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Eating Alone Together in Quarantine, pt III: Big Smokers

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Eating Alone Together in Quarantine, pt III: Big Smokers

Whether you’re social or anti-social, you are probably staying at home. But you can still eat well and in style, right? At least now you can, with our Easting Alone Together series of dinners and special events.

What is “Eating Alone Together”?

Oh, so glad you asked. It’s easy:

  1. We miss the restaurant experience: sharing a nice moment with someone you love, over some great food, in a restaurant you both love.

  2. Food is more than just take-away pizza that you eat in sweatpants while binge-watching The Tiger King. (Guilty as charged here!) It’s easy to forget that after a month in containment.

  3. Prague restaurants are excellent, serve fantastic food, and can stand up to the challenges posed by the quarantine rules.

  4. Local producers are people too, and they need your support now more than ever.

The first two episodes were both resounding successes: Vojta Václavík’s team at Kro Kitchen wowed everybody with tasting of their “coming soon” bakery and the wonderful rotisserie pork, and Paul Day and his team at Sansho delivered some old classics from the Maso a kobliha song book (donuts!!!) with some new TRMS items in a super comforting package. (And a killer playlist by Paul himself.)

These are two pretty big shoes to fill, but we think the next venue will pass the test with flying colors.

Eating alone together in quarantine, pt III: Big Smokers

This time food will be served by the wonderful Big Smokers BBQ joint. We had big expectations when we heard that the people behind the amazing Mr HotDog were planning a BBQ place towards the end of last year, and Big Smokers did not disappoint. They did it again: the food is on pointe and the interiors and the entire brand are both the best in town in their particular class. The only complaint: we always order too ambitiously when we’re there: we never left Big Smokers not stuffed. And we’re afraid Friday will not be different.

One note: we are sorry, but this particular dinner event is not suitable for vegetarians. We promise the next event (in the pipeline as we write this) will be very vegetarian-friendly.


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Eating Alone Together in Quarantine, pt II: Chef Paul Day

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Eating Alone Together in Quarantine, pt II: Chef Paul Day

Whether you’re social or anti-social, you are probably staying at home, and you can still eat well and in style, right?

Joking aside, oh, how we miss the restaurant experience. You know, food is not just about stuffing your face: it is also about sharing a nice moment with someone you love (although you may not be able to stand them anymore after 2+ weeks of self-isolating at home, we get it). To stop for a moment, just talk, have some nice bites and maybe a bit of wine or a drink, and just enjoy the moment.

We know how it is: when restaurants are forced to shut down, it all boils down to the take-away pizza or Pho or whatever. But we thought we could do better than just slurp it quickly while binge-watching the Tiger King on Netflix in your sweatpants. (Nothing wrong with that, though. We love both the Tiger King and sweatpants.)

That is why we teamed up with some of our fave restaurants to create a special take-away meal with style, that would remind you that food in a restaurant used to be a special occasion too. Your time. And that would remind us that there are some great restaurants out there in Prague who can still cook amazing stuff even when they can’t host in the restaurant and can only cook for take-out.

This will hopefully be a short series.

We start with our official “Opening of 2019“, the amazing Kro Kitchen. We called Vojta Václavík, Kro’s executive chef (have you listened to our podcast with him? You should.) on Sunday, and fast-forward to Wednesday, we have it all set up.


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Special Event - Eating Together in Quarantine, pt I: Kro Kitchen

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Special Event - Eating Together in Quarantine, pt I: Kro Kitchen

Whether you’re social or anti-social, you are probably staying at home, and you can still eat well and in style, right?

Joking aside, oh, how we miss the restaurant experience. You know, food is not just about stuffing your face: it is also about sharing a nice moment with someone you love (although you may not be able to stand them anymore after 2+ weeks of self-isolating at home, we get it). To stop for a moment, just talk, have some nice bites and maybe a bit of wine or a drink, and just enjoy the moment.

We know how it is: when restaurants are forced to shut down, it all boils down to the take-away pizza or Pho or whatever. But we thought we could do better than just slurp it quickly while binge-watching the Tiger King on Netflix in your sweatpants. (Nothing wrong with that, though. We love both the Tiger King and sweatpants.)

That is why we teamed up with some of our fave restaurants to create a special take-away meal with style, that would remind you that food in a restaurant used to be a special occasion too. Your time. And that would remind us that there are some great restaurants out there in Prague who can still cook amazing stuff even when they can’t host in the restaurant and can only cook for take-out.

This will hopefully be a short series.

