sign in sign up
<<
Home , Czech cuisine

Czech The most famous Czech cookbooks The Domestic Cookbook or an Essay on Meat and Lenten for Bohemian and Moravian Daughters written in 1826 by Mrs Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová, the legendary Czech cook. The second most famous Czech cook is Marie Janků-Sandtnerová, whose 1924 Book of Budgets and Recipes is still published in the . The fi rst Czech-language book of recipes published in America was written by Marie Rosická; it was published in 1904 and was called the Czech-American Domestic Cookbook. Love passes through the stomach

This is one of the most popular Czech sayings. The key to a Czech heart lies on a plate – and naturally in a glass of beer. To become familiar with Czech cuisine means to become familiar with what and Moravians are really like.

Czech cuisine is traditional, it has evolved over centuries and has been infl uenced by the of surrounding countries. During the period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire it was mostly infl uenced by Austrian, Hungarian and , but we must also point out that the surrounding countries also adopted all sorts of traditions from Czech cuisine. A typical Czech cook always cooked primarily using ingredients that could be grown at home – grains, legumes and potatoes. The same applied to meat – beef, and chicken ran about the yard, game ran wild in the woods and fi sh were waiting to be caught in the river or pond.

Food and cooking has always played an important role in CzechCzech history. The fi rst cookbook was published as early as 1535 and eveneven Jan Amos Komenský described period equipment in detail in his work titled Orbis Pictus.

Globalisation has introduced the fashion of fast to the whole of Europe, the tendency to eat the same things worldwide is strong, but national tradition simply cannot be supressed and Czech cuisine in particular would not let anyone dictate to it, if only because it mostly arose from poor conditions, from people who only had little to lose. When you discuss local cuisine in the Czech Republic you will very quickly arrive at sentences such as “like our grandmothers used to make it”. Czechs are conservative, which is probably why they have retained much of what today’s hurried times have swept out of national . And, on the following pages, we will attempt to convince you that it is amazing and heavenly food.

“Good food and drink extend your life.” “Food and drink hold the spirit and body together.” “Eat until half full, drink until half full.” “God gave people food, the devil gave them cooks.” “Hunger is the best cook.” “Hunger is thirst in disguise.”

Czech sayings about food Soup is the foundation

Potato soup

Soup is the foundation, who doesn’t eat it is amidget, has been said in since time immemorial. You cannot imagine Czech cuisine without soup; it is a prelude that warms your body, intoxicates you with its aroma and attunes the taste buds to subsequent courses, and it is a ceremonially decorated gate into the realm of traditional Czech feasting.

Potato soup is undoubtedly the queen of Czech soups. It is made a little differently in every region and the recipe is frequently kept as a family heirloom. But it is always a symphony of earthy flavours, root soup , fragrant mushrooms and chiefly potatoes, with a light hint of garlic and the distinct bouquet of marjoram, the princess of Czech herbs. To visit the Czech lands and fail to taste is a sin, which you will not be absolved of even during the Last Judgement. It is said to be a “hangover cure” because its ability to transform a stomach roiling from the effects of alcohol into a cosy and comforting room is legendary. This elixir is prepared from finely chopped cow‘s stomach, which should not frighten you. Courageous eaters are rewarded with the piquant flavour of paprika and garlic, crowned yet again with the essential marjoram. And imagine how good the beer tastes with this soup…

4 Kulajda

Kulajda And the third speciality – kyselo (sour soup). Nowhere else will you More typical soups certainly taste a soup made from starter, potatoes, mushrooms Garlic – another hangover cure, some make and the fi nest cream, slightly sour, smelling of mountain meadows it strong, some even stronger… and pine forests. Kulajda is cooked instead of kyselo in some regions. Beef or chicken broth – meat broths have always been considered a cure for all ills, they warm, This is a strong and thick mushroom soup with cream and the strengthen, soothe… essential egg. Don’t ever skip the soup fanfares calling you to eat; Lentil – a miracle fragrant with garlic and bacon, it would be a grave mistake. the basis of the New Year – apparently it attracts money like a magnet attracts a needle – a thick and strong treasure for all lovers of fi lling soups – the basis of the Christmas Eve supper, an extract of the best that makes a carp a carp

Making soup noodles tip The alchemy of soup thickeners Poached eggs – boiling water with vinegar is capable of conjuring up a silky white Where can you fi nd Czech soup? concealing a runny yolk. Thousands of types of – from traditional liver through semolina to yeast You can tell a good Czech restaurant by the soup. All restaurants off er soup – try U Bulánka in Blatňovice, East Bohemia, for example. Noodles – hair noodles, with mushrooms, fritata noodles, pancake noodles – as long as there are lots of them!

