Nina from the Cameral Bar which organized the festival of Koper sandwiches said that the first Paninfest at the Shoemaker road (Čevljarska ulica) exceeded all expectations: "The response was above and beyond all expectations, especially considering that this festival was organized for the first time. There were a lot of visitors, and the atmosphere was excellent."
Nina added that Paninfest is a kind of an opening of the summer season at the Shoemaker road. Where did the idea for such a festival come from? "Cameral Bar has been involved with the local culinary providers since the very beginning of our story. A good example are »Thursday bites« (četrtkovi ugrizki), a weekly event at which we have already hosted a number of local culinary providers. Paninfest was a logical step forward."
De Rin House (Hiša De Rin), The House of Refosko (Hiša refoška), The Silver Spoon (Srebrna žlica), Garnata Bistro, Nejc Rižnar for the Cameral Bar, and Drago Funa from Miramar degustations and delicatessen (Miramar degustacije in delikatese) each presented their own sandwiches and tried to make with their culinary creations the best impression on the three members of the expert jury (Anita Urbančič, Sašo Dravinec and Matej Sukič). The visitors added their votes, and all the votes gave the winner - the best 'panin' of Koper. The Cameral sandwich created especially for this occasion by Nejc Rižnar won the title, both by the jury decision and by visitor votes.
The best sandwich was based on the classical Koper sandwich – it was made of the traditional Koper loaf, mortadella and cheese, with the addition of pistachio mayonnaise, and artichokes in olive oil.
The organisers are very happy with the first festival and hope it will become a traditional May event in Koper. They already have plans for future: "We hope that next year more providers of sandwiches – panini – will participate, and that the festival will confirm to our visitors that our city is experiencing a culinary rebirth as well. There are a lot of new bistros and other places which can satisfy even those more demanding gourmets."
Already in the end of the month, on May 29 and 30, the Shoemaker Road will be occupied by beer lovers. Nina told us that their best visited event of the year, Cameral Fest, i.e. festival of craft breweries, will be organized for the third year in a row.
Dolores Subotić, foto: Bar Cameral
Translated by G. K.
