IGCAT in Rijeka: international experts confirmed that the city has a strong gastronomic identity and great room for further progress
The arrival of IGCAT representatives in Rijeka was not merely a protocol visit to the city, but an important confirmation that the gastronomic scene of Rijeka and Kvarner is being viewed ever more seriously in the European context. At a time when Kvarner holds the title of European Region of Gastronomy 2026, visits like this carry additional weight because they show that the region is valued not only for the attractiveness of individual dishes, but for the breadth of the entire system that connects local producers, restaurateurs, cultural heritage and tourism. Within this framework, Rijeka was given the opportunity to show what it has been systematically working on in recent years: that it can be much more than a transit or one-day urban stop and that it is profiling itself as a city in which identity can also be read through the plate, the market, the fish market and modernly interpreted Kvarner cuisine.
The visit of representatives of the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism followed the Rijeka edition of the event
Mosaic of Kvarner Flavours, opened on 13 March 2026 in Exportdrvo, as part of the Kvarner – European Region of Gastronomy 2026 programme. At that event, the Kvarner subregions were presented, from Rijeka and the Rijeka Ring through the Opatija Riviera and Gorski kotar to the Crikvenica-Vinodol Riviera and the islands of Krk, Rab, Lošinj and Cres. It is precisely this breadth of gastronomic styles that is one of the strongest assets of the whole of Kvarner: within a relatively small area, coastal, island, highland and urban cuisine meet, and in Rijeka that mosaic becomes concentrated into the most visible and accessible point for domestic guests and foreign visitors.
Why the IGCAT visit is important for Rijeka and Kvarner
IGCAT is an international non-profit organisation based in Barcelona that has been operating since 2010 at the intersection of gastronomy, culture, art and tourism, with an emphasis on sustainable development and the preservation of local identity. In practice, this means that not only the quality of the restaurant offer is evaluated, but also the ability of a destination to turn its own food, producers, tradition and natural resources into a long-term sustainable development model. In that sense, Kvarner has already gone through an important evaluation process: the international IGCAT jury toured the region back in May 2024, spoke with dozens of stakeholders and recommended Kvarner for the title of European Region of Gastronomy 2026, and the title itself was then officially confirmed.
For Rijeka, therefore, this visit is more than symbolic. It comes at a time when the city is trying to strengthen its position as the urban gastronomic centre of Kvarner, relying on a combination of local ingredients, port history, a strong market, an increasingly visible chef scene and projects that give the gastronomic offer a recognisable shape. In doing so, the city does not present itself as an isolated island story, but as a centre that can gather different Kvarner flavours and offer them in a contemporary, tourist-attractive and year-round sustainable format.
At the opening of Rijeka's programme of the European Region of Gastronomy 2026, Rijeka Mayor Iva Rinčić assessed that the title represents great recognition for Kvarner, but also confirmation of the work of restaurateurs, winemakers and producers who have been building the identity of the region through flavours and experiences for years. A similar message was sent by Deputy County Prefect Robert Matić, who stressed that this is confirmation of systematic work and unity among all those involved in the region's development. In tourism terms, such statements are not mere courtesies: they show that the local and regional levels are trying to treat gastronomy as a development tool, and not merely as an accompanying feature alongside sun and sea.
Rijeka as the urban stage of Kvarner flavours
During their stay in Rijeka, the IGCAT representatives visited key city locations and became acquainted with the offer that is increasingly setting the city apart on the gastronomic map of the northern Adriatic. At the centre of this story are not only restaurants, but also the places where the everyday connection between the city and food can be seen. The end of the tour at Rijeka’s main market and fish market was therefore no coincidence. The city market is precisely one of the strongest symbols of the continuity of Rijeka’s food culture: according to official tourism data, its history in its current form is linked to the end of the 19th century, while the covered fish market there was built as early as 1866. This combination of authentic everyday life, local supply and impressive architecture makes it a place that is interesting not only to tourists, but also as proof that gastronomy in Rijeka is not an artificially created trend, but a living urban practice.
This is precisely where one of Rijeka’s key advantages lies. While many destinations are trying to create a gastro identity afterwards, Rijeka already has a real urban rhythm in which the market, the fish market, Kvarner fish, seasonal ingredients from the hinterland and island products are an organic part of everyday life. Such a base gives credibility even to the most ambitious tourism projects. A visitor who comes to the city encounters not only a polished festival showcase, but also the infrastructure of everyday life that confirms that local gastronomy is truly lived.
