i. Biography
Biljana Milina is Executive Chef at Kinoya in Dubai, a position built from work across service, pastry, and kitchen management rather than a single leap. The line from family-run hospitality on Korčula to a senior pass in Dubai runs through repetition, technical range, and a habit of taking on more responsibility without losing the habits of the room.
The Climb
A restaurant floor in Val Gardena was the first training ground for Biljana Milina, where the work of service meant pace, attention, and learning how a dining room functions before trying to shape it. That experience led into co-founding Konoba Mate in Korčula, Croatia (from 2000), where the craft shifted from participating in hospitality to helping define it. Building that kind of operation requires long-term thinking: consistency, trust, and the patience to let a kitchen form its own working identity. By 2012, Biljana Milina was serving as Head Chef and pastry chef at Konoba Mate in Pupnat, Korčula, Croatia (from 2012). Holding both savory and pastry responsibilities places a chef in two different disciplines at once, each with its own timing, control, and standards. In her case, that dual role marks a widening of technical range rather than a simple change of title. Today, Biljana Milina is Executive Chef of Kinoya, a role that extends the same practical discipline into kitchen leadership. It reflects a career assembled step by step: from service to ownership, from pastry to broader command, with each stage reinforcing the next.
Today
She serves as Executive Chef at Kinoya in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The role follows her progression from family restaurant co-founder to kitchen leader and pastry specialist. In a city that prizes ambition and polish, her work sits at the intersection of rigor and generosity, shaped by the discipline of pastry and the broader instincts of a chef who has learned to manage a kitchen from the inside out.
Signature
Biljana Milina's signature dishes include Biljanin slatki tanjur, white chocolate and laurel mousse, klašuni, amoreti, and cukarini. The list points clearly to pastry as a primary language: personal in naming, controlled in execution, and rooted in familiar sweet forms. Biljanin slatki tanjur carries a direct personal marker, while the white chocolate and laurel mousse shows a willingness to set richness against a more herb-driven note. Alongside klašuni, amoreti, and cukarini, the work suggests a pastry practice built on texture, restraint, and exactness.
Recognition
Biljana Milina's honors include Chef slastičar 2019 (2019) and Pastry chef of the year 2019 (2019). Read together, those awards place pastry at the center of her professional standing rather than beside it. The year 2019 stands as a clear marker of recognition for work already established through years of kitchen practice, persistence, and finish.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Biljana
What is Biljana Milina's current role?
As of 2026, Biljana Milina is Executive Chef.
Where did Biljana Milina work before?
Biljana Milina's earlier career included Restaurant in Val Gardena, Konoba Mate, and Konoba Mate.
What recognition has Biljana Milina received?
Chef slastičar 2019 (2019).
