Traditional Albanian dishes are not only liked by us, but find some… foreign tourists like them too!
We find Chef Arsen Çollak at the height of his work, in his kitchen while he is preparing a dish with okra, which he will serve for lunch to dozens of Polish and German tourists, who are spending their holidays at the Royal hotel, on the beach of Durrës.
Cooking with seasonal vegetables, or traditional dishes from our regions from south to north are their favorites.
“We have brought to the tourists a variety of traditional foods from almost all Albanian regions, introducing as much seasonal cuts as possible. The foods that demand the most are what we call dishes, we mean dishes with okra, sour cream casserole, earthen casserole”, says chef Arseni for “DurrësLajm”.
Durrës is frequented by tourists from many European countries and since food preferences vary a lot, the open buffet menu is designed to please everyone.
Starting from the multitude of salads, seafood, pastries, risottos and traditional dishes based on meat or fish, the selection becomes difficult.
“We have a weekly plan that suits all vegans, vegetarians, those who want to consume red meat, white meat, traditional dishes, etc. I.e. adapting to all forms, so that everyone can find themselves. This weekly plan consists of 10 different assortments”.
But are there tecano tourists? Definitely yes and boss Arseni tells us the reason.
“German tourists are more detailed and strict in their requirements. In the buffet style we use, they want the food to be at the highest temperature it can come out, which is almost impossible.”
After a lunch with quite varied assortments, the icing on the cake remains the dessert.
With his 10-year experience as a chef, Arseni knows very clearly which of them pleases everyone.
“He likes our desserts, e.g. they like Dibra sugarcane a lot. Baklavaja is a little more popular, but sugar parja is the favorite”.
Not only because of the perfect climate, the sea and the rich cultural heritage, Durrës remains the Albanian capital of tourism.
The ace under the sleeve of hotels and restaurants in Durrës is culinary art.