For guests planning a longer stay and wishing to explore city locations, the market, restaurants and events connected with the European Region of Gastronomy programme, the practical part of planning may also include
accommodation in Rijeka, especially if the goal is to combine a city visit with visits to the rest of Kvarner. Such a stay model also corresponds to the very logic of the project, because Rijeka presents itself as a natural starting point for getting to know the wider region.
From the event in Exportdrvo to a stronger tourist image of the city
The event
Mosaic of Kvarner Flavours – Kvarner at the Table showed how important the presentation of diversity is for this story. In the Rijeka edition of the programme, not just one local cuisine was presented, but a whole series of Kvarner gastronomic identities. According to official information, Rijeka and the Rijeka Ring were presented there through pastry creations, fish specialities such as risotto with scampi and asparagus and monkfish medallions in white wine, accompanied by liqueurs and other beverages. Participants included Rijeka hospitality and production actors such as Restaurant Nautica, the Slon by Moreno Debartoli pastry shop, Babushka bakery and the Vergilas craft distillery.
But it is even more important that, alongside Rijeka’s offer, the broader picture of Kvarner was also presented. In one place, visitors could see how Bakar maneštra, brodets, Cres lamb, island cheeses, olive oils, traditional biscuits and more modern interpretations of old recipes meet in the same region. This is a message that is important both for tourism and for the market: Kvarner does not rely on one trademark, but on the wealth of different gastronomic codes, and Rijeka in that story has the role of the urban showcase and logistical centre.
For the city tourist board, this means the possibility of promoting Rijeka not only through individual restaurants or events, but as a place where the entire region can be experienced in a short time. The IGCAT visit therefore confirms that Rijeka’s development model is not based exclusively on the glamour of haute cuisine, but on connecting local producers, hospitality, cultural heritage and accessibility. This is an approach that can be particularly important at a time when more and more travellers are seeking authenticity, contact with the local community and experiences that are not generic.
Rijeka’s gastronomic ports as the foundation of new recognisability
One of the most important projects on which Rijeka is building its own gastronomic identity is
Rijeka’s Gastronomic Ports. This project was launched in 2022 with the aim of connecting hospitality venues into a common, thematically designed network with strong tourism potential. According to data from the Rijeka Tourist Board, in 2025, 42 restaurants met the criteria for a total of 71 titles in 11 categories, which shows how much the project has grown in a short time. In the initial phases, the figures were significantly lower, which further confirms that Rijeka’s gastro scene has genuinely been expanding institutionally and on the market in recent years.
The concept of ports is well adapted to the character of the city. It does not try to sell everyone the same story, but different types of gastronomic experience: ports of local ingredients, fishing ports, daily ports, vegan, barbeque, business, romantic, family and wine ports, as well as ports of specialities and ports of the flavours of other countries. In this way, Rijeka is presented as an open, urban space in which local does not mean closed, but rather a solid base from which a diverse offer develops. It is precisely such a combination that can be attractive to modern guests who expect both authenticity and choice from a destination.
The director of the Rijeka Tourist Board, Petar Škarpa, had already stressed earlier that projects such as Rijeka’s Gastronomic Ports showed how local tradition, top-quality ingredients and the creativity of chefs can be turned into a modern tourism product. This is an important assessment because it points to a change of paradigm: gastronomy is no longer an addition to the tourism offer, but an increasingly important supporting pillar of it. When that logic is joined by international confirmation through IGCAT and the European Region of Gastronomy project, it becomes clearer why Rijeka is being described more and more often in public communication as a city with great gastro potential.
For guests planning to tour restaurants, the market, Rijeka’s waterfront and events connected with the gastro programme, it may also be useful to check the
accommodation offer in Rijeka, especially during events when the city calendar is more intense and visitor interest is higher than in the usual periods.
What international recognition can bring to local producers and restaurateurs
The importance of a visit like this is not measured only by media visibility. The greatest benefit may appear only in the medium term, and for local producers, small restaurateurs, winemakers, fishermen, family farms and crafts that supply restaurants or participate in the presentation of Kvarner products. The model promoted by IGCAT is based on the idea that food is not only a market product but also a cultural and developmental value. Translated, greater international attention can help make local supply chains more visible, give indigenous products greater value and at least partly mitigate the seasonality of tourism through events and offers that are not tied exclusively to the summer peak.
