‘The Croats are here’

With the launch of a meal service for Croatian expats, the community is becoming
 more rounded, says Croatian ambassador Tomislav Bosnjak.
The Croatian community in Doha is small. But the launch of a Croatian meal service for working expatriates is testimony to the fact that the numbers are rising fast. Coming all the way from Mediterranean with exclusive Croatian touch to it, Adriatic Kitchen (AK) comes to fill the demand for healthy homemade food.
The first and last few hours in a workplace can have a significant effect on your level of productivity. However, it is the time in between, the lunch time that fuels the latter and sustains the former. What you eat during your lunch hour can be just as important and that time should not be overlooked. And finding healthy options regularly is not easy for everyone. Adriatic Kitchen delivers homemade food every single day of the month, promising the unique flavours. Already delivering food to more than 900 people in Doha, AK officially launched their expansion plans beyond just the employees of Croatian Technology and Business Association (CTBA).  
“Our main focus is quality with taste. To bring Adriatic cuisine to Qatar has always been our goal during the last 10 years and we have done so; first exclusively for CTBA employees, and then the demand was so high that in 2015 we decided to open AK,” said Ivana Lozancic, CEO of Adriatic Kitchen, at the launch ceremony held at Movenpick in West Bay.
“Today we are proud to say we deliver 900 meals every day and this is just a beginning,” said the CEO while introducing the famous chefs and food designers from Croatia to the audience.  
Three famous Croatian chefs were introduced. Internationally known food designers Tomislav Skunca and Dragan Dragojlovic stand behind the new exciting menu tailor-made for AK. The famous duo of food artists showcased how a food plate can also become an artistic creation.
“The setting up of Adriatic Kitchen and its catering service in a way signifies that the Croatian community has reached a critical size in Doha,” Tomislav Bosnjak, the Croatian ambassador to Qatar, told Community, who was present at the occasion. “We have exceeded the number of about 500 and up till now we have been involved in building and construction sectors, in flying aircraft with Qatar Airways and in the Information Technology sector besides others,” he added.
With this venture, the Croatian ambassador said, the community is becoming more rounded. “And this definitely is a sign that the Croats are here and they are here in a way that they are participating in the overall daily life of Doha,” said Bosnjak.
“I do like their food and I am quite passionate about it. The traditional Mediterranean cooking is a global tradition that goes from Spain all the way to Greece and the north and south of the Mediterranean but each country has a little twist of their own to it,” he added.
“The one from Croatia is a particular one. It is quite fresh. It is very basic. It is not overdone with spices and the way it is prepared it brings out the real taste of the food itself. And people do like it,” said Bosnjak. The ambassador said Croatia now gets more than 14mn visitors per year and it is not a very large country. All the visitors talk about two things in Croatia; the natural beauty and the food. “So there must be something to it,” he said, with a smile.
The ambassador believed AK would have a large appeal here as well. It started not long ago here and they are already receiving about a 1,000 orders a day. He said it is leaving a strong footprint in the catering scene in Doha. It is slightly upmarket yet that is not reducing the demand.  
“It is doing quite well. We congratulate them in doing so. I am pleased about that, it makes my work a lot easy,” added the ambassador. 
Chef Zoran Delic, who represents Podravka, an international food company based in Croatia that entered Qatari market several years ago, impressed everyone with his live cooking of famous Adriatic dish Black Risotto with special ‘vegetta’ seasoning. “The food is amazing. And as soon as I tried it, memories started rushing in of Croatian summer, sailing boat floating smoothly through the clear blue sea. This is more than food; this is vacation,” said Domagoj Cerovac, Group CEO of CTBA.