Its easternmost region is called Prekmurje, and it is in the capital of Murska Sobota where our story begins.
Here, among the vast flat expanses that have earned this area the appellation “granary of Slovenia”, there is in fact an institution of local taste that boasts three generations in business and a great passion for the local area and for excellent raw materials. We are talking about that Kodila whose meat and cured meats easily cross-national borders precisely because of the great quality that distinguishes its production.
Patron of this revolutionary enterprise for the area is Janez Kodila, who opened his first butcher shop in Prekmurje, carrying on the legacy of a private family business, in the early years of Slovenian independence.
But the butcher shop in Murska Sobota is not a classic establishment for selling meat. It is a project born from an enlightened mind as that of Janez Kodila, who understood how to enhance the local area not only through raw materials, but also by using innovative techniques for the system and with an offering capable of diversifying to such an extent that it is suitable for people with completely different ages and needs. After all, food is transversal and has always been a harbinger of culture and tradition, characteristics that come to life inside Kodila.
From the outside, at first glance, it is not clear what kind of place it is. Amidst the greenery of Slovenian nature, a thatched roof stands out on the building with the most typical structure and a decidedly modern front block. Only when you cross that threshold will you begin to understand what kind of soul Kodila is made of.
Hospitality is at the heart of this experience, which begins on the first floor of the building where you are greeted by the butcher shop where cuts of meat and sliced meats, Slovenian products (from cheeses to honey), and gourmet dishes are sold that can be enjoyed simply and genuinely in the small room with tables attached to the store, which is popular with locals for a quick lunch.
Going upstairs, however, there are the curing places that attract your attention: here under a roof of sand and clay covered with straw and used to balance the humidity are the traditional hams from Prekmurje, those from Mangalica and Krškopolje that Kodila produces in-house on the spot, in that modern tenement behind the original building.
Arriving on the second floor, you enter the restaurant led by chef Boštjan Lačen, a Slovenian who has been in the kitchen at Kodila for eight years. The ambiance is that of a modern bistro: large and cozy with an open kitchen, a large fireplace fueled with beech wood, parquet floors, ironwork windows, a large terrace covered with greenery where you come for aperitifs or to enjoy the beauty of the place.
And it is here that the gastronomic magic happens capable of offering two different paths: one more firmly rooted in local tradition and one capable of interpreting the raw material at the highest levels of contemporaneity. The heart of both experiences is the meat, the same from which the fine cured meats are made.
The restaurant has a relaxed atmosphere, and on the plate there is never a shortage of Prekmurje ham, lard and sausage from Mangalica, hot Krškopol pork crackling, or even lard on a buckwheat cracker with apricot jam. In addition to the traditional local dishes, here are tripes, liver pate and pork with oil and pumpkin seeds, Bujta Repa (boiled turnip with pork) served with a black pudding with buckwheat and millet, Beef Soup or even the traditional stew called Bograč, but also Pečena Rebra or fried and thinly sliced Liver passed in milk and flour.
The contemporary cuisine boasts dishes such as the chef's Beef tartare, Mangalica steak or even the pork neck steak that start out from sublime meats, and it shows. After all, on the table as in production, the first rule is called quality.
“The farmers who work with us," Janez Kodila explains, “come from a radius of 150 kilometers: there are seven of them, and with them we have a collaboration that has been going on for many years, thanks to which we have been able to grow in quality starting right from the fields and from the animal feed. We live on the borders of several states and we have chosen to buy the best meat that comes from these territories, as well as, of course, from Slovenia.”
The animals are not slaughtered by Kodila, but close to the respective farming areas, and this is done with the welfare of the animal in mind, which it is pointless to subject to unnecessary stress. “The animals are bought whole,” Kodila continues, “and we use them entirely through processing such as curing, drying, salting, cooking or baking. That is the key to our work, and that is also why we also decided to work with smoking, which we do using Slovenian beech that has always been very popular. It is a gentle form of smoking that we use to remove moisture and maintain the aroma of the product: this is how our cooked ham is born, salted and spiced in a totally natural way.”
Hero image: KODILA_TEDEN_RESTAVRACIJ
