We had a wonderful evening with Lidjia at her home looking out high over the city of Zagreb—delicious food over four courses, fun and interesting conversation, and warm welcoming home and hostess.

This cooking class is 100% worth it! My wife and I spent the final day of our honeymoon cooking a 3 course authentic Croatian meal with Željka, starting at the open air Dolac market in central Zagreb. She asked about our meal preferences when we met and gave us a tour of the market while we gathered ingredients. From there, her husband gave us a ride to their home, which is located in a beautiful rural area about 45 minutes from city center. When we arrived, we prepared a breakfast of meats, vegetables, and cheeses to eat with her husband, son, and adorable dog Rex. After breakfast, we got to work on our 3 course dinner. Željka was a great teacher who clearly loves what she does, and has a skill for teaching. The food we made was absolutely delicious as well. Some things that made the experience even better included Željka’s beautiful outdoor dining area, informative conversations about Croatian life, espresso, cherry liqueurs, Croatian wine, and a few visits from a friendly neighborhood cat. This experience is far beyond what the listing suggests and we couldn’t have possibly used our time in a better way.

Great time shopping for food in the market and the n we went out of the city into the host’s home in a village around 30 minutes from the centre of Zagreb. We made three wonderful dishes- esp favourite was the cottage cheese strudel for dessert. We had some great coffee, schnapps and wine. Truly lovely day.

We had a wonderful time cooking with Zeljka! She picked us up at our hotel and drove us to (and later back from) her home outside Zagreb - the apartment in Central Zagreb had no working kitchen due to earthquake repairs, so the class was at her house. We decided to cook pork, and she had beautiful pork tenderloins and porcini mushrooms to make a dish. We also baked a cake and another dish like baklava - but with Swiss chard and cheese. All of it was yummy! Zeljka let us help but also did a lot of the hard work herself, so we didn’t feel like we needed to be trained chefs to be there! And the kicker was Rocky Balboa - the little shitzu - he was totally cool and happy to mingle. All in all, a fun few hours in/around Zagreb. We will definitely visit the restaurant they are planning to open the next time we come back to Zagreb.

The meal was simple but sooo delicious. Can’t wait to try the recipes at home! Dolac Market was so much fun; best sauerkraut ever! Our conversation with our host, learning abt places to go (and not go) in Zagreb helped us decide our itinerary.

We thoroughly enjoyed our experience, from picking fresh food from the Dolac Market, to the short drive through the country side with stories & insights into Croatian life from our host. The fun & laughs we had just preparing the food, the aromas of the authentic Croatian dishes cooking culminating in a lively lunch with friendly & amazing people (rocky) made this truly an experience to treasure! Highly recommended!! Absolutely loved it !! Would do it again!

We wish we could give more than 5 stars for the private market tour + cooking class + meal with Zeljka. She was extremely knowledgeable and talented in the kitchen. She guided us in making beautiful dishes that we could easily replicate at home. Even more importantly, she was excellent company. In between preparing the various dishes, we took plenty of breaks for coffee and conversation. She made us feel like old friends visiting her home. We seriously enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Zeljka and through her, Zagreb culinary culture and Croatia. Don't miss out on this experience.