Last night on Nova TV, the first audition episode aired, where candidates for the new season of the culinary show MasterChef are chosen. Among the candidates who advanced to the next round, Dijana Zubac (52), mother of our famous basketball player Ivica Zubac, who has been playing in the American NBA league for nine years, caught attention. Mrs. Dijana won over the jury with her eel stew, which she chose, she says, because she hadn‘t seen anyone cook that dish in previous seasons.
"I am from Čitluk, and this isn‘t really a typical dish for our region, but it is typical for nearby Metković and the Neretva valley, so in a way, it‘s close to me. I chose it precisely because I noticed, and the jury members confirmed to me, that none of the candidates had prepared it so far. The only thing I didn‘t put in was frogs, which is typical for the Neretva region, because I haven‘t, just like snails, tried them yet. I really eat everything, but somehow I avoid those two ingredients," said Dijana, mother of four children, Ivica, Antonio, and Mario, and a daughter with the unusual name Mariaandjela, who reveals that a friend signed her up for MasterChef. She has followed the culinary show since the first season and always hoped to participate because, along with her family, cooking is her greatest love.
"I learned to cook from my mother, although I didn‘t cook until I got married. Since then, I really enjoy cooking. I cook all day, friends often come over, and I truly enjoy it. Typical dishes from our region are raštika (collard greens), sarma (stuffed cabbage rolls), japraci (stuffed grape leaves), stuffed peppers, dishes under the bell, cornmeal, fritters... I have a hearth at home and love to prepare food under the bell, especially when a larger group gathers. It‘s usually meat under the bell, but I have also made octopus—it turned out as soft as butter. I often try various recipes; my children suggest something if they like it on Instagram, but I always adapt it to my style. Those recipes aren‘t always reliable," laughs the skilled cook, who reveals that her famous son, when he comes home from America, almost always asks her to prepare lasagna or moussaka for him.
Homemade is homemade
"Ivica really loves that. He also adores sweet buns, and I would make them for him more often, but he shouldn‘t eat too much of them. He is on a strict sports regimen, has to watch his diet, and is very disciplined about it. I must admit I‘m proud that I‘ve taught all my children from an early age to eat homemade food and spoon dishes, so they really eat everything and aren‘t picky. However, I only passed on my love for cooking to my daughter Mariaandjela, who steps in when I can‘t due to obligations," says the new MasterChef contestant, who reveals how her daughter got a local variant of the Italian female name, because her husband worked in Italy for several years and had friends whose daughter was named Maria Angela, which she really liked.
Besides the name, Dijana Zubac is also very fond of Italian cuisine. She says that in America, where she regularly visits her son Ivica, she has tried some oriental cuisines and dishes that combine sour and sweet flavors, but that‘s not for her.
"Although I can eat anything, I love homemade cuisine the most, as well as the one close to us—the Mediterranean."
In addition to cooking, Dijana Zubac reveals that mushroom picking is also a great passion of hers. She is currently staying in Zagreb but can‘t wait to go home because the mushroom season has started. However, she also says she enjoys going to the Dolac market because she finds many things there that she can‘t buy in her town.
Meat before sweets
"About ten years ago, I started picking mushrooms with a married couple who are experienced mushroom pickers and who taught me enough that now I can pick seven or eight kinds of mushrooms on my own without fear. It has truly become a great passion of mine. When I go mushroom picking, I get such an adrenaline rush that I even forget I might encounter snakes, which are quite common in our area. I always carry a stick and bang it on the ground until I spot a mushroom, and then I don‘t even realize where or when I dropped the stick," laughs Dijana, who admits she couldn‘t have learned so much about mushrooms from books or almighty Google. Because, she says, a mushroom doesn‘t look the same when it‘s young or when it‘s mature. You have to learn that in practice, with a lot of walking and with good connoisseurs of that delicious delicacy.
We asked her if she gets nervous in front of the cameras, but she says that when she‘s cooking, she doesn‘t even see the cameras or the people around her. But when it‘s time to serve the dish, then she gets a bit nervous.
"I‘m not afraid of the jury because no one has ever left my table with a full plate, no matter what I‘ve prepared, but of course, I‘m curious to hear what the experts like Stjepan Vukadin, Goran Kočiš, and Mario Mihelj will say about my dishes. I hope I won‘t disappoint them.
Although many challenges await her in MasterChef, she admits she loves preparing savory dishes the most, adores meat, while she bakes cakes more according to her family‘s wishes:
"I have a knack for decorating cakes, but I‘m not really into sweets. I usually make old-fashioned cakes, the dry ones or those with leavened dough. The men in the family are literally crazy about sweets, and when they send me to buy them something, I never know what to pick because I really don‘t like sweets. I‘m a one hundred percent meat type of person."
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