We start with our official “Opening of 2019“, the amazing Kro Kitchen. We called Vojta Václavík, Kro’s executive chef (have you listened to our podcast with him? You should.) on Sunday, and fast-forward to Wednesday, we have it all set up.


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Great Prague restaurants, coffee shops, bars and farmers that serve and deliver food during the coronavirus quarantine

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Great Prague restaurants, coffee shops, bars and farmers that serve and deliver food during the coronavirus quarantine

So you’re in Prague and ordered to self-contain. Listen, we know how you feel. We ALL know how you feel, because we’re all contained too. Anyway, your days of eating well and drinking well don’t have to be over even as restaurants are ordered to shut down and you really can’t go anywhere. Here’s a basic overview of your options during the times of ordered containment in Prague.

Now with a printable cheat sheet of what’s available with phone numbers!

Disclaimer: please check before taking action. Things change not on a daily, but an hourly basis. We had to rewrite this piece several times over the weekend.


Taste of Prague suspends tours amidst the coronavirus outbreak

Taste of Prague suspends tours amidst the coronavirus outbreak

The short version: As much as we would love to fulfill our commitment to our guests who have been so generous to have booked a tour with us, we now have to, given the circumstances well beyond our control, suspend all of our tours starting tomorrow until further notice. If you have booked a tour with us due in the weeks that follow, you will be receiving a message shortly.

For the long version, please continue reading.


Taste of Prague Czech Podcast, Ep 7 - Lukáš Pohl o cukrárně Myšák a české cukrařině

Taste of Prague Czech Podcast, Ep 7 - Lukáš Pohl o cukrárně Myšák a české cukrařině

[Note to all English readers: This podcast and its description are both in Czech. Please look for English episodes of the podcast. Thank you!]

Vítáme Vás u sedmého dílu našeho podcastu v češtině. Tentokrát byl naším hostem Lukáš Pohl, šéfcukrář pražské Cukrárny Myšák. A tématem je Lukáš Pohl a obecně cukrářské umění v Čechách a konktérně v Myšákovi.

Něco vám o Lukášovi Pohlovi prozradíme hned: spolupráce s ním je naprosto fantastická. Lukáš je neuvěřitelně zorganizovaný a spolehlivý. Kdykoli pošleme mail ohledně našich gastronomických prohlídek a potřebujeme něco speciálního, rychle dostaneme jasně sepsanou odpověď s perfektním návrhem řešení, které je efektivní, realizovatelné a bere ohled na všechny zúčastněné. Čirá radost. Lukáš má za sebou už poměrně dlouhou kariéru a dost štací v Praze i v New Yorku a je to dost vidět. I z rozhovoru je jasné, že má nejen bohaté životní zkušenosti, ale i jasný názor a vizi, co dál.

Cukrařina v Čechách nás fascinuje. Odráží totiž podle nás celou českou společnost: snažíme se navazovat na předválečnou, prvorepublikovou tradici, kterou vnímáme výhradně pozitivně, jako něco, co má hodnotu a kvalitu a co bylo devalvováno 40 lety komunismu. U cukrárny k úspěchu u poměrně konzervativních českých zákazníků stačí, aby se držela tradic a dodržovala je „poctivě“. Nikdo od cukráren moc inovací ani kreativity vlastně nevyžaduje ani nečeká.

No a Lukáše se právě ptáme, zda není čas to změnit a posunout se někam dál. Zdá stále musíme jenom dokazovat, že naše (cukrářská) tradice má význam a hodnotu, ale nemůžeme se o ni opřít k nějaké inovaci. Bavíme se o tom, jak konzervativní český zákazník je a co od zákusků a cukráren očekává. No a určitě se bavíme o práci i společenské prestiži cukráře.

Přejeme příjemný poslech!


Taste of Prague Czech Podcast, Ep 6 - Jan Čulík o provozování táborského Thiru

Taste of Prague Czech Podcast, Ep 6 - Jan Čulík o provozování táborského Thiru

[Note to all English readers: This podcast and its description are both in Czech. Please look for English episodes of the podcast. Thank you!]

Vítáme Vás u šestého dílu našeho podcastu v češtině. Tentokrát byl naším hostem Jan Čulík, majitel a provozovatel táborského vinného baru a restaurace Thir a pivnice Výčep.

