Respecting tradition: How we treated the Michelin chefs with meatloaf and bread
"We are a group of enthusiasts who would like to to introduce Czech national cuisine and pay tribute to local ingredients. We want to show that our cuisine is deeply rooted in European tradition," said creative Ambiente chef František Skopec as all the invited guests, including chefs and their assistants from different European countries, sat down at the tables. They all came to Prague as guests of the event Culinary Symposium Prague. And it was for them that a gala dinner was prepared in the Štangl restaurant.
The idea of organising a gala dinner is related to a project that Chef Oldřich Sahajdák from La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise and chef Tomáš Kalina, the organiser of the symposium, had already invented a few years ago. Back then, they wanted to create pop-up format that would pay tribute to the farmers and highlight the essence of Czech cuisine. Their plan was stopped by the pandemic. This year, however, the time was ripe, so they decided to assemble a team of pros who were passionate about the cause, to get the idea moving again and organise the zero year. We did it!
Manifesto of Czech cuisine
Oldřich Sahajdák was joined by František Skopec, Jiří Horák and Tomáš Valkovič, creative chefs Ambiente. The event is a natural follow-up to their other activities aimed at developing modern Czech cuisine and gastronomy. However, the preparation of the dinner also involved chefs Martin Štangl and Marco Christov or the pastry chef Lukáš Pohl.
The final menu was composed several weeks in advance and presented an unwritten, but understandable manifesto of Czech cuisine: fried cauliflower with tartar sauce, meatloaf in bread with mustard and cucumber, pork head with vinegar and onions, horseradish sauce, fried mushroom, potatoes in ash, bacon hearts, candied cabbage, sirloin sauce with dumplings and cranberries and pork in carrots.
"We cooked ordinary Czech dishes"and that's what I find beautiful about it. Before, we would want to pull out and we would probably remake the recipes in different ways, whereas now we see it differently. We've gotten to the point where we only want to cook the purest possible form of our cuisine that doesn't have to change radically. We can only improve it," says creative chef Jirka Horák. Semolina porridge, apple bun and caramel pinwheel sealed the deal: "These are the flavours of our childhood."
Overture at the Hybernia Theatre
Cooking from memory was also discussed at the 10th symposium. Among other things, localism connected with memories of childhood, home and landscape was also discussed. What did the biggest stars of contemporary gastronomy talk about and what ideas did they share with the guests?
- Sven Erik Renaa prepared by squidwhich is sliced and sprinkled with breadcrumbs like pasta, symbolizing his Italian roots. He has expressed an old familiar truth - what gives the best restaurants an edge over the rest is uniqueness, the unique signature of a chef who can to work with what's closest to his heartwhether it's his experiences, his memories, his experiences or the surrounding landscape.
- Chef Javier Torres has brought an example of innovation. With his brother, he runs the restaurant Cocina Hermanos Torres, where new techniques are developed by the chefs' knowledge of original local techniques. They are modernising Spanish cuisine without losing its foundations.
- Chef Emmanuel Pilon from Le Louis XV Alain Ducasse in Monaco, demonstrated how he uses ingredients that are indigenous but have not yet found their way onto the plate. Sea anemone He served it hidden in an artichoke, because to cook is to search and discover. And it's looking for the raw material and its potential. the meaning of the food in the context of the place, the season and the menu..
- Brian Mark Hansen is the chef at Søllerød Kro, a Danish restaurant that won the 2023 Bocuse d'Or competition in 2023. and at the symposium he sent both a caviar tasting and a conviction that sauce should be taken seriously, as well as the work that nature does. And also that that neither raw material nor tradition is sustainable on its own. - only access to them can be sustainable.
- On how tradition is maintained and a dream factory is built, the head pastry chef Jordi Rocawho lost his voice years ago, yet continues to reach out to the (gastronomic) world. Iconic restaurant El Celler de Can Rocawhich he runs with his brothers Joan and Josep, has grown from a small family business to include other concepts. The main reason for its success is that it is based on the following pillarssuch as generosity, passion for the craft, hospitality, social responsibility, unconventionality and a commitment to creativity. Jordi's creativity proves that colours and sounds can be edible, that dessert can turn back time, for example when it smells like baby plasticine. And that landscapes inspire gastronomy as much as poetry or Marcel Proust's statement about flavours and aromas that survive the centuries - in the memory of man and the region and its inhabitants. El Celler de Can Roca employees train their memory at staff lunches in Can Rocawhere they get to know the original native Spanish cuisine so they can recreate it across the street in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
La agricultura, la cucina
Jordi Roca gave another important message: la cucina, la cultura. Cuisine is shaped by culture and at the same time shapes culture itself. This later materialised at the dinner in Stangl, just as it was confirmed that Czech cuisine doesn't need so much innovation, but above all recognition, respect and proud chefs. And proud producers too. La agricultura, la cucina.
"These pop-ups are a way of recognising the efforts of farmers, making them visible and highlight the quality of Czech ingredients. Carrots from Hanky Součková from Semice are just as good as French or Italian ones, and the same applies to our cuisine. However, we cannot do without good farmers,' added Oldřich Sahajdák.
It was he who, together with Tomáš Karpíšek, stood up for Czech cuisine at La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise eighteen years ago, where they believed that pork in carrots is culturally valuable - and it's the Czech meat and Czech vegetables that add to its value.
The Czech Republic is not Scandinavia!
And yet it can do the same thing, as restaurants that have realised the culinary riches of their homeland have done - and boast about it. internationally. "Czech cuisine is a commitment for me, a cultural heritage, my own culinary beginnings, but also an honest craft and I think it has the power to conquer the world. No exaggeration!" Tomáš Kalina shared after the dinner, which reminded everyone that conquering requires cooperation.
"We've experienced what it's like to cook a dinner like this, and I'm sure the next one will be even better. None of us are putting our egos into it, but but a determination to elevate Czech gastronomy. I would like to see something like Devětsil in the future, where we join forces, meet, cook fillet of sirloin with dumplings and discuss what modern Czech cuisine is and isn't. and where it should be heading," said Oldřich Sahajdák and outlined the next steps:
"We want to invite various chefs, mainly from Central Europe, to the pop-ups over time. The Czech Republic has been around for a relatively short time, much longer. We were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for a much longer time. and that is still reflected in our cuisine today. That's why we are also interested in the topic of Central European cuisine."
