Kvarner opens the year of the European Region of Gastronomy 2026 in Matulji: the Carnival Edition connects the “pusni” table and regional identity
In 2026, Kvarner will hold the international title of European Region of Gastronomy, and the first program opening on the ground will be linked to the carnival period and the customs of the Liburnian hinterland. The event titled
Carnival Edition – Festival pusne hrani will take place on Thursday,
January 15, 2026, at the
Villa Plasa restaurant in Zaluki (Municipality of Matulji), starting at
10:30. According to the announcement, the opening will gather hosts and guests from across the Kvarner area and, through traditional dishes and customs, present the local gastronomic heritage. The emphasis is on what Kvarner has been building for years as recognizability: food is not only a tourist offering, but part of the cultural identity and everyday habits of the community.
Matulji is also a symbolic choice: it is an area where the carnival tradition is lived intensely, and the cuisine of the “fifth season” has a clear place in local stories. In practice, this means that in January and February people talk not only about masks and parades, but also about dishes that emerged from available ingredients, winter stores, and knowledge of food preservation. For visitors planning to come from other regions and stay for several days, it already makes sense to check
accommodation in Matulji for festival visitors, because carnival events across the wider Rijeka area traditionally spread beyond a single evening.
What the European Region of Gastronomy title means and why it matters
The European Region of Gastronomy title is awarded by IGCAT – the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism, an international organization that connects gastronomy with culture, the arts, and sustainable tourism through its programs. Kvarner received the recognition after an evaluation of the regional strategy and the cooperation of numerous stakeholders, and in its award announcement IGCAT highlighted the value of local gastronomy, cultural heritage, and an approach to sustainable development. The very fact that the decision was published at the end of 2024, while the program is operationally “opened” at the beginning of 2026, indicates that the project is viewed long-term and that concrete results are expected, not short-lived publicity.
In practice, such a title usually means an intensified rhythm of events, education, and projects meant to strengthen short supply chains, the visibility of local producers, and the linking of hospitality with authentic ingredients. On the European Region of Gastronomy platform, Kvarner 2026 is presented through the idea of diversity and the connection of food with heritage, with the message that within one region islands, coast, and mountains meet. Precisely that “geography on the plate” gives Kvarner an advantage: within the same brand, fishing tradition, island flavors, coastal cuisine, and Gorski kotar winter menus can coexist, without the need to reduce the region to a single stereotype.
Why carnival: the moment when food and customs naturally meet
The opening titled Carnival Edition is logically placed in the period when Kvarner enters the cycle of carnival events, processions, and local celebrations. In that context, food is not a secondary backdrop, but part of a social ritual: the communal table, home kitchens, rural households, and hospitality interpretations of recipes prepared precisely at that time of year. “Pusni” (carnival) customs in Kvarner have strong symbolism and recognizability, and the European Region of Gastronomy model takes exactly such a link between food and identity as a key value. When gastronomy is observed as part of a living custom, the tourist experience changes as well: the visitor does not “consume a product”, but gets to know a story about the place.
The Festival pusne hrani in Matulji also has continuity: in public reports and program documents of the Matulji Municipality Tourist Board, the event is described as one that connects “pusna” tradition and gastronomy and emphasizes the role of food in transmitting intangible heritage. Earlier editions highlighted dishes and sweets linked to carnival time, with typical winter ingredients and recipes passed down in families. Such examples are important both as a cultural marker and as a message that local knowledge can be interpreted in a contemporary way without losing its meaning.
Bell ringers and UNESCO: intangible heritage as part of gastronomic identity
Matulji and the wider Kastav–Liburnia area are inseparably connected with the tradition of bell ringers. UNESCO inscribed the element
Annual carnival bell ringers’ pageant from the Kastav area on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, describing the January carnival processions as a social practice that strengthens the community, renews ties within the place, and transmits knowledge and customs. Official descriptions highlight recognizable elements – sheepskin coats, bells around the waist, distinctive headgear, and groups that pass along traditional routes through villages. But what is often overlooked is equally important: such customs always have an “everyday” infrastructure, and the kitchen is one of its key parts.
That is precisely why it is logical that one of the first openings of the Kvarner – European Region of Gastronomy 2026 project is tied to the carnival tradition. Here, culture, tourism, and food meet in the same place, and that is also the clearest way to explain what the title actually means. For visitors who want to visit multiple locations in a short period, Matulji is also logistically convenient: it is close to Opatija and Rijeka, and carnival events in this area usually offer programs on weekdays and weekends alike. Anyone planning to stay for several days can check in advance
accommodation near Matulji and the Opatija Riviera to follow events without rushing and without doing all travel in a single day.
Villa Plasa in Zaluki: a location that emphasizes “home-style” and traditional recipes
The Carnival Edition opening is held at the Villa Plasa restaurant in Zaluki, in the Matulji hinterland. According to information from the Matulji Municipality Tourist Board, it is a rural tourism venue focused on domestic traditional recipes and a cuisine that relies on the local environment. Such an ambience fits well with the idea of the Kvarner 2026 project, which in public materials emphasizes local ingredients, short procurement chains, and the valorization of traditional flavors, but also the experience of place – from landscapes to stories about the people behind the food.