5 Not just meat by far

Trout fried in butter

The fact that meat is very important in Czech cuisine does not mean that it does not contain numerous other ingredients. Various vegetables, legumes, grains and mushrooms are also used in cooking.

Probably the most famous Czech dish is roast pork with dumplings and . It comes in many forms and is loved and also condemned – unjustly. Current healthy eating trends consider it a very balanced meal with all the essential components – you just have to order it where they know which meat to use and are capable of cooking it in a healthy manner and serving it in the correct proportions. Besides pork, all parts of which are cooked in Czech Roast duck with dumpling and sauerkraut cuisine, poultry is also a favourite of Czechs, particularly golden roast duck with dumplings and sauerkraut, rabbit and game. Dishes made from potatoes are also typical and very popular – for example the very intricately fl avouredpotato pancakes, particularly if they are served with smoked meat.

Freshwater fi sh enthusiasts will also be ecstatic –pikeperch fl avoured with caraway seeds, trout fried in butter, or the very unusual blue carp – a gently poached fi sh with vinegar poured over it – are true delicacies.

6 tip Carp plays an important role chiefl y at Christmas – and in most Where can you fi nd fi sh households it is the main at Christmas Eve dinner, most Freshwater fi sh are the pride of Czech cuisine. To fi nd frequently fried and served with countless variations of Czech them you can travel to South Bohemia, the region of fi sh potato salad. and ponds. Šupina Restaurant in Třebon is a guaranteed tip. Or make a trip to Třeboň in South Bohemia at the end of August to see the Třeboň Fish Celebrations. Encounters with vegetarian dishes are also more and more frequent – cabbage in particular, cooked by a multitude of methods, characterises Czech cuisine. It is fantastic when braised. It would be a mistake to not try meals made from caulifl ower – for example caulifl ower brain is excellent – or the Czech way of cooking spinach, strongly fl avoured Pig slaughter with garlic – served simply with potatoes and fried eggs. A home slaughter of a pig, which was lovingly fed the whole previous year, used to be the norm. It also used to be a social event linked to many customs. Anyone who really wishes to become familiar with Czech cuisine Today you can take part in a traditional Czech pig should make the eff ort to fi nd a restaurant that cookssour lentils slaughtering event at some of the fairs or advent or mushed peas, because these are truly immortal and unexpectedly markets held during the Advent period. Pork feasts are a refl ection of pig slaughter at pubs and restaurants. delicious traditional dishes. A calorifi c but unique and very typical experience..

A nation of mushroom pickers Czechs are undoubtedly more gatherers than hunters. For example looking for and picking mushrooms is a very widespread and strong passion. Very few nations are willing to set out for a wet forest en Christmas Eve carp with potato salad masse on weekends at fi ve a.m., wander through wet scrub for several hours, all with a very uncertain result. Mushrooms are also called the “meat of the poor“ here. So it is no wonder that Czech cuisine is familiar with tens of methods of cooking mushrooms – mushroom and , pancakes, fried breaded mushrooms, baked mushrooms, mushroom omelettes, cakes, dumplings…

7 Dumplings everywhere you look

If Czech cuisine has a pivotal point, something exclusive and unique, then it is defi nitely the most widespread side dish – dumplings. They are the touchstone of every cook, and also every housewife. Recipes are passed down through the generations. Czechs are not as well versed in anything else, apart from beer, as they are in dumplings – they are capable of appreciating dumpling works of art, as well as condemning failed attempts.

