Taking Root

Named as The World’s Best Female Chef 2017, Ana Ros is also mother, wife, and a proud Slovenian, brimming with love for the people and the land around her.

- Koh Yuen Lin & Amy Van

There is no hiding talent – not even if one is quietly working in a little restaurant and inn nestled in Soca Valley of Slovenia. This certainly has been the case for Ana Ros. Fifteen years ago, at 30 years of age, she turned down a diplomatic post to take over her in-laws’ restaurant, Hisa Franko. Never mind the fact that she had never worked as a chef. “I simply followed my life and heart. It is an important message and one of my principles when I think about my children’s future,” says Ros simply, when asked about her decision then.

The original kitchen team quit and she was left to her own devices. Though she made mistakes, none were too big that they made her change her mind. Unhindered by conventions or rules – having learnt none through formal culinary training – she looked to the land for inspiration. This became her “zero-kilometre approach”, and it guided her bold cooking style, often described as original, and sometimes even “audacious”. So a pasta might be topped with foie gras, smoked apples, tonka and long pepper; squid might be paired with lamb sweetbread and fermented cheese.