The Slovenia Restaurant Awards project is divided into three stages: a list of the best restaurants was prepared by the Expert Committee (the first stage), whose members include: Helena Cvikl (director, Vocational College for Catering and Tourism Maribor), Mira Šemič (wine connoisseur, gourmand and world gastronomic traveller), Dr. Janez Bogataj (Emeritus Professor of Ethnological Sciences), Assoc. Prof. Aleš Gačnik (Head of the Department for cultural tourism and cultural heritage at Turistica and head of the Centre for gastronomy and wine culture at the University of Primorska) and Yuri Barron (editor, Slovenian editions of the In Your Pocket tourist guides, editor and lead author of The Slovenia Book -Top 100 Destinations).
The list of the best restaurants was passed on to be voted on by the Chefs & Foodies Academy, composed of chefs, culinary experts, critics, sommeliers, restaurant owners, winemakers, connoisseurs and business representatives (the second stage - taking place via a closed voting process) and finally the wider Slovene public were invited to have their say (third stage).
The Expert Committee assessed restaurants according to a carefully developed set of criteria, though they was guided by just one key principle; not how much it cost, the size of the restaurant or the accessibility of the location, but rather their overall satisfaction with the dining experience. We divided Slovenia up into five regions: North, South, East, West as well as Ljubljana and Central Slovenia.
All together 140 restaurants were selected from all over Slovenia.

All the winning restaurants, so too the finalists, will be published on the awards website as well as on The Slovenia tourist maps and in a book showcasing the best restaurants, which will be released at the end of spring and will present visitors with a wide range of epicurean delights for every occasion and budget.

The award ceremony and announcement of regional winners and the Expert Committee’s winner will take place on Tuesday the 21st of March 2017.