The bread dumpling is the forefather of Czech dumplings. The leavened made from coarsely ground wheat fl our is enriched with cubes of white bread. Simple? Not really – dumplings are a trap for cooks. A good dumpling should be as light as a breath of fresh air, as fl uff y as a pillow and so soft it can be cut by light pressure of a fork and it must have an irregular, porous surface so that it is capable of soaking up the or . There are so many rules to follow… Flour kept at room temperature must have air incorporated, the bread must be two days old, the milk tepid, the dumpling should be turned when cooking and should be pricked with a fork and lightly brushed with oil after being removed from the water… When it turns out right, though, it is the manna of gods. Bread dumpling has uncountable off spring and relatives. The most famous is the potato dumpling. Grated boiled potatoes are lovingly kneaded with fl our and semolina, gently placed in boiling water and then sliced immediately after being removed…

Roast duck with an assortment of dumplings

8 “Anyone trying to prepare dumplings elsewhere than in the Czech Republic will fail.”

The origins of the dumpling It is not clear where the fi rst dumpling was cooked, but it is certain that it was somewhere in . It is said that in 1266 the wife of the Deggendorf mayor drove away a spy from the army of King of Bohemia Přemysl Otakar II by throwing dumplings at him. Dumplings are even mentioned in the works of Czech reformist preacher Jan Hus (who lived at the turn of the 14th century). However, there can be no doubt about where the dumpling is at home now.

Making hairy dumplings

There are tens of recipes for making dumplings in the Czech Republic. You should not skip hairy dumplings in particular. Of course hairy dumplings don’t have any hair, they are called hairy because they have a lovely irregular surface – these are small dumplings made of potato dough. The secret is in the fact that the potatoes are grated raw, sometimes with half of the potatoes boiled. Hot, slippery and maddeningly tasty “bosáky” are the result.

Carlsbad dumpling – an excellent variation on Dumplings are a Czech phenomenon. Legend says that anyone who the bread dumpling, made from unleavened dough, attempts to cook them elsewhere than in the Czech lands will fail. enhanced with whipped egg whites and herbs – So enjoy them to the full. experts cook it in a napkin Bacon dumpling – crispy fried bacon and bread are the basis of these spherical delicacies Wholegrain dumpling – a light and healthy DumplingsDumpl as the main meal alternative made from spelt fl our and puff ed is less usual but enticingly tasty WhatWhat used to be the “the food of the poor” Mushroom dumpling – chiefl y as accompaniment is is frequentlyf off ered by renowned restaurants to game, wonderfully fragrant and soft dumplings today.to Make sure you ask for fried dumplings with a mixture of fresh mushrooms with eggs, or with onions or for fried dumplings with mushrooms. Dumplings stuff ed with smoked meat are also aan unforgettable experience.

9 Sauces are a Czech phenomenon

Sirloin cream sauce

If you seek for what makes Czech cuisine diff erent from others, you will inevitably come across sauces. If you were able to look into a typical Czech household, you would probably catch the family over a meal with a sauce. Thick, probably creamy, spicy, distinct and most importantly – in large amounts. There doesn’t have to be much meat, but dumplings richly smothered in sauce – that is what many Czechs like. It could even be said that sauces are even more popular than dumplings because they are frequently eaten with potatoes, rice, or even simply with bread.

SaucesSauces of a hundredhundred flavoursfla Mushroom – with cream or without, made from fresh Preparing a good, distinctly fl avoured sauce requires a little more mushrooms or dried, this sauce always has the pleasant than being able to cook. The cook will not manage without a sense fl avour of sunny forest glades of combinations of ingredients and the ability to recognize even the Znojemská – a piquant, slightly sour sauce based on the fl avour of pickled gherkins slightest variations of fl avour. A small pinch of or other ingredient, Horseradish – a creamy sauce based on grated horseradish or a traditional knack, are frequently essential. A good Czech sauce has with a remarkably distinct fl avour and aroma a smooth consistency, a shiny surface and perfectly balanced fl avours. Plum – a unique combination And the most famous sauce? Defi nitelybeef sirloin in cream sauce. of plum jam and dry red wine with a faint aftertaste This is the cornerstone of Czech cuisine, the family silver, this sauce of cinnamon and decides whether we call someone a master cook. ginger and a trace of rum, excellent with meats Plum sauce

