"Slovak cuisine has no face of its own," says Ambiente's creative chef Tomáš Valkovič
Slovak and Czech cuisine have a lot in common. They share soups, flour dishes, sour cabbage, plum jam, strudel made from the fattest flour...but above all the territory of Central Europe in which it is usually only guessed (if not argued) which country has marked the culinary traditions of a neighbouring country to what extent.
"I dare say that although we are talking about Slovak cuisine, there is no such thing. We are a small region that is difficult to define culinarily. Our cuisine therefore has no face of its own," says Slovak Tomáš Valkovič, who has experienced the domestic, Viennese and, eventually, Czech gastro scene in his career as a chef. At the end of February, he is preparing the second edition of pop-up Skô. "I'm not sure whether to call it Slovak. I'm trying to I'm trying to emulate the flavors I carry with me from my childhood. That's all!" he argues.
No limits
For inspiration, Tomas opened, among other things The first cookbook in Slovak by Ján Babylon, a historical monument necessary for every nation which depicts mainly folk cuisine in Slovakia, influenced by from the Czech, Hungarian, Austrian, Polish and Ukrainian sides. Just for the record, Babylon belonged to the bourgeoisie of Budapest, but he incorporates German terminology and Germanisms into his recipes, replacing them with new words in places, so that, for example, štrúdla becomes okružník.
"The reason for this is the historical development but part of it is that we are rather fickle and not very confident as a nation. At the same time, we have had to adapt to the different conditions in the mountains and in the lowlands", Thomas reflects aloud and compares: "In the west of Slovakia, the cuisine is rich, while three hundred kilometres further east, the food is rather poorer, just like in the north. In the south, in the fertile Danube Plain, the cooking is quite different."
What is local is Slovak
A book from 1870 considers typical baba, geršla, hádzané halušky, hriato, kúchne, opekance s makom, pampúšky, posúchy, škvarenina, šovdra, střapačky, beggar's porridge and many other dishes. Many Slovak cooks, including Tomáš, today are rediscovering their identity by returning home, and instead of a broad context, they serve a personal (micro-regional) experience.
"In our country, the menu was based on what we harvested in the garden, preserved or smoked. My mother cooked simple peasant cuisineMeat was on the table mainly at the weekend, during the week we had only buns, baked potatoes with butter and bacon or soup with langos," says Tomáš. "Such ordinary foods bring out emotions in me that I want to convey to people when I cook Slovak."
Ordinariness as a phenomenon
Just Ordinariness seems to be the key phenomenon of Slovak cuisine, as well as the strong roots of home production. "At last year's Skô I served tomato soup. Sliced potatoes are cooked with wild spices, bay leaf, black pepper and allspice, tomato puree is added, and finally a stopper of milk and flour. The procedure is trivial, but it requires all the more attention the basic ingredients. At home, we often made them ourselves. I would never dare to use tomatoes from a can, I always reach for my mother's honest puree. The one gives the soup an authentic, unmistakable taste," emphasises Tomáš.
Authenticity is also conditional on respect for tradition. "I transform some of the original dishes in a way that pleases the eye. What can we say - most of them don't look very appealing on the plate. On the other hand. gnocchi is gnocchi and there's no need to change it. On the contrary! They are part of history and we should leave them as they are," says Tomáš. "To be honest, I am tired of classics being unnecessarily modernised. Why should we 'deconstruct' sirloin steak? Gastronomy has already passed that stage. I think there have been enough dishes that look better than they taste in the end. Now we primarily want to eat well."
Slovakia equals gnocchi?
Skô's menu remains a surprise, except for the aforementioned gnocchi. "I hated bryndza as a child, so when my mother cooked the gnocchi, I waited until she'd fried them in lard, then mixed them separately with granulated sugar. They had to be eaten quickly so that the sugar wouldn't dissolve and would stay crunchy in your mouth for as long as possible," Tomáš shares an old memory. But tastes evolve! On the pop-up ordered by Bryndza 1787a unique product made from the milk of indigenous sheep breeds, which carries a protected geographical indication (PGI).
The list of all the possible recipes with bryndza, such as pirohy, demikát or smirkas, makes one wonder why Slovak cuisine - despite its diversity - has become so identifies so much with halušky. Or as Babylon writes: "One cannot agree with the overly simplistic narrowing of Slovak national cuisine to bryndzové halušky and potatoes with cabbage, Czech to knedlík, zelí and bramboračku, German to Eintopf..."
"Most foreigners see only a few dishes as traditional which is natural, I suppose, and Slovakia is most often represented by gnocchi. But a Slovak might choose pork dumplings, lecho or goulash. And here we go again. it doesn't make sense to define national cuisine by national borders," says Tomáš.
More than a pop-up
A tasting dinner can bring more than momentary guest satisfaction. "At Ambiente, we play with the idea of a Slovak restaurant and I believe that one day we will open a nice place with good food, drink and music, not an open-air museum," Tomáš reveals his behind-the-scenes plans.
A three-day pop-up extra contributes to the puzzle of the culinary riches of Central Europe - The coherent idea of the common roots of food culture is getting a firmer outline thanks to education and various activities, not only in the UM centre. Skô will be followed by the inspirational journey of creative Ambiente chefs. In April, they will explore the Slovak gastro scene and to build international cooperation with colleagues who share similar values - in and out of the kitchen.
