The Slovenian branch of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The beginnings of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs go back to the 13th century, which makes the society of professional and non-professional food lovers the oldest of its kind in the world. The guild of goose roasters "Ayeurs" was established in 1248 by the King of France Louis IX, in order to ensure a high quality of goose on the royal dining table. In the 16th century the activities of the guild were extended to all chefs roasting all kinds of meat. That is when the society got the name it has today: "Rôtisseurs" - Roasters.
The guild was abolished during the French Revolution in 1793. It took more than 150 years for it to re-emerge. It was after WWII, in the year 1950, when the West saw a mass creation of movements and the bringing back to life of old medieval societies.
The society today has around 7.000 professional (including chefs from over 2,200 restaurants) and 18.000 amateur members, spreading over 80 countries, 250 vineyards and 200 universities and culinary schools. The main aim of the brotherhood is to promote excellence in gastronomy and to unite those to whom gastronomy has a special value.
"We must be proud to be a part of the oldest gastronomic society in the world. Our members are not ill-famed, but they truly love gastronomy and good food. And when I go around the world they look at me differently when I say that I’m a member of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs," explains Janez Bratovž from the Ljubljana JB restaurant. Bratovž was the first professional member of the Slovenian branch of "roasters". The Slovenian branch became active in 2006 with an initial five restaurants. The number gradually rose to 15 restaurants. So far the highest title - officier restaurateur - has only been given to Tanja Pintarič (Gostilna Rajh).
The president of the Slovenian branch of the society, Tomaž Ravnikar, says the number of members had been continuously on the rise until the crisis, when numbers started falling. Presently there are around one hundred members in Slovenia, which meet once a month at one of the restaurants owned by members of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. These monthly dinner meetings represent quite a challenge for the restaurants as well, as they always have to prepare something new - something they have never before offered to the public.
The prices of the dinners (including the wine) range between 50 and 85 euros (in comparison, that’s almost the amount a normal person would pay in a selected restaurant, without the wine). Members also have the opportunity to socialize at one-day trips visiting winegrowers in Slovenia, and the more expensive winegrowers abroad. One of the reasons why the number of "roasters" in Slovenia is not growing, despite a growing interest in culinary, may be the membership tax. It stands at 200 euros for non-professionals and at 300 euros for professionals. On top of that one has to also add the yearly membership fee (150 and 200 euros).
Almost one half of that sum goes to the headquarters of the society in Paris, where a yearly three-day gala event is currently taking place (the so-called Grand Chapitre). Only those invited can attend the event. The gala dinner is prepared by the most respected names in the world of high culinary. New members are always inaugurated at the end of the gala occasion. In principle every country would have to host a "Grand Chapitre" event at least once - Slovenia did so in 2010 in Portorož. The gala dinner with 200 participants took place at the Kempinski Hotel.
The 2010 gala event in Portorož is considered the biggest gastronomic event to have ever taken place in Slovenia. Eight master chefs were on hand at the event, all preparing food at the same time (Ana Roš from Hiša Franko, Tomaž Kavčič from Zemono, Janez Bratovž from JB, Tanja Pintarič from Rajh, Maruška Gašparin from Pikola, Matevž Kmet from Cubo, as well as Curt Daniel Scheffer and David Potier from Kempinski).
And one more interesting fact: The sixth “chapitre” of the Slovenian “roasters” will take place on the 17th of June at Dvor Jezeršek. Five new members are to be welcomed into the society (DAM, Majerija, Dvor Jezeršek, Debeluh and Denk). Master chef Robert Gregorčič, who after leaving Grad Otočec continues to thrill with his very own Oštarija restaurant, will also be promoted. At Oštarija he prepared a dinner for the “roasters” in February this year. During the dinner meeting members were introduced - and presented with words by dr. Bogataj - to a local specialty: dormice. Food interests must not be limited to only foam and reductions.