Zaluki and Matulji are also a symbolic point of “contact” between Kvarner’s micro-regions: close enough to the sea to feel the Mediterranean rhythm, yet far enough inland to understand the Gorski kotar and continental logic of the winter table. It is precisely that mosaic that Kvarner highlights as its strength on the European Region of Gastronomy platform: diversity that can be experienced on the plate as continuity, not as a set of disconnected fragments. For guests and media, the choice of location sends the message that the project does not want to be reduced only to big cities and “main” addresses, but also wants to include smaller places that preserve recipes and customs.
Who is coming: the Opatija Riviera as host, all of Kvarner as guest
The hosts of the event are the tourist boards of the Opatija Riviera – Matulji, Opatija, Lovran, Ičići, and Mošćenička Draga – while as guests participate the tourist boards of Rijeka and the Rijeka Ring, the Crikvenica–Vinodol Riviera, Gorski kotar, and the islands of Krk, Cres, Lošinj, Rab, and Lopar. Such a list points to the intention to set the project from the start as a shared Kvarner framework, not as an individual promotion of one destination or one cuisine. In 2026, coordination will be key: if Kvarner wants to position itself as a gastronomic region, then the story must be connected and the contents complementary.
The “hosts and guests” format also has a practical function. It enables the exchange of recipes, products, and approaches to interpreting heritage, as well as visibility for those who are most often in the shadow of the chain – small producers and local suppliers. In autumn 2025, trainings and workshops for stakeholders in hospitality, tourism, and production were publicly presented, with an emphasis on networking and the development of content linked to the Kvarner 2026 project. In these presentations, the project is often linked to existing initiatives for branding authentic offers, such as systems of labeling and promoting Kvarner flavors in restaurants and among producers.
What to expect at the opening: tastings, products, and the stories behind the dishes
According to the announcement, the program at Villa Plasa brings together hosts and guests from across Kvarner and presents the richness of gastronomic heritage through traditional dishes and customs. In such a concept, tasting is not only “sampling”, but also interpretation: what the ingredients are, where they come from, why they are prepared in this part of the year, and how they fit into the carnival calendar. The “pusni” table in local tradition is often linked to dishes that can “feed the community” in the winter period, relying on fermented and pickled foods, seasonal vegetables, meat products, and sweets that accompany the festive part of carnival. When such dishes are placed in a broader framework, the visitor gets a clearer answer to why gastronomy is a topic of public policy and tourism development at all.
At the same time, opening the European Region of Gastronomy 2026 in a “pusni” key sends the message that Kvarner wants to talk about food from the perspective of the community, not only from the perspective of restaurant offerings. The Festival pusne hrani thus becomes a stage where traditional recipes are experienced together with the carnival atmosphere and the symbolism of the bell ringers, not in isolation. For those coming from outside and wanting to visit several Kvarner places in a short period, it makes sense to look in advance for
accommodation offers in Kvarner, because during 2026 events are expected to line up across multiple micro-regions – from islands to the mountains.
Wider impacts: gastronomy as a tool for year-round tourism and the local economy
For the tourism sector, 2026 carries the potential for gastronomy to become a stronger motive for arrivals outside the summer season. The European Region of Gastronomy model emphasizes sustainability and the local economy: short supply chains, producer visibility, education and cooperation, and the development of tourism products not tied exclusively to sun and sea. In that sense, Kvarner has an advantage because on a relatively small area it can offer island, coastal, and Gorski kotar gastronomy, so the food story can be distributed throughout the year. If the program is implemented meaningfully, the winners are not only tourist boards and restaurateurs, but also farmers, small processors, winemakers, and everyone who can increase visibility through a shared platform.
For local communities, especially smaller ones, such projects can be an incentive for domestic knowledge and recipes not to be “locked” in the privacy of the home kitchen, but to become part of an interpreted offer, with respect for the original context. This includes the need for clear quality standards, but also space for innovation grounded in tradition. Precisely such a combination – tradition as a foundation, contemporary interpretation as a tool – most often delivers results that last even after the “title” year ends.
Matulji and Kvarner in 2026: the start of a program that will be measured by its content
The opening in Zaluki is only the beginning of a broader series of events that will, throughout 2026, present Kvarner under a shared brand as a destination of flavors and heritage. Tourist boards, restaurateurs, and producers are expected to use the program as an opportunity for a joint appearance, but also for strengthening capacities – from education to better connecting supply. For Matulji, the Carnival Edition is also confirmation that the carnival tradition can be interpreted through gastronomy in a way that is understandable to visitors, while still faithful to the local experience.
In that logic, the Festival pusne hrani opens not only one carnival season, but also a year in which Kvarner, as the European Region of Gastronomy 2026, will have to prove itself with concrete content. Success will not depend on one ceremony, but on continuity: how much space local products will get, how much food stories will be tied to authentic customs, and whether visitors after 2026 will remember Kvarner as a region where diversity can truly be tasted, from islands to the mountains.
Sources:- IGCAT – announcement of awarding the title to Kvarner for 2026 (link)
- European Region of Gastronomy Platform – “Kvarner 2026” profile and program framework (link)
- Kvarner Tourist Board – information page about the “European Region of Gastronomy 2026” project (link)
- Primorje-Gorski Kotar County – announcement about training and presentation of the Kvarner 2026 project (link)
- Matulji Municipality Tourist Board – profile of the rural tourism/restaurant Villa Plasa in Zaluki (link)
- UNESCO – official description of the intangible heritage “Annual carnival bell ringers’ pageant from the Kastav area” (link)
- Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia – description of the UNESCO element of the bell ringers from the Kastav area (link)
- HRT Radio Rijeka – earlier report on the Festival pusne hrani and traditional dishes (link)
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