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July 7th, 2008
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High-pressure cooking

Students take over the British Embassy and other dispatches

By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
April 23rd, 2008 issue

VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
Chefs in the making: David Muncey and other Fylde College students at work.
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Let’s say you’re Britain’s ambassador to the Czech Republic. Almost every day you host important people by the dozen, sometimes by the hundreds. And all of them expect a little something to eat.
Of course, the larger embassies employ a permanent chef and hire professional catering staff to handle the constant parade of guests. But last week, Ambassador Linda Duffield invited 20 dignitaries — well, 19 dignitaries and one hack — for lunch, then sent her chef home.
In his place, she fielded a team of second- and third-year cooking-school students from Fylde College in Blackpool and Prague’s own Hotelová škola.
Political suicide, right?
Turns out the schools have a longstanding relationship. Every year, a select group from each institution spends some time working together in both locations (more of a treat for the Brits, one would imagine). Students involved in the program pick up on new techniques and cultural idiosyncrasies.
“The food, the kitchen, how they work, how we work is very different,” says Georgina Smith, one of the Fylde contingent. “It’s fascinating.”
But differences may be a matter of vantage point. “Czech students are a little more relaxed,” observed Blackpool instructor Carol Arbuckle as the team went through the task of preparing the mise-en-place for the meal. But watching her English counterparts step things up half an hour before service began, Tereza Pokorná of the Vršovice program opined, “The Brits are more relaxed — and they have everything in order.”
Fascinating, indeed.
In the past, the group wrapped up visits by preparing dinner at a hotel for a few invitees. But two years ago, Duffield found out about this exchange and asked the students to take over the embassy’s kitchen for an afternoon.
“I always try to scoop these things up,” she explains. “It’s what the residence is for — reaching out.”
In this case, “reaching out” means subjecting wannabe chefs to a little real-world pressure. Even the most casual embassy affair requires precision and an extra dose of poise from staff members, after all. And the historic building contains ordeals of its own. With no warming trays, for instance, and only a single dumbwaiter connecting kitchen and servers, cooks must ensure vegetables, meat and other elements for 20 plates finish cooking in rapid succession.
To make things more interesting, the two young Czech cooks, Pokorná and Michaela Braná, had not seen the menu — which included Lancaster black pudding — beforehand. The embassy’s stainless-steel kitchen also threw them off, if only for a moment.
“This is more modern than our school,” Pokorná says. “But the work is the same.”
It’s a confident note, considering the political stakes. Few national cuisines draw as much derision — rightly or wrongly — as those of Britain and the Czech Republic. Anyone prone to sarcasm might point out the dangers of joining novice cooks from the two countries for an embassy feast.
But perhaps the budding chef’s impudence is warranted. The meal started with the black pudding, pan-fried and topped by perfectly seared scallops. The rich, meaty sausage was tempered by a sweet mustard cream sauce — an intriguing whole.
For the main course, the students prepared guinea fowl, stuffed with prunes and wrapped in bacon. Not a very creative presentation, yet the meat turned out wonderfully tender. Bacon balanced the earthy sweetness of the filling with a mellow, fatty essence. The students dared to cook risotto on the side, a tricky thing for many experienced chefs. But these kids managed to hit al dente almost spot on. And the dessert, vanilla panna cotta, lured you in with its subtle scent.
OK, so the mustard sauce tilted a bit to the sweet side, and arranging steamed vegetables atop the risotto just forced guests to flick them off. All in all, however, the students from Fylde College and Hotelová škola served a better meal than many, if not most, of Prague’s restaurants.
“They were left to manage on their own,” says Blackpool’s director Peter Walwyn. “I’m pleased they have the maturity to do the things they’ve done.”
British students David Muncey, Maxine O’Grady and Michelle Holmes teamed in the kitchen with their two Czech colleagues. Service duties fell to Smith, Adam Kirby, Anthony Howard and Lance Gardner from Blackpool, alongside Klára Picková, Karolína Peterková and Veronika Jedličková from the Prague school.
Back to the garden
You have to dodge Radio Free Europe barricades or navigate the treacherous space between the railroad and Wilsonova to reach it. Still, Zahrada v Opeře manages to draw customers — and new chefs. The hidden restaurant acquired Martial Clement of Hotel Hoffmeister fame. They also have sushi master Tadayoshi Ebiny for a limited stint, giving the place a French-Japanese flavor.
The cocktail bar-night club-restaurant Papas in Old Town now serves breakfast — but only Monday through Friday, leaving those in desperate need of some hangover prevention on weekends in the lurch.
Final (slurred) words
Some Martial Clement back story: The guy began his career as a cook in Versailles. He worked his way through Michelin star establishments in Germany, England and France before winding up here. Pretty ho-hum, so far — until you dig into his illustrious military career. Seems the wandering chef spent his time in uniform cooking for French naval officers stationed in that deadly meat grinder, that widow-making war zone, that hell on earth capable of turning the stoutest Green Beret into a quivering child. That’s right, Tahiti.

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


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