10 It must have clear tones of root vegetables, a delicate but clear fl avour of meat and cream, a trace of bay leaves, a light but very slightly sour fl avour and it must not be too smooth… No, it cannot be described, even in verse, it must be tasted. The lemon slice topped with preserved cranberries is naturally a part of the correctly served jewel of Czech sauces. Sweet fantasy Another cult sauce is tomato sauce. The disputes led by enthusiasts Black sauce is proof of the inventiveness of Czech who love the slightly sweet sauce made from tomatoes, with housewives. The unrepeatable fl avour of grated gingerbread and dried fruit, combined with a piquant fl avour of dark , have been ancient. Should a fl avour and the delicate bitterness of black a typical Czech tomato sauce include a pinch of cinnamon, grated beer, makes Czech Christmas unique it is served with gingerbread or a sprig of thyme? The irreconcilable camps will boiled fi sh or classic sweet Czech vánočka bread. never agree on this. However, the unusual fl avour of all versions is identically surprising.

And the third one is dill sauce, one of the most unique and most boldly fl avoured heights of Czech cuisine. A subtly sour-sweet, boldly aromatic creamy sauce honouring the most fragrant herb in Czech gardens, dill. Those who enjoy its fl avour will travel to the ends of the earth to taste it (and will end up in the Czech Republic of course).

Dill sauce

Goulash faith Beer calls for goulash, says pub wisdom. Even though this is originally a Hungarian dish, it has become so naturalised in the Czech Republic that goulash tournaments are held here and every proper pub cooks its own version – whether it thickens the sauce using fl our, bread, or onion. Goulash is simply a well loved adopted – and wonderfully adapted – son.

11 Beer or wine?

Beer is a sure winner in the Czech Republic, but wine has begun to rapidly catch up recently. Czechs‘ relationship with tip beer, the national beverage and “liquid bread”, is hearty and solid. It is a social blunder to omit visiting a beer house at least once

Beer from birth to tap when in the Czech Republic, because the pub has been a platform As well as visiting a pub, another fascinating experience of popular wisdom in the Czech lands since time immemorial. is an excursion to one of the beer breweries in the Czech beer is renowned and honoured the world over and, what country – for example the one in Velké Popovice is more important, it is excellent! by (www.kozel.cz), where they will give you a tour of the cult Velkopopovický Kozel plus you will be able to visit the typical pub called Kozlovna, or the Chodovar brewery in Chodová Planá by Mariánské And this doesn’t simply concern the guaranteed quality of the most Lázně (www.chodovar.cz). A tour of the Shrine of beer and hops beer museum in Žatec, West Bohemia famous brands Pilsner Urquell and Budweiser Budvar, as nearly (www.chchp.cz), where you can visit the Chmelfest 500 varieties of beer are produced in Bohemia and , some or Dočesná celebrations with a little luck, is guaranteed of them in fairly small family breweries! Each one is diff erent, original to be a thrilling experience. and interesting.

Where is the best beer drawn? An uncountable number of pubs fi ght for this honour. Try Purkmistr – Pivovarský dvůr Restaurant in Plzeň for example.

Dočesná in Žatec

12 However, wine has also had an ancient tradition in Bohemia and particularly in Moravia. A great number of varieties are grown here – many of them native to this country, for example white Aurelius, Pálava, Mopr or the red variety André. Wine here is varied, surprising, rich, with a distinguished character. Speaking of gastronomic experiences, then a visit to a typical Moravian cellar with its unrepeatable atmosphere, lively music, hearty singing and chiefl y a tasting of the wine treasures using the “until you can’t take Open Cellars Festival in South Moravia anymore” system, is one of the most powerful ones.

And if you hanker for something a littler stronger, there are two jewels in the Czech lands – Slivovice, distilled with love and tiptip centuries of refi ned care from the beloved plums, andBecherovka , a unique herb liqueur made from thirty-two herbs and spices. Travelling in search of wine You can taste wine right where it is born and you Nevertheless, the Czech Republic also has a speciality among can even make the experience more exciting by travelling in search of wine on bicycle, because soft drinks – traditional , which was developed in 1959 South Moravia has an abundant network of wine- as a counterweight to western colas – and is still successful growing cycle routes passing among the vineyards competition to them. Drink it wherever you want, but if you wish and the most popular cellars (mvs.timetree.eu). You can map Moravian rose wines on Rose wine days to experience it as the Czechs love it most, drink it drawn from the tap. in Mikulov (www.wineofczechrepublic.cz) and you can visit the Znojmo historic wine harvest festival for the most original atmospherere wwithith a paparaderadde of historic fi gures and tournamentsents with knights on horseback. (www.znojemskevinobrani.cz).

