together and beauti es their life. The only di erence is that in gastronomic art food is prepared instead of a song. In the end, peo- ple consume them both and decide wheth- er or not your work is good. I adore gastron- omy, although music has always been, and will remain, my rst job and my rst love. You even took a break from your singing career to perfect your culi- nary skills? - I’ve been dedicated to my restaurant in Split for 25 years. With my parents as own- ers of the restaurant, I used to spend most of my day there. I fell in love with the crea- tivity and the cooking process, tasting, and everything o ered by that world. I have been fortunate enough to have met – through my many travels and concerts around the world – many chefs and winemakers, many of whom are now my good friends. I was Best Man at the wedding of Tomaž Kavčič, Slovenia’s top chef, who is very highly rat- ed in Europe. I’ve toured virtually all major culinary festivals with him, which was an in- valuable experience for me. With which dish would you introduce yourself? - Tuna tartar is a dish that I created. My restaurant presented itself at international presentations with that dish and received exceptional reviews. Which are your favourite points on the world’s gastronomy map? - I’ve tried most cuisines. Apart from Mediterranean cooking, I’m extremely fond of Japanese cusine, because of the culture of working with raw ingredients. How do you spend your time when you’re neither singing nor cooking? - I spend my free time in a small circle of close friends. During summer I’m usually at my weekend house in one of the bays beside Trogir. At that time I sh and live without too much glamour, noise or people. That cleans- es me and prepares me for the rest of the year, which is everything but relaxed [laughs]. What’s your favourite part of Split? - Split has lots of beautiful corners where you can enjoy the views. I love to stroll through Split’s old cobblestone streets in the spring, while there are still no tourists, and to absorb the scents of food emanating from the little stone houses. And what do you like the most in Ser- bia? - I have lots of friends in Belgrade, it is dicult to defend oneself from such huge amounts of hospitality [laughs]. I always re- turn from Belgrade a few kilograms heavier. And to conclude, beside which sea would you like to grow old? - If God favours me, he will enable me to grow old where I was born, and that is in Split. And beside my own sea.
Ne zna se da li bolje peva ili bolje kuva It is hard to say whether he sings or cooks better
ed professionally? - Over the last few years I’ve been experi- encing indescribably beautiful concerts that are attended by people from several gener- ations. At them some mothers sang to their children. That lls me with pride. What has popularity brought you and what has it taken away? - It brought me a lot more than it took, because I utilised it to my own bene t. I’ve met thousands of beautiful people, seen cities on almost all continents and await- ed the dawn at taverns with extraordinary people and musicians. I’m a big winner be- cause popularity hasn’t caused me to lose the ground under my feet. I value my audi- ence and don’t consider it to be in their in- terest for me to mistreat them with various tabloid nonsense and pictures just so I can get a piece of front pages. I’m a happy man. Apart from music, which other arts do you love? -The culinary art is one that I admire and which is connected with music. In both cas- es, artists create a work that brings people
complicated for people who live on the con- tinent. An idea for a song can come anytime and anywhere; the trigger can be anything. That’s the most magical thing about the arts. When inspiration ebbs, how do you encourage yourself towards new vic- tories? - I sit at the piano and simple play and play. It’s like shing; you drop a hook and leave it to the sea, which will always bring you something, sometimes quickly and some- times not. And the beauty is that you don’t know what will come when and where. With which musicians would you like to work? - Sting is a musician with whom I’d re- ally like to record something, and among singers that’s Céline Dion. She has huge cha- risma, a voice and the status of a true diva. When I was a teenager, my music idols were The Beatles – it was because of them that I got into music. I listened to everything, from Pink Floyd, Elton John and the Bee Gees, to Italian and jazz music. When did you feel that you’d succeed-
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