Let’s Split
My first night in Split was not ideal. Delayed flights ending in lost luggage meant I arrived around 9pm needing to buy the basics – toothpaste, deodorant and clean undies! Luckily this is Europe and even on a Monday night the town was still buzzing.
With the essentials sorted I was hungry but exhausted. So I stumbled into a pastry shop around the corner from where I was staying. My first bite in Split was from St Burek, which turns out is one of the best places in Split to enjoy burek – a crispy, thin, flaky filo-like pastry that incases various fillings, traditionally cheese or beef, but now any number of ingredients.
Burek is not technically Croatian. This Balkan pastry originated in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but let’s remember 40 years ago they were all Yugoslavia. Pekara (aka bakeries) are in abundance in Croatia, with pastry products making up the core range, which explains why the population adopted burek as their own.
Image from Jule Le Clerc. Check out her Croatian Cheese Burek recipe!
I first visited Croatia as a backpacker 25 years ago. Split was a very different town! I would most definitely not have been walking around the old town alone at night. The war between Serbia and Croatia (1991–1995) had not long ended and the country still wore the scars for all to see. Tourism had not recovered, with only a few, mainly German tourists, returning to enjoy the beautiful coast of Croatia. Schnitzel dominated restaurant menus.
A lot has changed in a quarter of a century and Split’s transformation from a scary port town to a tourist hub is proof positive of this, so are the menus of local restaurants.
Split, Croatia’s second largest city, is the perfect spot to base yourself, either to explore Krka National Park or the many surrounding islands.
I was here to visit my Pop’s village. Ivan Ravlic left what was to become Yugoslavia at the end of WW1 and found his way to New Zealand. Growing up, Nan and Pop and my mum and dad were the only Ravlich’s in the phone book. So imagine what it was like to discover that one in every eight people from his village were Ravlic’s!
Sadly, what I found was that Kozica (Pop’s village) is now home to only around eight houses. Many left when Pop did, apparently many ending up in Western Australia and South America. More left again in the 90s. In fact, Croatians continue to leave. Now part of the EU, their young people seek better futures throughout Europe.
So while I didn’t meet any relatives when I drove to Kozica, the airport attendant’s (who found my bags) mother was a Ravlich from Kozica!
This is a weird coincidence you experience often growing up in New Zealand where 8 degrees of separation are reduced to 2-3. Growing up in New Zealand people would often ask me where Ravlich was from, but other than knowing my Pop was from (then) Yugoslavia, I didn’t have much connection to this side of my heritage. Contrast this with Julie Le Clerc, a food idol of mine and now good friend. Julie grew up in West Auckland surrounded by Croatian. We often joke she is more Croatian than me!
So, it exciting that Julie and I are hosting our first Taste of Croatia tour together this June. Find out more about our Taste of Croatia tour here (https://tasteoftours.com/taste-of-croatia-tour/) - we have just 4 spaces left!
About Taste of Tours
Taste of Tours specialise in small group culinary adventures that give you a real taste of place. Owner, tour designer and chief host is Vicki Ravlich-Horan owner of Nourish Magazine.
Taste of tours recently named by Lux Magazine The Best Culinary Tour 2026 - New Zealand & LUXlife Client Satisfaction Excellence Award 2026.
In 2026 Taste of Tours are going to South Australia (April and Oct), Emilia Romagana (just 1 room left), Croatia, Sicily (SOLD OUT) and Puglia (SOLD OUT), with more destination coming on board in 2027 including Sri Lanka, Tasmania and Malta.
www.tasteoftours.com