Pokud sledujete českou gastroscénu již nějakou dobu, Honza Čulík pro vás určitě nebude žádnou neznámou. Majitel a duchovní lídr vinného baru Thir v Táboře a jeden ze členů Družstva, které pořádá pop-up akce na zajímavých místech s ještě zajímavějšími naturálními víny, je známý nejen v Táboře, kde se narodil a kde již nějakou dobu znovu působí, ale i v Praze díky své práci s naturálními víny v karlínském Veltlínu (tenkrát jsme na něj měli zálusk jako na případného kolegu do Taste of Prague, než nám řekl o svém plánu vrátit se do Tábora) a poté v již zmíněném Družstvu. V neposlední řadě je organizátorem táborského food festivalu Naše chutě, který představuje táborskou gastronomii a jehož šestý ročník proběhl tak, aby za sebou zanechal minimální množství odpadu.

S Honzou jsme se potkali v jeho vinném baru Thir, který sází na naturální vína ze střední Evropy a na vaření ze surovin získaných zejména z Tábora a z jeho nejbližšího okolí. Tam už na nás čekal Honza, lahev vína, talíř huspeniny a další pochutiny. A to byl teprve začátek opravdu skvělého dne. Ne, opravdu, pokud jste za Honzou v Táboře ještě nebyli, měli byste to okamžitě napravit. Vlak z Prahy je v Táboře za hodinu a patnáct minut a výlet opravdu stojí za to. Tábor má neopakovatelnou atmosféru a pro zhýčkaného foodie z velkoměsta překvapivě vyspělou gastro scénu. A Honza je jejím největším ambasadorem.

Nesnášíme rozhovory, kdy Pražáci přijedou na „maloměsto“ a soucitně se ptají, jaký je to boj, provozovat v podstatě velkoměstský koncept v prostředí „vesnice“. Co je právě skvělé na Honzovi i jeho Thirovi a Výčepu je to, že nevytvořil „ostrov“, který čeká jen na hosty z Prahy nebo jinde ze světa, aby se pak nechal oslavovat jako hrdina, který přes nesnáze a nepochopení místních tvrdohlavě provozuje něco, co by se uživilo jenom na velkoměstě.

Naopak, Honza se snaží vytvořit koncept, který je sice inspirován děním jinde ve světě, ale je pevně zakotven v Táboře a okolí a který propojuje místní producenty s místními spotřebiteli a který místním milovníkům vína vychází v mnoha ohledech vstříc. A zároveň láká hosty odjinud, ale opět je neizoluje od Tábora, ale naopak je s Táborem propojuje. A propojování a snaha utvářet místní dění a být jeho součástí je vidět i v jeho činnosti na místní politické scéně, o které se v podcastu bavíme též.

No nic, pokud si chcete poslechnout, jaké to je provozovat v podstatě velkoměstský koncept v prostředí „vesnice“, určitě si tento podcast poslechněte. Sakra.


Prague off the beaten path: Vinohrady district

Prague off the beaten path: Vinohrady district

The Vinohrady district is a place of many appeals. Originally a place for vineyards (which is what “Vinohrady” means, anyway), Vinohrady witnessed a population boom in the late 19th and early 20th century, becoming the fourth biggest town in the Czech Republic alone before it became a part of Prague in 1922. It is a district of affluence and beauty, with Art Deco houses and lush trees and beautiful parks overlooking either the centre or other parts of the city. It is also very popular among expats and young professional: it is very near the centre, but not directly in it, and it has nearly everything you’d want for a comfortable life. If you live in Vinohrady, there would be very few motives to move out of it.

And it is also a great place for other things: Vinohrady has probably the highest concentration of specialty coffee places in Prague: it actually boasts more good cafes than the central district. It is also a great place for Vietnamese, Mexican or Italian food, with some fancy fast food thrown into the mix. And the Jirak farmers’ markets can be a reason alone to move in. What to see, where to eat and what to drink? Here’s our Vinohrady neighborhood guide.


Taste of Prague Czech Podcast, Ep 5 - Katka Jakusová o stáži v kodaňské Nomě

Taste of Prague Czech Podcast, Ep 5 - Katka Jakusová o stáži v kodaňské Nomě

Vítáme Vás u čtvrtého dílu našeho podcastu v češtině. Tentokrát byl naším hostem Katka Jakusová, zástupkyně šéfkuchaře v karlínské Esce.

