Join us for an intriguing insight into the culinary journey of Chef Joe Flamm as our founder, Antoaneta Šimunović, sits down with him for an exclusive interview. Discover the passion and creativity that drive this culinary mastermind to bring the flavors of Croatia to the forefront of American cuisine - you might be surprised by what he has to say.

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In an unexpected move, this American chef has now set his sights on showcasing the flavors of Croatia, a stunning European country that is often overlooked in the culinary world. With his debut Italian- Croatian restaurant Rose Mary named after his grandmothers Mary and Mary Rose, chef Joe is bringing a bold taste of Croatia to American soil, offering a menu of what he has coined "Adriatic drinking food." Joe's love for Croatian cuisine stems from his wife, Hilary, whose father is Croatian.

"My father-in-law is from Herzegovina, but he was born in a refugee camp in Austria. Then he came to the United States when he was, I think, three. There is a really strong Croatian community on the south side of Chicago. He grew up there with the culture and even speaks the language. My wife, she grew up there as well. And this is the place that we got married too, St. Jerome Croatian Catholic Church, to be exact." – says Flamm. 

Made up of 1100 islands, Croatia is an epicurean's dream. It's interesting that even though Chicago has one of the largest communities of Croats in America, the cuisine of this country is still unknown, unlike its neighbor Italy's. 

"I feel like there aren't many Croatian cookbooks, at least ones in English. I own about 20 of them, which is probably the largest Croatian cookbook collection in Chicago. Also, when someone from the Croatian community comes in and they want to give me feedback on some of the traditional dishes we make, I'm like, absolutely. I love talking about it, especially if it's a dish they make or their grandmother made or their uncle, whoever, I'm like, yes, tell me the story." 

In 2012 Anthony Bourdain called Croatian cuisine the next big thing. And Flamm certainly is on his way to give her the spotlight it deserves.

"I wanted to share this Croatian story that I feel deserves so much more spotlight. The food is so beautiful. The people, the culture, the history, everything. It was wild to me that nobody was doing it." 

Joe has visited Croatia a couple of times. "The first time we went to Dubrovnik, then Hvar and Split. The last time I went to Zagreb, we drove down to Split again because I just love Split. That's my favorite place I've been so far, but I still have a lot of places to see." –he says excitingly." 

Learning about a new culture's food and traditions can be quite surprising. What is the most surprising thing you learned about Croatian food and culture?

"I think in the beginning, what was most surprising were the similarities to Italian culture, especially along the Dalmatian coast. It felt very Venetian, but then parts of it are very Sicilian and even Abruzzo. On the other hand, when I went to Zagreb, I was like, this is so Austria, so Eastern. Very different from the coast. I thought that was really cool and surprising."

Is there a traditional Croatian dish that you'd love to put your own spin on? 

"We had a lot of fun with some of them, but the one I'm always messing with, is some version of Dalmatian Soparnik, which is quite special and not so easy to make."

Rose Mary was listed as the best by numerous magazines such as The 25 Best New Restaurants in Chicago" Chicago Tribune, "The Best New Restaurants in the World" TimeOut Global, The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago" The Infatuation, "The Best New Restaurants" AFAR Magazine, "The 23 Best West Loop Restaurants" Thrillist. What stands out is the Wine Spectator's "Award of Excellence" in 2022. We saw that you have a smaller collection of Croatian wines, is it true you have some issues importing them? 

"I would bet that we have the largest selection of Croatian wine in the States, but yes, it's been hard to get. I've had wines where somebody will come in, and they'll say, I can get you twelve bottles of this. So that wine might be on my list for a week, but I'm still going to get it because I want that producer to know that if they send their wine to Chicago, I'm going to buy it, as we sell a lot of it. Graševina, Refošk, and Pošip are some of the favorites."

Do you have a favorite Croatian dish? 

"Skradin risotto, probably because it was the first dish I tried. My wife's family prepared it, and they just called it risotto. I also have to say cevapi. The first time I had a cevapi in Split, I was like, wow!'

Now we also make cevapi at the restaurant. I'm really proud of them. We make our own lepinja, our own ajvar, our own kajmak, all of it."

From winning Bravo's Top Chef Season 15 to being the executive chef at the Michelin-starred Spiaggia and to opening your own debut restaurant Rose Mary, you've achieved so much! What's next?

"There's a lot I still want to do. I want to open more restaurants. I might want to do more TV one day, maybe write a cookbook while I travel, we'll see. I'm having a lot of fun right now, and I think that's the most important thing."

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We'd like to thank Joe for his time and a wonderful interview, and we wish him a lot of luck in all of his future endeavors.