The Prague Post
July 7th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Book of Lists ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Hotel Prague Centre

Home » Archives » Night & Day

June swoon

New date for the Food Fest, plus some lesser occasions

By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
May 14th, 2008 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Last year's festival proved very popular, despite bouts of cloudy weather.
enlarge
Last year’s Prague Food Festival was an unqualified success, except perhaps for a couple bouts with inclement weather. So this time around, Pavel Maurer bumped up the date.
It should be nice and warm — and hopefully dry — when the gates open on Žofín Island June 20 for the second annual weekend celebration of all things food and drink. Otherwise, the event should progress much as it did in 2007, when 8,000 people elbowed up to booths to sample some of the city’s best cooking.
Restaurants involved in the first-ever food fest all renewed. And a few additions should make for a crowded field. More than 30 top venues plan to participate in the 2008 extravaganza, with at least 12 featured each day. These include Michelin star-winner Allegro and Gordon Ramsay’s Maze, along with several of the Ambiente locations, Aromi, Bellevue, Essensia, Sushi Bar, Sara Bernhardt, Lví Dvůr and Alcron. The prestigious lineup means guests will meander around the island while picking at plates of grilled lobster, red prawn curry, mango creme brulée and the like.
Other diversions range from cooking shows to wine tastings. There’s also a children’s program. Oh — and plenty of beer.
We will provide more detailed information closer to festival time. For now, save the date and stash away a few crowns. Admission for the event is 350 Kč ($21.61), with 250 Kč of that returned in the form of food vouchers.
For more, check
www.praguefoodfestival.com
Throwing spears
It’s that time of the year. Terasa in U Zlaté Studně is celebrating asparagus season with both white and green varieties. Throughout the month of May, the delicate spears will appear in every course on its special menu, including dessert — asparagus sorbet with vodka jelly, perfect for the kids. Call 257 533 322 for reservations or more information.
Meanwhile, chef Andrea Accordi at Allegro is working with white asparagus trucked in daily from a farm in Pardubice. Beginning May 15, he matches the pale vegetable with such high-toned ingredients as Cinta ham, Tropea red onions, morel mushrooms and buffalo ricotta — as one would expect, given his starry credentials. Be on the lookout for some creative twists as well, such as smoked risotto with white asparagus and nettle served alongside Parmesan cheese ice cream. Further details at 221 426 800.
At La Rontonde in the Radisson, new chef Roman Paulus welcomes the season by pairing asparagus with morel mushrooms. Find out more about his creations at 222 820 410.
Café Bistro in the Hilton Prague changes things a bit, focusing its attention on artichokes and Italian wines. The menu runs May 15–25 and includes a range of carpaccio: beef, veal, tuna ... even fruit slices. More information at 224 842 700.
On safari
Besides fresh asparagus, Allegro’s chef found a source for antelope. That’s right, free-range Moravian antelope tracked by wily big-game hunters from the untamed savannah outside Nový Jičín ... OK, the Czech Agricultural University in Prague hooked him up.
Full swoon
May is the month of love. So La Provence honors the next few weeks with a special menu featuring lots of seafood and wine, as well as limo service for couples making reservations, as part of its “Romantic Month” deal. Find out more at 224 816 602.
On the other hand, you could just opt for the restaurant’s new business lunch buffet — much cheaper at 245 Kč per plate, but sans the cushy ride.
Friday night at Auberge de Provence in Tuchomeřice, guitarist Jean Deschacht plays everything The Shadows made famous — presumably “Apache” and “Kon Tiki” over and over again, although it’s possible the band recorded a few other instrumentals in between.
Final (slurred) words
Killing time by bar-hopping through Heathrow’s infamous Terminal 5, I ran across Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food restaurant (clever, no?), home of the $20 martini. When servers learned I was headed back to Prague, an interesting thing occurred. One after another, they stopped by to ask about Maze — if I’d been there, what I thought, how it was received by others, that sort of thing. Jason Atherton is an inventive chef, one assured me, forgetting that Philip Carmichael does all the heavy lifting at Ramsay’s New Town establishment. A pleasant way to pass the time, but it seemed odd that ordinary London wait staff would care so persistently about a branch operation in Central Europe.

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (14/05/2008):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Book of Lists

Provokator
Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.