So let’s be honest here: 2020 sucked hard for just about everyone except maybe divorce lawyers and real estate agents who focused on summer houses and cottages in the Czech Republic.
So we thought we’d end the year with something nicer and more positive - you know, it wasn’t all that bad. So we asked some of our friends from the food industry, many of whom were guests of our podcast over the last year, two very simple questions:
What has brought you most joy in 2020?
What are you looking forward to the most in 2021?
We hope you find them inspiring.
Have a fantastic 2021, everyone. Thank you for sticking with us in 2020.
Markéta Pavleje
(aka Kitchenette, food blogger and online business owner)
That we had the opportunity to spend so much time together as a family. More time with the kids. We have realised that we can adapt to change. I think that we have taken a lot from 2020.
I look forward to anything new! I am an optimist: I believe that we will unwrap new challenges that will end up enriching us.
Juliana Fischerová
(aka Maškrtnica, baking guru and blogger, baking consultant)
That my favorite places have and probably will survive. As a mother of two small kids, I basically live off of coffee and takeout food, so the changes haven’t been that dramatic for me anyway (of course I am exaggerating a bit, but in hindsight, I can see that my power duo of kids prevented me from enjoying that short period of time in the summer when indoor dining was an option this year). I am happy that until Eliáš was a tiny baby, he managed to join me for a few work-related things, including a business trip to a bakery in Slovakia.
I am also happy to see the boom of baking - many coffee shops and pubs that used to bake at least a bit have really delved into bread and baking with bigger intensity. Sometimes it’s a bit rough around the edges, but it seems that many want to invest and get better at this.
I look forward to being able to work just a little - probably in a consulting capacity for bistros and bakeries, since large workshops for the public are still untenable. And if the development permits, I can run at least smaller and more personal workshops for „normal people“, hopefully in my own space. And I can’t wait to return to Laboratorio whenever I can. And I look forward to eat lunch indoors - my bet is late spring, early summer: I am not an optimist in that regard, and outdoor dining will have to do until then.
And what I am looking forward to the most is not having to worry about seeing my parents and grandparents in fear - because we’ve seen very little of each other this year.
Karolína Fourová
cookbook author and nutritional specialist
In addition to the great feedback to my book, food has been the source of joy for me in throughout 2020. All those thought-out products in jars for the home from my favorite restaurants and bistros, all those produce boxes from farmers, or your Eating Alone Together idea have been the best help line in 2020. What’s more, I could share all of these things with my man, who’s been at home much more due to the current situation.
I can’t wait until the doors to all those bistros and coffee shops open again, until I can hide away with my laptop over at Alchymista and have their tiramisu, have a long breakfast at Etapa with my girlfriend, or coffee and banana bread at Letec on my way to the office. And I hope we will all begin to travel again. I can’t wait to have a Norwegian boller with raisins.
Lukáš Hejlík
THE food influencer in the country and actor
2020 was an unforgettable year for sure. I was happy I could spend time with my family. I was able to put Vojta to bed maybe 200 times, and I could spend more time with Klára, my daughter. So on one end, you lose three things you like: culture, dining out and travel, but on the other end, you are at home more.
I hope we can come out of this smarter, and more aware that disinformation are not only fraudulent but can be deadly, that we will remember all of this the next time we vote, and that we will approach our work and personal lives with more humility and the knowledge that nothing „everlasting“ lasts forever, for good or bad.
Jackie Tran
Owner at Cafefin, Mazelab coffee, Format Coffee and Botanica Coffee Truck
In my personal life, I was happy to realise that I could stop and take care of my family and spend more time with them, and that I didn’t have to - and had nowhere to - rush. In my work life, I was very happy with the amazing team that stayed with me throughout this whole time, although business is not as usual after we opened three places.
In 2021, I cannot wait to see Emily, my daughter, speak and put little short sentences together. And in February, we’re going to start roasting coffee in Mazelab. Can’t wait to see that, too!
Vojta Václavík
Seeing Klárka, my daughter, confidently stroll on her own through the forest, walking up hills without crying and lying in the grass, calling it her “bed”: I knew everything was going to be okay eventually.
I look forward to reorganise our operations in March: that will, for us, alleviate some of the financial distress we have all been feeling in the food industry. So this is my short-term goal for 2021.
Zuzi
The Boss
What I liked about 2020 was the realisation just how little do you really need in your life. And how little do you need to make ends meet. It sounds like a cliché, but in many ways it is so true.
What I look forward to in 2021 is travelling for sure. And I expect a wave of optimism as we bounce back - we’ve seen too many people devastated by the covid situation in 2020, so I hope to see them all happier in 2021.
Jan
Instagram husband
What I liked about 2020 was the sense of empathy and community I was getting around us, especially as the situation unfolded. People cared more about each other. Also, people were nicer to each other in 2020. This may not sound true, but just remember how off it was when somebody was mean or rude or lacked basic empathy online or in the public discourse. I also realised that eating humble pie may be an enriching experience that can move you forward.
I really miss travelling, so I look forward to that. I also look forward to watch JJ growing and enjoying life. I’ve made humble plans for myself in 2020, but the theme is reconnecting to my roots I think.