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Story by Barbara Penny Angelakis
Photo courtesy of CzechTourism
Czech Republic Food Festival
It seems that nowadays every country’s traditional mother-to-child handed down recipes have been elevated into gourmet cuisine and the Czech Republic is not only getting on the epicurean carousel but is in fact grabbing for the gold ring of culinary delights.
In the past, Czech cuisine was thought of as being high in calories and low in finesse but things have definitely changed as we discovered during a Chefs’ Table lunch we attended at the United Nations Delegates Dining Room in June. The Czech Republic is justifiably proud of its improved culinary image and showed off their new approach to cuisine during a Czech Gourmet Festival held at the United Nations. Award winning chefs from the National Team of the Czech Chefs Association were flown to New York to prepare traditional Czech dishes… but with an attitude.
Chef Jan Horký, from the Golden Prague Restaurant in the Hotel InterContinental led the team that consisted of Chef Martin Svatek of the Hotel Dvořák from the town of Tabor; Chef Adéla Pitrová from the SAS Radisson Alcron Hotel in Prague; and Chef Lukáš Skála from The Hotel InterContinental, also in Prague. Each of the chefs were responsible for one course and just like they do on TV after the dish is served, came to the table to chronicle the dishes development and answer any questions the diners might have. The table was beautifully laid out and a side table displayed the wines and digestifs that would accompany the dishes and finish this culinary tour de force.
The duck appetizer was Chef Horký’s contribution to the lunch. He took the popular simple Bohemian poultry and with creative flair turned it into an elegant smoked duck breast terrine in aspic, served with nuts puree in baked chou pastry drizzled with honey. Beautiful to look at – reminiscent of a napoleon, only layered with duck instead of cream – and wonderful to eat. Served with it was a Frankovka St. Laurent wine produced in Southern Moravia. It was a bit shy on the nose but with a bold taste and high acidity that paired well with the duck breast.
Next came the green asparagus risotto with parmesan crisp presented by Chef Pitrová. In Chef Pitrová’s hands the simple risotto was a work of art, creamy and full of flavor. The one drawback was that it was so rich that even the small plate we were served was too much to finish and too good to leave. I could feel the pounds growing on my hips with each bite. The Muller Thurgau wine from the southern Moravian region is heralded for its muscadel-peach aroma and intense fruit taste with low acidity, but I found it out of balance with the rich risotto.
The meat course that was Chef Svatek’s pride and joy was a regional dish that his Grandmother taught him; but believe me Grandma’s pork belly recipe never looked like this. The pork belly was square cut like the popular short ribs so many acclaimed chefs are currently featuring in their winter menus. It was accompanied by garlic confit, spinach, and cabbage custard. While pork is one of the national favorites in the Czech Republic and a meat that I normally like in its many different guises, this version was cut to be on the fatty side and even though the presentation was striking, I found it difficult to get to the meat without also getting a mouthful of fat, and finally abandoned the effort. The Pinot Blanc (Rulandské bile) was nicely crisp and fruity. Known for its neutral quality it had a slight almond taste and nose, but again there was not enough acidity to be well suited to the fatty pork meat.
The dessert fell to Chef Skála and he choose a traditional recipe plated with design elements that definitely had not seen the inside of a traditional Bohemian kitchen. Fried doughnuts with apple sabayon foam and apple jelly accompanied by chocolate ice cream was the specialty that was paired with the well-known herb liqueur Becherovka from the historic spa town of Karlsbad.
If you missed this years week-long Czech Republic Gourmet Festival at the United Nations do try to watch for it next year. The event was open to the public for a modest fee and offered a tempting feast of traditional and more exotic gastronomic surprises.
© July 2009 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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