On the last day of September, a fundraising dinner was held in support of the New Czech Association, which has decided to nurture local culinary tradition, promote Czech cuisine at home and abroad and steadily raise the level of local gastronomy. The six-course menu was cooked by a team headed by chef Oldřich Sahajdák and chef Ana Roš.
The unique tasting dinner took place in the Čestr restaurant, which became a place to celebrate Czech cuisine and helped make the first major event organized by the Nová česká association a reality. The invitation to Prague, and with it the role of ambassador, was accepted by Ana Roš, the acclaimed chef of the Michelin restaurant Hiša Franko, who has put the region of Slovenia, its tradition, nature and agriculture in the spotlight and encouraged the world to take a closer look at Slovenian cuisine.
„Tonight's dinner revolves around the season. You'll taste food made from ingredients that have grown up around us, and that, in a nutshell, is the intention of New Bohemia. We want to cook and preserve seasonal traditional dishes, tripe or horseradish, and think about how they were cooked two hundred years ago and how we can cook them even better today,” said Oldřich Sahajdák at the beginning, who together with Ana Roš presented the individual courses in turn. The menu itself, however, spoke, among other things, about the symbiosis between man and nature, from which all regional cuisine is based.
Guests sampled a six-course tasting menu, which brought together what is currently being harvested in the Czech Republic and Slovenia, and conveyed to guests the story of two different, yet close, cuisines.
„Regardless of political borders, we are still Central Europe, and although our countries have slightly different culinary identities, we face similar challenges. Slovenian gastronomy lacks the recognition of local and traditional establishments where one could taste Slovenia. Moreover, a lot of tourists come to Prague and most of them want just that – to eat Czech food prepared authentically and from the best, food that tells about who you are. You have a precious heritage, so play with it!" Ana said, elaborating on the answer to the question of what Czech cuisine needs to rise to the top of the world gastro scene. Your cuisine is famous and has a strong foundation that you can develop further.
The menu served in Chester was created in collaboration between chefs from Hiša Franko and the New Czech team, headed by chef Oldřich Sahajdák and chefs Tomáš Kalina, Ondřej Koráb and other members of the association. Potatoes were served with peeled potatoes, mushrooms with caraway seeds or kohlrabi with horseradish, venison with raspberries and radish, pork neck with cabbage and Prague ham and also bun with pears. The meals were complemented by wines from Czech and Moravian winemakers, and the waiters and sommeliers from various Prague establishments took over the service.
„Czech gastronomy deserves the self-confidence and attention that, for example, design or architecture has. Such events help to show that our cuisine has much to offer – from top quality ingredients to culinary personalities to strong regional stories. That's why CzechTourism has long supported projects such as Czech Specials, which remind us that Czech food can be modern, inspiring, and yet remain deeply rooted in tradition," sums up Director of the Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism František Reismüller.
The dinner gained overlap. Proceeds from it will go to the educational activities of the New Czech. The association plans to organize talks and cooking sessions with apprentices in schools, pop-ups in school cafeterias or a professional forum that aims to bring the Czech gastronomic scene together. Another goal is to connect chefs with farmers, because without this, Czech cuisine loses its quality, originality and uniqueness.
The vision is shared by many professionals and partners. This time the dinner was supported by Robot Coupe and the aforementioned gastronomic project CzechTourism – Czech Specials, through which the agency has long presented traditional Czech dishes in a modern concept and connected restaurants across regions.
„The Czech Specials project was created with the aim of connecting honest Czech businesses and giving them a brand of quality that is recognizable to both domestic guests and foreign visitors. The fact that top chefs like Ana Roš are now cooking alongside Czech colleagues is a beautiful proof that Czech gastronomy has the desire to grow, learn and be seen. And it is this energy that we want to continue to promote in the regions and at international events," concludes Czech Specials Project Manager Lenka Nováková.
„Tonight's dinner revolves around the season. You'll taste food made from ingredients that have grown up around us, and that, in a nutshell, is the intention of New Bohemia. We want to cook and preserve seasonal traditional dishes, tripe or horseradish, and think about how they were cooked two hundred years ago and how we can cook them even better today,” said Oldřich Sahajdák at the beginning, who together with Ana Roš presented the individual courses in turn. The menu itself, however, spoke, among other things, about the symbiosis between man and nature, from which all regional cuisine is based.
Guests sampled a six-course tasting menu, which brought together what is currently being harvested in the Czech Republic and Slovenia, and conveyed to guests the story of two different, yet close, cuisines.
„Regardless of political borders, we are still Central Europe, and although our countries have slightly different culinary identities, we face similar challenges. Slovenian gastronomy lacks the recognition of local and traditional establishments where one could taste Slovenia. Moreover, a lot of tourists come to Prague and most of them want just that – to eat Czech food prepared authentically and from the best, food that tells about who you are. You have a precious heritage, so play with it!" Ana said, elaborating on the answer to the question of what Czech cuisine needs to rise to the top of the world gastro scene. Your cuisine is famous and has a strong foundation that you can develop further.
The menu served in Chester was created in collaboration between chefs from Hiša Franko and the New Czech team, headed by chef Oldřich Sahajdák and chefs Tomáš Kalina, Ondřej Koráb and other members of the association. Potatoes were served with peeled potatoes, mushrooms with caraway seeds or kohlrabi with horseradish, venison with raspberries and radish, pork neck with cabbage and Prague ham and also bun with pears. The meals were complemented by wines from Czech and Moravian winemakers, and the waiters and sommeliers from various Prague establishments took over the service.
„Czech gastronomy deserves the self-confidence and attention that, for example, design or architecture has. Such events help to show that our cuisine has much to offer – from top quality ingredients to culinary personalities to strong regional stories. That's why CzechTourism has long supported projects such as Czech Specials, which remind us that Czech food can be modern, inspiring, and yet remain deeply rooted in tradition," sums up Director of the Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism František Reismüller.
The dinner gained overlap. Proceeds from it will go to the educational activities of the New Czech. The association plans to organize talks and cooking sessions with apprentices in schools, pop-ups in school cafeterias or a professional forum that aims to bring the Czech gastronomic scene together. Another goal is to connect chefs with farmers, because without this, Czech cuisine loses its quality, originality and uniqueness.
The vision is shared by many professionals and partners. This time the dinner was supported by Robot Coupe and the aforementioned gastronomic project CzechTourism – Czech Specials, through which the agency has long presented traditional Czech dishes in a modern concept and connected restaurants across regions.
„The Czech Specials project was created with the aim of connecting honest Czech businesses and giving them a brand of quality that is recognizable to both domestic guests and foreign visitors. The fact that top chefs like Ana Roš are now cooking alongside Czech colleagues is a beautiful proof that Czech gastronomy has the desire to grow, learn and be seen. And it is this energy that we want to continue to promote in the regions and at international events," concludes Czech Specials Project Manager Lenka Nováková.