Aminess Gourmet Lab 2026: investing in people and knowledge as the foundation of an increasingly ambitious gourmet offering
Aminess Hotels & Resorts, on the eve of the 2026 tourist season, continues to build its gastronomic identity through the educational project Aminess Gourmet Lab, a program that has meanwhile outgrown the framework of classic internal preparation of seasonal teams and become an important part of the broader strategy for developing the gourmet offering. According to the company’s official announcement, this year’s edition is being held in Novigrad and brings together culinary, pastry and F&B teams with the aim of continuously developing knowledge, exchanging experience and raising quality standards. In practice, this means that preparation for the season is not reduced only to the operational organisation of work, but to the systematic improvement of the people who, in restaurants, bars and hotels, will be the most direct carriers of the guest experience. In a sector in which the difference between average and very good service is often measured precisely through the details on the plate, in the glass and in the manner of service, such an approach becomes a business decision as well, and not merely an educational add-on.
In its publicly available data, Aminess states that it has been operating for more than 55 years and that today, under the Aminess Hotels & Resorts brand, it manages 18 hotels, 5 campsites and 3 resorts with villas and suites in attractive Adriatic locations in Istria, on Krk, Pag and Korčula, as well as in Novi Vinodolski, Crikvenica, Makarska and on Pelješac. That is precisely why investment in the standardisation of quality in the gourmet segment is not a secondary topic, but a logical consequence of the growth of a system that wants to maintain recognisability across multiple destinations and in different types of properties. Food and drink in such a model are no longer merely part of the basic hotel service, but one of the key elements of differentiation in a market in which guests increasingly seek authenticity, local character and a convincingly executed gastronomic experience.
Novigrad as the centre of education before the peak of the season
The official announcement about the Aminess Gourmet LAB 2026 programme confirms that Novigrad is once again the centre of the educational cycle this year. The company states that the programme covers a wide range of topics from the fields of cuisine, pastry and beverages, with topics in the culinary section including oily fish, Dalmatian konobas, bistro dishes, fine dining, vegetarian and vegan cuisine, Asian cuisine, the Italian trattoria, and the creation of signature breakfast dishes. In addition, the programme also includes specialised education for kitchen managers, which is an important signal that the emphasis is placed not only on the execution of dishes, but also on work organisation, people management and the operational stability of the kitchen system during the most demanding part of the season.
Such a schedule of topics shows that Aminess is not trying to build its gastronomic offering on one trend or one culinary signature, but on several parallel directions that correspond to different guest profiles and different properties within the group. In a higher-category hotel, guest expectations are not the same as in a campsite, bistro or restaurant that operates in a strongly seasonal rhythm. That is why it is understandable that the same programme includes both workshops on fine-dining techniques and workshops focused on dishes that must be faster, operationally precise and easily sustainable in greater volume. Ultimately, the quality of hotel gastronomy depends not only on creativity, but also on the ability to turn a good idea into a consistent standard that can be reproduced day after day.
From oily fish to a signature breakfast
According to the information provided about this year’s programme, Aminess Gourmet Lab once again brought together a number of well-known names from the domestic gastronomic scene this year. The programme is led by chef David Skoko, who passed on knowledge about the preparation of oily fish to participants, while Hrvoje Zirojević was in charge of the topic of Dalmatian konobas. Matija Bogdan worked with participants on demanding fine-dining techniques, Marko Palfi on bistro dishes, Mario Mihelj on vegetarian and vegan cuisine, Saša Pribičević on Asian flavours and techniques, and Robert Perić on the concept of the Italian trattoria. The pastry section, according to the same information, was led by Aminess pastry chef Bojana Bukvić through several workshops dedicated to desserts.
A new feature related to breakfast, a segment that in hospitality often decisively shapes the guest’s first daily impression, is particularly highlighted in the programme. Workshops on signature breakfast dishes were led by Igor Gudac, while pizza master Davor Milić introduced participants to the preparation of pizza, pinsa and sandwiches. At first glance, these are topics that belong to different gastronomic categories, but in fact they are connected by the same logic: guests expect less and less of a generic menu from hotel gastronomy, and increasingly recognisability, personality and a dish they can associate with a specific place, property or brand. That is precisely why breakfast, pizza, bistro or dessert corner are no longer marginal parts of the offering, but spaces in which the identity of the property is built and in which it is often decided whether the guest will experience the stay as routine or memorable.
The kitchen is no longer enough without developed F&B knowledge
One of the more important features of this year’s programme is that the culinary part is not separated from the beverage and service segment. The sommelier course, according to the information provided, was held by experts from the Croatian Sommelier Club, bartender training was led by Vjenceslav Madić Kishoni, and special emphasis was also placed on signature cocktails in cooperation with PPD Global. This is important because modern hotel gastronomy no longer functions according to the old model in which the kitchen and the dining room are viewed as separate worlds. The guest does not evaluate the dish, the wine, the cocktail and the service separately, but sees the experience as a whole. A good plate without a competent wine recommendation, quality staff communication and consistent service can hardly achieve its full effect.
It is precisely in this part that one can see why educational projects like this have become more important than they were ten or fifteen years ago. Hotels no longer compete only with location and accommodation, but also with the level of experience they can offer within their own restaurant, bar or special gourmet concept. In that sense, knowledge of wine, understanding of bar standards, the ability of active selling and the creation of signature cocktails are not a luxury add-on, but part of a business model that should increase guest satisfaction, but also the profitability of the food and beverage department. When a company publicly highlights training aimed at increasing the profitability of the F&B department, this shows that it views the gourmet segment simultaneously as reputational capital and as a direct business lever.
