Martina Maksimkov, Mirjana Herceg and Ante Čubrić stood out in the sea of interesting and inspiring stories we received within the context of the Raise the Bar competition and they became the lucky winners of a gift package.

The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of the importance of professions in the hospitality industry and to encourage our followers to share positive stories and experiences involving professionals in the hospitality sector.

Congratulations to Martina, Mirjana and Ante on the prizes they won, we wish them many more beautiful and positive experiences in their favorite bars and cafés. You can read the winning stories below and on the project’s social media site throughout August.

“When I was a student, every kuna was important to me and many times I only had a few coins in my pocket. Since it is an important part of studying and socializing with colleagues, it also meant having coffees in nearby cafés. Two colleagues and I liked to go to a café close to university that had a nice waiter. After a few times we became friends and regularly joked around and talked. He shared our fears before exams, our worries after exams and he encouraged us when we didn’t feel like studying. He also ‘forced’ us to go home when he saw that we had work to do. Although it’s been about ten years since I no longer go to this café because I graduated from university, I often remember him and think about how much that man actually helped us. I think he wasn’t even aware of it, but in some of those moments his word meant more to us than anything, because we weren’t just another customer to him. I thank him for that. We never managed to thank him for that and I don’t even know where I would find him now, so I hope that in the meantime he has also experienced something this nice.“ Martina Maksimkov

“It takes skill to make a good espresso, but it’s an art form to know how to deal with people. The main reason why I have coffee at my favorite café is the good coffee and the atmosphere, but I also keep returning because of the excellent waiter who loves his job and you can see and feel it! When he sees that I’m sad, he always makes a joke to make me laugh, when I’m upset or busy, he is discreet and brings me my drink without any questions. If it weren’t for our waiters, baristas or bartenders, our therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, the world would be an ugly place and people would be alienated and alone. Unfortunately, many are not aware that your job (if you want to be good at it) is very difficult and exhausting because, as they say, a hundred different people have a hundred different diagnoses. Good luck!” Mirjana Herceg

“Filip Lipnik is the person because of whom I decided to start working in hospitality and he had such an influence on me when I first had the opportunity to watch him work behind the bar at Swanky Monkey Garden. It was nice to watch him because he made cocktails quickly and readily, without unnecessary movements. He simultaneously made cocktails for his guests at the bar and for the waiters who carried them to other guests at the tables. But what impressed me the most was that all this time he also talked to the guests at the bar. You could see that they were having fun and that they felt at home because Filip gave them that feeling with his attention and vibe. The cocktails were, of course, phenomenal. At that point I was washing glasses for Filip Lipnik, but that day I decided that I wanted to give other people that same feeling when they come to my ‘home’.” Ante Čubrić