Špela Vodovc, who lives in Ljubljana, registered her book Cook Eat Slovenia last year with the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, the largest cookbook event in the world. Nominated in as many as three different categories – Translation, Self-published and Food Tourism (Countries & Regions) – the book represented Slovenia's winner in these categories. Published at the end of 2019, its sales have reached more than 500 copies to date.

It is written in English and includes traditional Slovenian recipes, which have been passed from generation to generation within the author's family. It is therefore both a family legacy and a tribute to traditional Slovenian cuisine. The author's dream was to present these recipes to the world and contribute to the discovery of Slovenian culture through gastronomy.

The award ceremony, first planned for the beginning of June in Paris, has been postponed due to current events. The organisers informed the author that her book was among the TOP 3 in the world, having placed second in the Food Tourism (Countries & Regions) category and third in the Self-published category.

Cook Eat Slovenia will undoubtedly improve the recognisability of traditional Slovenian dishes around the world and add to the culinary distinctiveness of Slovenia, the winner of the prestigious European Region of Gastronomy 2021 title.