13 Cold meals are the best accompaniment to beer

Czech cuisine has never been enthusiastic about typical cold starters, because soup has held such a strong position. But this doesn’t mean that there is a poor off er of cold dishes in the Czech Republic. Quite to the contrary, beer snacks are the most important and the most varied.

One of the greatest experiences with Czech cuisine is to enter a good beer house and be amazed at the quantity and inventiveness of the snacks it off ers, creating an excellent harmony with the bitter fl avour of the Czech national treasure.Utopenci – špekáčky with plenty of onion, pickled in a sour brine for at least two weeks, are legendary. Additional ingredients and fl avourings are protected and kept as secret as battle plans – the result is a little diff erent in eacheachh pub,pub, butbut alwaysalwaw y unusually and brutally excellent. And what is a špekáček? A solid and simultaneously fl exibly soft, fragrant and juicy smoked meat sausage, slightly salty, very meaty and containing pieces of smoked fat.

Utopenec

14 Marinated hermelin cheese

Not far behind in popularity are marinated hermelín – a cheese with a cultivated white mould, fl avoured with onion and chilli peppers, marinated for the appropriate period in oil, which must melt in the mouth, and naturally the indispensable and devilishly good tlačenka (brawn) with vinegar and onion: small pieces of pork Chlebíčky: or chicken, set in a jelly made from boiled connective tissues. A Czech invention Chlebíčky (open face sandwiches) were fi rst created Fish delicacies occupy an independent position – zavináče, by delicatessen owner Jan Paukert around 1916. A slice of white bread with a spread or mayonnaise- neat rolls of fi sh fi llets pickled with vegetables in a sour based potato salad, garnished with smoked meat brine are excellent, as are matjesy or pečenáče or meat and vegetables is still a phenomenon (soused herring). The atmosphere of a Czech pub, present at home celebrations and as a . Ham, with egg and caviar, with Hungarian salami, with a harmonica player frequently appearing to play with roast beef – the variety of fl avours is unending. playful folk songs, is simply determined by the delicacies served on the You can still visit Paukert’s delicatessen today plates and boards as well as the beer, because Czechs know that beer in Prague to buy real Paukert’s chlebíčky. accompanied with something to eat tastes twice as good.

The most aromatic delicacy tip A unique delicacy has been produced in Loštice near Olomouc since the 15th century, so called olomoucké tvarůžky. These small round wheels of mature cheese with Which beer house to visit a penetrating odour are created from quark without rennet You will most probably experience the typical and no preservatives are used apart from salt. Less than one per cent of fat makes them Czech pub atmosphere with excellent delicacies the healthiest and also the most popular beer delicacy, even protected by the European to accompany beer in the Černý Orel Restaurant Union. There is even a Tvarůžky Museum in Loštice, documenting the history and in Kroměříž, East Moravia. procedure of traditional production.

15 Sweet pleasures

Czech buchty

If Czech cuisine has an inexhaustible variety of something, it is sweet dishes. In contrast to most other cuisines, it is not unusual here for a sweet dish to be served as the main course. Baking in particular is practically a national sport, every housewife boasts her own version of buchty, koláče or Christmas biscuits.

The most famous Czech sweet dish, which is even mentioned in fairy tales, is buchty. The picture of a baking tray full of beautifully golden and irresistibly fragrant fi lled cakes sprinkled with icing sugar makes the heart fl y and cheers the spirit. “You cannot see into buchty” is a Czech saying, so it is always a little surprising which fi lling will make this fl avour concert complete. The most classic fi llings are , plum jam and quark. “Koláče have a diff erent appearance in each region Unlike buchty, koláče have a diff erent appearance in each region of Bohemia and Moravia. The most famous are the ones from of Bohemia and the Chodsko region in West Bohemia and the Wallachian koláče Moravia.“ from North Moravia. Every region has a diff erent size, fi lling or decorative pattern.

