendly staff from Dvor Jezeršek. During the slow movement of the cable car, we were served a bottle of Colja white wine and a cold appetizer. The cold appetizer was served in a very original way – each of the three dishes were sealed in plastic balls, all served on a wooden tray together with two tubes of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They prepared English style slices of beef back served on salad leaves with mustard seeds and cranberries, fillet of smoked trout with fennel and apple salad and honey balsamic sauce and Pustotnik cottage cheese with buckwheat, walnuts and honey on slices of persimmon. Divine!

After we returned to the lower station we were served with the main dish. It was pork fillet with a mushroom ragout with mint and (what I would call in English) a “barlotto” with dried tomatoes, pine nuts, carrots and celery. Barlotto because they creatively replaced rice with barley. The result was a wonderful and homely dish that nicely warmed our stomachs. Since the weather was pretty cold, this came in really handy. After the main course we left our little moving restaurant and headed to the Rozka cabin, where we were greeted with dessert from Krištof restaurant – millet porridge with melted Slovenian chocolate Gorenjka and prunes – and some warm mountain tea. Dancing with the folclore society additionally helped with us to warm up and after that we headed back to the valley.

The event is undoubtedly one of the best and especially the most original culinary events in our country and, in my humble opinion, even in the world. The mere fact that the dinner is served on such a special and creatively chosen location creates excitement from beginning to the end of the event. Amazing food and service, whose quality did not suffer due to space limitiations in any way, just added the icing on the cake. All I can say to the organizers is: “props to you!” We will certainly be returning, this time in the summer, when the days are longer and you get to watch the sunset while you enjoy your dinner in your little moving restaurant.

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