Pokud si někdy zajdete na jídlo nebo na kávu do Esky, zastavte se chvilku u dveří a podívejte se do otevřené kuchyně. Trkne vás něco? Ne? Třeba věkový průměr kuchařů a kuchařek v kuchyni? Podle nás v Praze není kuchyně oceněná Michelinským průvodcem, kde by měli mladší kuchyni. A pokud u stolu, kde se jídla kompletují a vydávají, uvidíte kuchařku v brýlých a s tetováním na rukou, vězte, že je to zástupkyně šéfkuchaře a že se jmenuje Katka Jakusová.

No a právě s Katkou jsme se potkali nad dnešním dílem našeho českého podcastu z jednoho hlavního důvodu: byla na tříměsíční stáži v kodaňské restauraci Noma. (Pokud jsme posledních pár let nesledovali dění ve světové gastronomii nebo žili někde v jeskyni bez připojení k internetu, pak byste asi měli vědět, že Noma je slavná restaurace pod vedením šéfkuchaře René Redzepiho, která je podle téměř všech existujících žebříčků jednou z nejlepších restaurací na světě.)

My jsme shodou v okolností v Nomě během Katčiny stáže jedli a už tenkrát nám říkala, že stáž v Nomě je pro ni jedinečným zážitkem. Vyplatilo se to ale? Doporučila by stáž v Nomě jiným kuchařům nebo dokonce nekuchařům? Jak stresující práce v Nomě je? A jak se tam vůbec dostala a jak dlouho to trvalo vyřídit? A zvládla by Noma večerní servis, kdyby všichni stážisti šli ráno do stávky? Na to všechno jsme se Katky zeptali, stejně jako na její dojmy z Kodaně a na práci v mladém kolektivu v Esce.

Přejeme příjemný poslech!


Taste of Prague Podcast, Ep 11 - Gwilym Davies, coffee judge and barista trainer

Taste of Prague Podcast, Ep 11 - Gwilym Davies, coffee judge and barista trainer

We have written before about how good the Prague coffee scene is. There’s a few reasons why, but we did mention one specific contributing factor: the power duo of Petra Vesela and her UK-born husband, Gwilym Davies, who happens to be the 2009 World Barista Champion.

They may have met under some interesting circumstances: we will just mention a death threat during a coffee competition, judges locked in the judges room… and a bottle of whiskey in the very same room, a leftover from an Irish coffee preparation before. For the rest of the story, you will just have to listen to the podcast. Anyway, Gwilym came over to see Petra in Jílové, a village near Prague, and the rest is history.

Gwilym is an incredibly interesting guest to interview because…

  • He is in a unique position to compare Prague and London coffee scenes (which we do a lot of in the podcast), since he owns a stake in Prufrock coffee in London but lives in Prague

  • He was one of the pioneers of the Third Wave Coffee revolution, having learnt the craft in New Zealand and brining it to Europe. He was right there with James Hoffmann and Scott Rao, the people who have helped define what a specialty coffee operation looks like.

  • He and Petra own a barista training centre that will train anybody from the general public to baristas who are about to compete in the World Barista Championships. You always see Gwilym and Petra in a Prague coffee shop with a barista from Korea, Japan or Australia who flew over just to have their presentation fine tuned by Gwilym and Petra, who are both certified judges for high-profile barista championships and events.

  • He is now also a roaster under The Naughty Dog label, taking on a different role in his never-ending quest and thirst for knowledge.

As a result, Gwilym has helped cultivate and improve the coffee scene in Prague through his trainings and sheer presence, and has been a connecting link between Prague’s coffee culture and the rest of the coffee world. But as you will hear in the podcast, he has learnt a thing or two from Czech baristas, and brought some of that knowledge with him back to London and Prufrock Coffee.

Finally, Gwilym is a super nice guy that is just a pleasure to talk to. We sat for about 40 minutes in Kafe Pragovka during the Czech Barista Championships, and despite the noise in the coffee shop and at the event (sorry about that!), we had an absolute blast talking to Gwilym.

This is some of the things we discussed with Gwilym during the interview:

  • What does he like about the Prague coffee scene.

  • How does it compare to the London coffee scene.

  • Does he feel a part of the Prague coffee scene, or London coffee scene? In terms of the clientele, the drinks, the quality of coffee, or the living standards of baristas?

  • Is there anything specific about the Prague coffee scene?

  • How long will he continue to judge barista competitions? Has he ever faced any threats as a judge?

  • When was the last time he saw a presentation as a judge that was, well… different or surprising in any way?

  • Does he ever plan to open a coffee shop in Prague or the Czech Republic?

  • What does he miss from the UK?

  • What are the things he would miss from the Czech Republic if he were to move back to the UK?

There you have it. Hope it Enjoy the podcast!


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