16 Fruit dumplings

The third phenomenon is fruit dumplings. Whether these are made Delicacies across from quark or leavened dough, they are always fl uff y round jewels the Czech Republic concealing a hot fruit or jam fi lling. The topping for this delicacy The famously delicious Hořické trubičky were is very important – quark, fried breadcrumbs, gingerbread – all this born in Hořice below the Giant Mountains, honey fl avoured ears originate from Štramberk in Moravia, is combined with sugar and butter and creates a whole so harmonic delicate Spa wafers from Carlsbad, and legendary that the taste buds faint with pleasure. Czechs love gingerbread from Pardubice… garden and forest fruit and particularly plums. Fruit is dried – and delicious dried apple rings are born – rice pudding and bread pudding is created from fruit or it is served with quark or sugar. tip

Visit the laundry room for ducat buns The Stará prádelna (Old Laundry) restaurant, boasting a Czech Specials certifi cate, off ers a traditional sweet dish in the magnifi cent interior of a stone vaulted room in the heart of Prague – ducat buns with vanilla sauce. Experience Unique fruit the atmosphere of a classic homely inn. Service fruit is a variety of rowan that provides sour- sweet juicy fruit the size of small apples. Dishes and spirits made from this fruit have been a part of the Visit Holašovice in search of buchty Moravian heritage for generations. There is even a Service Tree Museum in Tvarožná Lhota, where What is probably the most beautiful Czech village a regular Service Tree Celebration takes place every (protected by UNESCO) holds a Farmers’ Celebration April; and a Service Fruit Harvest Festival is held every year in July, which includes a contest for the in Travičná in September. best South Bohemian buchty.

17 Healthy traditions are returning

Salad made from tomatoes and onions

The fresh wind of rational and healthy eating blows through the world and has also entered the Czech Republic. And now Czechs and Moravians are surprised to fi nd that they don’t need to invent anything, that everything is already here, all they need to do is leaf through pages of their grandmothers’ recipes, return to honouring the seasons and eat what is ripening and growing and chiefl y – think when buying food.

Vegetable salads Large numbers of farmers’ markets have appeared selling vegetables Czech style grown nearby and even forgotten or seemingly untraditional Classic Czech cuisine is familiar with salads as smaller, ingredients have begun to make a reappearance – lentils, peas, served in bowls and intended as a side dish to the beetroot, asparagus, veal and even snails, preparation of which main course. They are prepared from fresh and also is surprisingly a centuries old tradition in the Czech lands. Czech canned vegetables. The most popular salads are: Cabbage salad with horseradish – frequently with cooks are rediscovering buckwheat, millet, spelt fl our and groats. added onion and apple Sauerkraut salad – with caraway seeds and a little dill, frequently with added apple Lettuce salad – with a simple sweet and sour dressing Mushroom kuba Cucumber salad – made from fresh grated cucumber, again with onion Carrot salad – with apple and lemon juice Tomato and onion salad – with vinegar dressing

18 tip

And so forgotten traditional dishes from the menus of our forebears Experience the Middle Ages have reappeared on Czech tables – for example kuba, fragrant You can return to the traditions of Czech cuisine in medieval times and enjoy them in authentic and crispy mushrooms baked with groats and bacon, buckwheat surroundings with characteristic period service sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, kohlrabi “cabbage”, in one of the medieval taverns. Easter stuffi ng with young nettles or, as if it came from a modern Medieval tavern ANNO DOMINI 1471 Prague book on nutrition, pučálka – germinated peas fried in butter (www.ad-1471.cz) or zelňáky – unbelievably tasty cakes made from fl our, cracklings Medieval tavern Husinec (www.krcma.org) and cabbage and baked on a pan. Desserts have a new addition: Medieval tavern Dětenice (www.krcmadetenice.cz) forgotten potato dumplings with poppy seeds… Prague Food Festival

It appears that the so-called food of the Gastronomic celebrations and festivals poor was not simply conjuring tricks You can investigate the in the kitchen during times of need, variety of Czech cuisine, its but that it followed wise principles traditions and the newest of the natural order in food. trends at many events. Prague Food Festival (www.praguefoodfestival.cz) – attattractiveractive llocationsocao attionss in Prague in late May Fish from Bohemia (www.rybazcech.cz) – in Prague, Brno and Klokočná from July to August Chřestfest – Asparagus Festival (www.chrestfest.cz) – in Prague and Brno in May

Zelňáky

19 20 Where can you find Czech cuisine?

