FEŠTA O’ SPIZE 2026: Lamb With Peas Cooked Again for St Domnius, for 5,000 People of Split and Guests of the City

The traditional “Fešta o’ spize i vina”, held in Split as part of the programme for the feast of St Domnius, again drew crowds of locals and tourists to Prokurative. At the centre of it was the 1200-litre “mega teća”, a giant pot brought in by a tow truck, in which members of ŠKMER (Šefovi kuhinja mediteranskih i europskih regija, the Association of Chefs from Mediterranean and European Regions), together with friends of the association, cooked about 5,000 portions of janjetina s bižima, lamb with peas.

70 volunteers helped hand out the food, among them Split secondary school students, members of local associations and the mayor of Split Tomislav Šuta with his team. Students of the Split schools Škola za dizajn, grafiku i održivu gradnju, IV. gimnazija Vladimir Nazor, Turističko-ugostiteljska škola Split, Srednja tehnička prometna škola Split and Komercijalno-trgovačka škola Split took part with their mentors in serving the portions and running the event.

“Cooking started at 7 in the morning. First 40 litres of olive oil went into the pot, then 200 kilograms of onion and five pršut hams. Later came 27 lambs, thousands of peas, wine, tinned tomatoes, barley and crates of garlic and parsley. Besides being a reminder of the strength of community and of the tradition of Split cooking, Fešta o’ spize i vina gives young people, future cooks and volunteers a chance every year to take part in something big – and, for one day at least, to turn cooking and handing out food into a celebration, also for those

who cannot often afford a meal like this”, said chef Željko Neven Bremec, president of ŠKMER.

Alongside Bremec, the organisation and the cooking were led by Marija Lulić, vice president of ŠKMER and winner of the “Splitski cvit 2024.” award, given to women from Split who stand out for their work in the city. For years Lulić has been a recognisable face of ŠKMER charity actions, cooking for people in need and training young cooks. She holds the title of Vitezica kulinarstva, a lady knight of cookery, she is an international culinary judge and a mentor to many generations of cooks, and among colleagues and friends she is known for her cheerfulness, energy and big heart.

The event “Fešta o’ spize i vina” started in the mid-2000s on the initiative of the well known Split cook Miro Bogdanović (1954 – 2017), founder of ŠKMER, and the then mayor of Split Zvonimir Puljić, with the idea of offering every citizen a free holiday meal outdoors for Sudamja, the city feast day.

Since then janjetina s bižima has been cooked in a pot of huge dimensions – the so called “mega teća”, 2.6 metres across, which travels by tow truck and is used for various public events in Dalmatia. Miro Bogdanović played an important part in building it, helping the workers of Škver, the Split shipyard, with his experience. The mega teća was made by the craftsmen of the metalwork

shop under foreman Ivan Mastelić, mostly by hand, while the shell was bent on a roller. Stainless steel was used, the welding was done with the argon process, and the whole job took four days.

Handing out portions to citizens and guests of the city started right after the big procession, at around 12:15, when Prokurative again became a place of community, tradition and Split food – exactly as the legendary Split chef and founder of ŠKMER Miro Bogdanović and the then mayor Zvonimir Puljić imagined it in the mid-2000s.