At Makarun, every dish begins with a story. For our new sous chef, Franko Brečić, that story begins in the small village of Pupnat on the island of Korčula — the birthplace of the traditional handmade pasta known as makaruni.

Growing up surrounded by fishing boats, family lunches, and generations of home cooking, Franko learned early that great food is not about complexity, but about respect. Respect for the ingredient, for tradition, and for the people behind every recipe.

Some of his earliest memories are tied to preparing fresh fish with his family and watching handmade makaruni being rolled by hand, exactly as they had been for centuries before. Today, those same values continue inside the Makarun kitchen in Split.

As sous chef, Franko brings a quiet but ambitious approach to cooking — one rooted in Dalmatian heritage, seasonality, and precision. His philosophy aligns naturally with Makarun’s own: ingredient-led cooking, minimal waste, and deep respect for local tradition.

At Makarun, handmade makaruni are still prepared according to a recipe more than 300 years old. For Franko, this is not nostalgia. It is responsibility.

His goal is simple: to continue developing Makarun into a destination restaurant while preserving the identity and authenticity that define it.

Sometimes the future of a kitchen begins by protecting its past.