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Shorter Days, Shorter Cocktails…
Rok Logar is a young master behind Union Hotels’ cocktail masterpieces. On the fifth anniversary of his work for Union Hotels, we talked to the master mixologist about his cocktail-mixing journey.
"Guests First Ask about Where to Go and Then about the Wi-Fi"
Andraž Čandek worked his very first hours at Hotel Lev right after he had turned eighteen. Seven years and a new position later, we chatted with the 25-year-old native of Ljubljana about his work as a Reception Shift Leader in the four-star hotel in the centre of Slovenia’s capital.
Uroš Hribernik: “My kitchen philosophy is to keep it simple and delicious”
Uroš Hribernik is chef de cuisine in the restaurant “Pri Levu”, Ljubljana’s Hotel Lev. He and his team like to improve recipes with new flavours and combinations and transform them into the cutting-edge cuisine. Uroš builds his storyline in restaurant with fresh and simple ingredients and is in particularly fond of the Mediterranean kitchen, which inspires many of their culinary delights.
ʽBeing a porter is a dream job for students.‘
Porters are the first and the last to come into contact with guests. There are porters and then there are Porters. This time around we had coffee with one of the latter. Gregor Žibert is a 25-year-old who has been working as a porter under the roof of Ljubljana’s oldest hotel for the past nine years and, a lucky man indeed, has been behind the wheel of almost all the world’s most expensive cars. But his job is much more than just luxury cars. It is a wish, a smile, a sparkle in the eyes…
A Man Who Fulfils Any Wish – A chat between a guest and a concierge
When we met at Restaurant Union, an extremely likeable man sat down at the table across from me. He introduced himself as a ‘concierge’ Blaž, although I hadn’t exactly known what a ‘concierge’ does before I met up with him. He says in Slovenia, that comes as no surprise. Although more and more important foreign guests are coming to Slovenia, Ljubljana’s oldest hotel has had a concierge for just over half a year. However, in spite of this, Blaž has more than enough experience and impressions to share, which makes for a conversation during which there’s no end in sight to the questions to ask.
Union’s master chef with a Michelin star-studded past
Even though he believes his past holds no special stories, he manages to convince us quite quickly that his claim is far from the truth. Master chef Jorg Zupan, who discovered his passion for cooking in passing while in secondary school, has continued to nurture it under the tutelage and with the know-how of the world’s best chefs in several Michelin star restaurants all over the world. His experience has elevated him to join the ranks of master chefs and he selflessly transfers his skills to the team he is creating with in the Atelje (Atelier) restaurant, formerly known as Smrekarjev Hram.
“This Hotel Inspires Me with Awe”
An expert in making the vanilla and custard cream cake and a judge in the popular TV show MasterChef Slovenia joined the team of Grand Hotel Union some time ago. Alma, a native of Slovenia’s Gorenjska Region and in charge of the Hotel’s food and beverage services, has agreed to share with our website what her typical day at work looks like and what she likes most when it comes to her job.
Around Ljubljana with a Frenchwoman
After our special ‘Ljubljana guide for Italian visitors’, we have now decided to present the Slovenian capital in a similar way to visitors from France. At Grand Union Café, we met up with a 24-year-old Parisian, Yana, who comes to Ljubljana several times a year to visit her relatives from Slovenia.
Guide to Slovenia for Italian Visitors
Anyone who takes a stroll around the centre of Slovenia’s capital every now and then will soon realise that the variety of tourists in Ljubljana, in terms of where they come from, is becoming increasingly rich. However, although many of the visitors are groups of Asian tourists, Spanish speaking students or British guests, the largest number of visitors recorded in 2015 came from neighbouring Italy.