To enjoy everything mentioned above in the highest quality, in authentic settings and with friendly service – you really need good advice and recommendations.

To pretend that you will be delighted on entering any restaurant in the Czech Republic would be improper. The CzechTourism Agency has been establishing the Taste the Czech Republic Czech Specials project for several years. This project will minimise the risk and enable you to make an excellent choice on where to experienceience good quality Czech cuisine. Restaurants, which havee acquired a Czech Specials certifi cate, guarantee quality and professionalism. You can fi nd them in locations attractive to tourists throughout the Czech Republic and they off er perennial national dishes as well as regional specialities. It simply depends what you prefer…

For more comfort of choice, the restaurants are divided into three categories:

CS FAMILY – nutritionally balanced, CS LIGHT – easily digested and CS REGIONAL – typical specialties tasty and visually attractive dishes healthy meals made from fi rst-rate from individual regions and areas made from fi rst-rate Czech Czech ingredients, with salads, fi sh in the Czech Republic, made ingredients. Great attention is paid and vegetables predominating. A visit from regional ingredients. to children here and a wide range of to these restaurants will convince you The gastronomic traditions varied meals in appropriate portions that typical Czech cuisine can comply of our forebears in modern-day with interesting names are off ered. perfectly with the current trends packaging. in healthy nutrition.

21 Czech Specials certified stylish restaurants

UniqueU modern interior NoemNo Arch, Brno – You can taste selected Czech delicacies preparedpr in the spirit of gastronomic trends and with unusual ingenuityin in the unique interior of an ark fl oating on the boundless ocean. You simply have to order the grilled breast of duck with onion sauerkraut, forest fruit and pork crackling souffl é or the larded loin of venison in a wine sauce, served with bread dumplings with buckwheat or medallion of beef sirloin and confi t of veal cheeks, served with mashed celeriac fl avoured with vanilla.

Old-fashioned czech atmosphere Dačický – Old Fashioned Czech Restaurant, Kutná Hora – Enjoy traditional and less familiar Czech specialities in this stylish restaurant, surrounded by wood and the spirit of honest hospitality – try the smoked breast of goose on a bed of pear salad, wild boar goulash with gingerbread dumplings or raspberries aurum foliatum – a dessert garnished with twenty-three carat gold foil. You can also taste specialities from the alchemist’s kitchen…

Authentic surroundings with a trace of history U dělové koule, Jičín – Sitting in this comfortable interior, surrounded by a mini-exhibition of military items, which the local museum assisted in establishing, you will believe you have travelled back in history to the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. You must try the renowned local plum sauce with gingerbread and the Kaldoun duck soup with bread dumplings, leg of rabbit in beer sauce, roast duck, delicate mother’s beef sirloin in cream sauce and pork roll with garlic are also all excellent. Have the yeast dough blueberry dumplings or the homemade for dessert.

You can fi nd more restaurants at www.czechspecials.cz

22 Don’t miss visiting places we mentioned in the previous chapters

1 Praha 12 Loštice 2 Brno 13 Holašovice 3 Blatňovice 14 Hořice 4 Třeboň 15 Štramberk 5 Žatec 16 Karlovy Vary 6 Plzeň 17 Pardubice 7 Mariánské Lázně 18 Travičná, Tvarožná Lhota 8 Mikulov 19 Husinec 9 Znojmo 20 Dětenice 10 Kroměříž 21 Kutná Hora 11 Olomouc 22 Jičín

The offi cial tourist presentation of the Czech Republic www.czechtourism.com www.czechspecials.cz

Published by CzechTourism © Text: Rostislav Křivánek Photos: Vít Mádr, istockphoto.com, SUNDAYPHOTO EUROPE, a.s. Translation: Skřivánek, s.r.o. Design: Cyril & Metoděj, s.r.o. Year: 2012 Czech tourism lazne batuzkari 176x125.indd 1 19.9.2011 16:11:55

Click and fly

Best deals at czechairlines.com