Food
I love when an ordinary foggy start to the week turns into something unexpected, or rather ends with a spontaneous, unplanned dinner in a Zagreb neighborhood by the forest. That is why I did not turn down the invitation to join a women’s gathering that Monday.
Milena Marković opened the door for me with a wide smile and warm dark brown eyes, as if we already knew each other, although we had only just shaken hands. She quickly showed me her humorous side, which for me is the fastest way to conclude that someone is genuinely delightful. She walked me through the apartment, comfortable for everyday living, yet she chose to transform it into a place for encounters, dinners, and gatherings, for people who know each other and those who will meet for the first time. The apartment is spacious enough to seat around ten people (but not many more) at a round central table, the kitchen is right there and various chefs prepare dinners for you in it, and there is also a room I called the tea room, filled with old sets displayed in cabinets.
Milena and I laugh, recalling those old habits when the festive dishes were taken out of the cabinets only for christenings, family celebrations, or special occasions. Life is too short to wait, there is always a good reason for crystal glasses and grandmother’s expensive plates, I say out loud while Milena nods and adds, The goal was to connect the typical Balkan home most of us grew up in, the one with a cabinet of porcelain for special occasions, and in that way bring warmth into the perception of the contemporary home today. We serve our dinners on antique restored tableware crafted by the women behind the Remake brand from Belgrade, which, as I listened to her explaining her vision, was yet another sign that everything here comes down to the details.
This Zagreb story is fresh and carries the name Maison Mile, a concept still in its early stages and looking for its place in the sun, as Milena says, adding that the primary sentiment behind starting such an intimate gastro gathering came from her connection to her native Belgrade, the center of the world as she likes to joke, and from someone named Mile. “Mile was my favorite grandfather who sadly passed away before I left Belgrade ten years ago. Everything he loved lives in this concept. Mile was a charming gentleman, he loved good food and a good drink shared with dear people. He loved his home, books, music, fashion, and I can even send an old photo as proof, she laughs. Mile loved people, life, and of course disco.” Milena moved to Zagreb from Ljubljana four years ago after spending many years in Malta. I try to think whether we already have something similar in Zagreb and besides a few irregular gatherings or spontaneous get togethers where I would end up at a friend of a friend’s for dinner, no clear example comes to mind.
“In Belgrade, the concept of restaurants set inside apartments is generally very present, from the former Iris Balkan Cuisine by Saša Puškar, which set the standards for food and wine quality in an apartment setting, to Salon 5. guerrilla dining is not unfamiliar there either, though not as a sustainable concept but rather seasonal or occasional. To avoid any confusion, Mile is not a restaurant, nor do we wish to become one. Mile is a home where people gather primarily to spend time together without any particular agenda and enjoy good food and drinks following the principle of a small social club.”
I ask her who she connected with to bring her idea to life, already knowing there was no room for compromise when it came to food or presentation. “Since it is no secret that we are all gastronomic enthusiasts, we felt free to invite chefs and hospitality professionals we personally know to test the concept and also to ask for help. Ivana Bekavac and Marin Petranović from Studio 201 have been with us from the very beginning. Alongside them, we received great support from Nikola Nikolić of Pretop, the cult Belgrade spot, sushi master Mladen Križanović, and young sommelier Filip Živković.” As she was saying this, Filip was already pouring my second glass of a different wine, excellent and unfamiliar to me, but my ears and palate were tuned in as he expertly explained its background, harvest, origin, and most importantly, since I asked, where I could buy it given how much I loved his selection. “Mile is my playground, it is the space where I get to play with wines and, with exceptional food, use lesser known labels I enjoy and introduce them to guests.”Answering my question about what I could expect from the wine pairing that evening, Filip continued, “I like to step outside the usual boundaries and try some unconventional things. Everyone knows champagne and oysters work beautifully together, but if we give it a chance, we will see that turkey with mlinci also creates an outstanding pairing with a complex sparkling wine. Wines for enjoyment and play, that is how we approach them here.” I left this little game with a wonderful list of what to bring friends for Christmas lunch.
At the same time, one of our best sushi masters, Mladen Križanović, was already preparing the first bites, slicing the fish for nigiri and sashimi with the precision and elegance of his Japanese mentors. I asked him to explain in more detail what awaited me. “The approach to dinners like this usually goes in two directions. One is when the host has a clear idea of what they want, so we coordinate accordingly, or, if I have the freedom to decide, then I like to improvise.”
In our case that evening it was freestyle, and Mladen added that he usually creates the menu while sourcing ingredients, which when it comes to Asian food here gives him the most trouble because he has to run around to three different places. The menu was served in five courses: amberjack nigiri aged in kombu seaweed and sake, shrimp wonton dumplings in a clear broth made from the heads and shells of the same shrimp, salmon sashimi in ponzu sauce with mixed seaweed and marinated shiitake mushrooms, tuna ribbons enriched with a dressing of sesame oil, toasted garlic, and miso paste, and a hamachi skewer glazed with sweet soy, with dehydrated egg yolk and marinated cucumber. What I understood and what I did not translated itself into an exceptional gastronomic experience I love allowing to surprise me. The whole story ended with the famous cake and tiramisu by Ivana Čuljak from Neka jedu kolače, who also collaborates with Maison Mile.
I asked about what has already happened and what is yet to come at Maison Mile. “Whether it is closed groups or gatherings we organize ourselves, we follow the wishes of the group and our own ideas, from burek and sparkling wine to dinners with ten types of bread and homemade butter, because unfortunately you cannot eat that all evening in restaurants, but at Mile you can. Our goal is to elevate social gatherings with discreet education about food, wine, and ingredients, all within the warmth of a home. Each gathering is different, the people, the menu, the wines, the music, the table setting, because we do not want to repeat the same approach but to create an authentic experience,” Milena explained.
To be honest, that evening Ivana had actually gathered her friends privately, wonderful women all of them, interesting and accomplished, some of whom I recognized from around the city and some I had just met. While they celebrated their friendship, I celebrated the fact that I was part of an exceptionally pleasant gathering and the confirmation that Zagreb always holds something new to discover and interesting people to meet. The truth is that Milena comes from the field of HR, so I quietly noticed that she handles people remarkably well. She confirmed that she has applied that professional experience here too. “A genuine need to build relationships with people, to understand individual needs, to create opportunities and match them with existing potential is still there, only in a different form, with one goal, to create experiences that are, in fact, the only real measure of life.”
To that last thought, I simply raised my glass of the lovely wine Filip had paired with the tuna and said, “Cheers to life!” And I wish you too a Monday like this soon, one that reminds you how good it feels to give in to hedonism.
Photographs: Jakov Vilović
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