In that sense, Kvarner is particularly interesting because it possesses great biological and culinary diversity. Official data from the European Region of Gastronomy platform point out that Mediterranean, continental and subalpine climates meet in that area, which is reflected both in the ingredients and in seasonal dishes. The region is known for Kvarner scampi, olive growing, sheep farming, viticulture and numerous indigenous grape varieties, and precisely such diversity creates room for the tourism story not to be reduced to a few recognisable dishes, but to develop throughout the entire year.
For Rijeka, it is important that it can turn that regional capital into urban content. The city is not the biggest producer of all those ingredients, but it can be the place where they meet, are promoted and consumed. This is especially important for urban tourism: in a single day, a visitor can tour sights, peek into the fish market, taste dishes inspired by local tradition and, through the restaurant offer, get an overview of the whole of Kvarner. It is precisely this concentration of content that gives Rijeka an advantage that many smaller, more thematically focused destinations do not have.
Authenticity as the main asset, but also an obligation
The IGCAT visit is also a kind of credibility test. When international experts confirm the potential of a destination, this also means that in the title year and after it, closer attention will be paid to how that potential is translated into real results. Rijeka and Kvarner therefore have an opportunity, but also an obligation, to maintain a balance between promotion and content. In tourism, it is always easy to produce a temporary effect through a campaign or a one-off event, but it is much harder to maintain quality in the long term, connect local production with hospitality and avoid authenticity becoming just a marketing word.
Rijeka has a good starting position in this regard because its gastro story relies not only on novelty, but also on continuity. The city market and fish market, restaurants that work with local and seasonal ingredients, the development of Rijeka’s Gastronomic Ports and the growing number of events that emphasise Kvarner flavours all point to the fact that the city has real content behind the promotion. Yet it is precisely the next period that will show whether this content can be additionally networked, communicated more clearly to foreign markets and turned into a reason for arrival, and not just into a pleasant upgrade to an already existing visit.
In that sense, it is also important that Rijeka is not trying to present itself as a copy of more famous Mediterranean gastro destinations. Its distinctiveness is not in luxurious stylisation, but in a mixture of urban port character, working-class and mercantile history, openness to different cuisines and a strong connection with the sea, the hinterland and the islands. This is an identity that can be very attractive to the modern guest precisely because it does not seem uniform.
Rijeka from a tourist transit point into a destination worth coming for
Perhaps the most important message of this visit is precisely that the perception of Rijeka is gradually changing. For a long time, the city was viewed primarily as a traffic and transit centre, a place through which one passes on the way to other Kvarner points. The current development of the gastro scene suggests a different direction: Rijeka wants to be a city worth coming to, staying in and exploring. In that transformation, gastronomy has an important role because it is strong enough to shape the experience of the city, and flexible enough to connect culture, heritage, everyday life and tourism.
The IGCAT visit can therefore be read as confirmation that this turn has been recognised even beyond the local framework. The Rijeka tour, its conclusion at the market and fish market, its continuation into the Mosaic of Kvarner Flavours programme and the broader context of the European Region of Gastronomy 2026 title together form the picture of a city that is no longer building its identity only on industrial, port and cultural heritage, but increasingly clearly on food as well. And when a destination manages to connect authentic ingredients, local producers, restaurateurs and recognisable places of everyday life, then gastronomic potential ceases to be a promise and becomes a real development opportunity.
For those who want to combine an urban gastro experience with trips to Opatija, the islands or the green hinterland, Rijeka also presents itself as a good base for a longer stay, so when planning the trip it is not irrelevant to consider
accommodation close to the event location and the main city points. Such a stay best shows what the IGCAT representatives could see during the tour: that Rijeka is not merely the backdrop of Kvarner gastronomy, but one of the places where its future is being shaped most convincingly.
Sources:- City of Rijeka – official announcement on the opening of the event “Mosaic of Kvarner Flavours” and the start of Rijeka’s programme of the European Region of Gastronomy 2026. link
- IGCAT – official announcement on awarding Kvarner the title of European Region of Gastronomy 2026. link
- IGCAT – report on the recommendation of Kvarner for the title after the visit of the international jury in May 2024. link
- European Region of Gastronomy Platform – official profile of Kvarner 2026 with data on regional gastronomic diversity and award-winning projects. link
- Visit Rijeka – article on Rijeka’s gastro scene and accompanying presentations of local products and dishes. link
- Visit Rijeka – official announcement on the Rijeka’s Gastronomic Ports project for 2025, the number of restaurants and offer categories. link
- Visit Rijeka / Croatian National Tourist Board – description of Rijeka’s city market and historical data on the fish market. link
- IGCAT – official description of the organisation, its mission and fields of activity in gastronomy, culture, art and tourism. link
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