A stronger emphasis on pastry and management
The official announcement for 2026 further emphasises that in the pastry segment the focus was placed on the development of gourmet ice cream, à la carte cakes, and the improvement of the offering in boarding houses and higher-category hotels. This is an important addition to the basic picture of the programme because it shows that this is not just about individual attractive workshops, but about an attempt to encompass the entire chain of the offering through education, from breakfast to dessert and from basic boarding houses to higher-category properties. In hospitality, desserts and pastries were for a long time the segment most easily subjected to standardisation, often to the detriment of recognisability. Today, it is precisely in this part that space opens up for differentiation, especially in properties that want to leave the impression of a complete gourmet experience.
But perhaps the most important shift can be seen in the stronger inclusion of managerial skills. According to the information provided, Aleksandar Orlandini led workshops focused on leading and mentoring teams, increasing profit in the F&B department, and improving operations. In conditions of a chronic labour shortage, seasonality and high guest expectations, the quality of gastronomy no longer depends only on the talent of an individual chef, but on whether a manager can create a stable team, transfer knowledge and maintain the standard under the pressure of the peak season. In other words, a gourmet offering is not built only by a recipe, but also by organisation. If there is no quality leadership, not even the best workshop can produce results in the long term.
Continuity that says more than one season
That Aminess Gourmet Lab is not a short-term campaign is also evident from earlier publicly announced data. In 2025, the company announced that in the period from 28 January to 8 March, 16 educational workshops were held, attended by more than 40 chefs and 30 waiters and bartenders. A year earlier, it was publicly communicated that the sixth edition of the project had gathered participants through 17 workshops. These data in themselves do not say everything about the quality of the programme, but they show that this is a format that lasts, develops and adapts every year to the new needs of the offering. In tourism, where many initiatives remain at the level of one-off PR, continuity itself is one of the more important indicators of seriousness.
Such continuity also has a broader effect. For the employer, it means easier introduction of standards, faster training of new people and greater chances that knowledge will be retained within the system. For employees, it means a clearer professional path and the possibility that, through work in a seasonal or year-round system, they are not reduced merely to operational execution of tasks, but that through mentoring and workshops they progress toward more specialised and managerial roles. For the guest, in the ideal case, this means a more visible difference in service quality. It is no coincidence that the tourism industry increasingly speaks of people as the key resource: architecture, location and investments can create a framework, but the real experience is still created in human-to-human contact.
A broader gourmet strategy beyond education itself
This year’s Aminess Gourmet Lab should also be viewed in the broader context of the moves the group is making in the gastronomic segment. On the same date when the news about the current edition of Gourmet Lab was announced, Aminess also announced the opening of the restaurant VIRA by Hrvoje Zirojević at the Aminess Laurel Khalani Hotel in Makarska, describing it as a new gourmet chapter and a further strengthening of its own gourmet concepts. In the meantime, the official Aminess pages already present Vira Rooftop Dining & Bar as a restaurant that brings Dalmatian flavours in a modern interpretation. Such moves suggest that employee education and the development of new restaurant concepts are not separate stories, but parts of the same strategy: on the one hand, investment is made in people’s knowledge, and on the other in projects that should turn that knowledge into a market-recognisable product.
That is an important difference. When a hotel company develops its own gourmet brands, collaborations with recognisable chefs and special restaurant concepts, then employee education is no longer just preparation for internal operations, but an investment in brand consistency. A guest who today visits a property in Novigrad, Makarska or on Korčula has an increasingly pronounced expectation that a certain standard will stand behind the Aminess name. That standard does not have to mean an identical menu, but it must mean convincing execution, attention to local ingredients, good technical preparation and staff who understand what they are serving.
Why programmes like this are important for Croatian tourism
Aminess Gourmet Lab can also be viewed as an illustration of a broader change in domestic tourism. Croatian hotels and resorts have for years been investing in properties, wellness, higher-category campsites and visual identity, but it is increasingly clear that a lasting competitive advantage does not arise only from investment in space. It arises when a company manages to connect infrastructure, content and human capital. In gastronomy this is especially visible because food is precisely one of the most direct points of contact between the guest and the destination. If that encounter remains at the level of a generic offering, the opportunity to turn the local story into market value is missed. If, however, the offering is shaped by knowledge, discipline and an understanding of the guest, then gastronomy becomes a strong reason for return.
That is precisely why projects like Aminess Gourmet Lab carry weight greater than the internal education of a single hotel system. They show how, in Croatian tourism, the attitude toward work in the kitchen, dining room and F&B management is gradually changing as well. Instead of these professions being viewed only as seasonal operations, they are increasingly treated as areas in which specialisation, a career and long-term value can be built. In this lies perhaps the most important message of this year’s edition: a serious gourmet offering does not arise by itself, but from months of preparation, transfer of knowledge and investment in the people who will present that offering to guests every day.
Sources:- Aminess Careers – official announcement about the Aminess Gourmet LAB 2026 programme in Novigrad (link)- Aminess – official data about the company, portfolio and brand development (link)- Aminess Careers – official announcement about the held 2025 edition of Aminess Gourmet Lab and data on workshops and participants (link)- Aminess Careers – official announcement of the restaurant VIRA by Hrvoje Zirojević in Makarska (link)- Aminess – official presentation of the gourmet offering and restaurant concepts, including Vira Rooftop Dining & Bar (link)- HrTurizam – earlier publicly announced context of the development of the Aminess Gourmet Lab project and its positioning within the company (link)
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