PRAGUE FOOD FESTIVAL 2011

“Taste the World!”

Date: 27-29 May 2011
Time: 12 pm-10 pm, till 9 pm on Sunday

Place: Prague Castle – Royal Garden, Ball Game Hall

Tickets:

Admission costs 400 CZK (this includes an entry fee of 150 CZK and a 250 CZK pack of 10 Grands for basic tasting). The Grand is the festival’s official currency. One Grand is worth 25 CZK, and you will need this “tender” for purchasing festival specialities and drinks. You will receive Grands with a purchased ticket at the festival venue. It is possible to buy more Grands at any time during the festival in packs of 10 (250 CZK) at Grand banks or vendors. It is not possible to change any leftover Grands back into money. Do not forget to get tickets in good time. Otherwise, because of the massive amount of interest in the festival, there is no guarantee that you will gain admission. Only tickets bought in advance will ensure access to the festival!

Wheelchair access. Free entry for children up to 6 years of age. The price of a ticket includes free admission to the unique “Porcelain and Prague Castle” exhibition. It also ensures free entry to the Cooking Shows, the Bartending School, Beer and Food Pairing, and Wine Tasting.  

The Prague Food Festival is a three-day festival dedicated to food, which is now already a tradition in the Czech Republic. In the open air, chefs and sommeliers, as well as food and drink producers will charm you with their wares. Visitors can taste local and exotic culinary specialities from the most interesting restaurants included in the food guide called Maurer's Selection Grand Restaurant. This year’s Prague Food Festival will run from 27 to 29 May 2011 at Prague Castle in the grounds of the Royal Garden, the Ball Game Hall and the Royal Summer Palace. Come and savour an unusual view of Prague, the castle area and the Stag Moat.

At this year’s festival, you can sample Czech, French, Belgian, Italian, international, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese cuisine. The motto of the festival is “Taste the World!” The event is being held under the auspices of the Czech First Lady Livia Klausová and the mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda. Pilsner Urquell is the festival’s general partner.

There will also be no shortage of cooking shows given by executive chefs. This year, these events will be held in the historical Ball Game Hall from Friday to Sunday throughout the day. For example, you can look forward to shows by Jiří Štift, Steven Trumpfheller and Zdeněk Pohlreich. This year, we have a new cooking show called “Cooking with the Stars”, where well known personalities will cook in front on an audience, who will then pick the best dish. The stars taking part include Jitka Schneiderová and David Novotný, Jana Krausová and Jiří Menzel, and Martha Issová and Dalibor Balšínek.

On Saturday, 28 May, a special gastronomic discussion entitled “What Do You Most Frequently Want to Know about Gastronomy?” will take place on the main stage of the Ball Game Hall with the public radio station Radiožurnál. Moderator: Honza Pokorný. Guests: the publisher of the Grand Restaurant guide Pavel Maurer, the author of “A Daughter’s Cookbook” (Kuchařka pro dceru) Jana Florentýna Zatloukalová, the executive chef Robert Nerad, and the head of Radiožurnál’s foreign section Jiří Hošek.

Come and visit a new PFF event this year called Beer and Food Pairing. The entire portfolio of the Plzeňský Prazdroj company will be available for tasting, with the Pilsner Urquell and Master brands to the fore. Nonetheless, there will also be some categories of beers that are not yet widely available on the Czech market.  Plzeňský Prazdroj’s senior trade brewer Václav Berka will recommend several combinations of dishes designed by leading Czech chefs for individual beer brands. On top of this, you can also expect a small surprise.

A true proverb says that brewmaster brews beer and landlord creates it. And this is what you  will not only see but also try on Prague Food Festival with your own hands under supervision of the the best bartenders from international competition Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender. They will introduce you various styles of beer drawing and explain you advantages of each tapping metod.

Bartending School! Guests will be able to try out mixing drinks in the company of expert bartenders. A presentation of Stock Prestige Vodka will be held. Other products will also be presented in connection with this along with special instructive degustations under the direction of experienced specialists. There will be a Bartending Show on Friday in the main auditorium of the Ball Game Hall directed by Roman Uhlíř from the Cloud 9 bar. Saturday’s show will involve a new project that is being conducted under the baton of Pavel Maurer – Maurer's Selection Grand Bar. Those who wish to participate as reviewers in a nationwide evaluative survey to find the best and most interesting bars in the Czech Republic can register for this project at the PFF:   

This year, for the first time, we will have special instructive wine degustations as well as a sommelier mini-course every day. There will be tastings of Czech wines (Spielberg, Veltlin.cz – Moravian winemakers from the Autentisté association) and foreign wines –Champagne Taittinger (French Champagne region), Maison Louis Jadot (French Burgundy region), Zenato (Italian Veneto region), Cono Sur (Chile) and Trivento (Argentina).

Once again Extenda, the Trade Promotion Agency of Andalusia, will be involved with the festival. Besides a festival menu that will offer a combination of select Andalusian delicacies prepared using the most modern cooking methods, visitors will also be able to sample sherries served at the source, i.e. from the hands of a master Venenciador, who will not only show visitors the fascinating method of serving sherry from a height, but will also reveal the secrets of combining this unique wine with fine, cured jamón ibérico ham. Naturally, there will be no shortage of flamenco either!  

Non-traditional ice creams from Café Angelato! Besides creamy ice creams and fruit sorbets, ice cream made from gorgonzola and walnuts will also be offered in addition to ricotta with candied fruit as well as beer and wine ice creams.

There will also be a stand for The Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants/CzechTourism at the festival grounds. This will present dishes from the CzechSpecials project. 

Another event you can look forward to consists of an interesting show where human chefs will be assisted by the robotic Chef-Kenwood Cooking Chef.

A new addition to the festival: This year, the PFF will be focusing on a healthy lifestyle

At the Spar Fresh Bar stand, you will be able to sample fresh fruit juices as well as special fruit and vegetable fondues with selections of dips comprising tastes and flavours from all over the world. If you feel you might have overindulged at the festival, visit the sites marked Zdravě s Intersparem (“Healthily with Interspar”), where you will be able to get your blood pressure and fat levels measured.

At the “American Cranberries” (Americké brusinky)stand, you can enjoy the distinctive taste of this fruit as well as its beneficial health effects! Get ready for a whole range of dishes made from these little red berries.

Children’s Corner – this facility will look after your children aged 3 to 10 years every day from 12 pm to 8 pm. Your kids will get to make an original royal crown as well as an accompanying necklace made from popcorn and pasta. They can also paint their favourite foods on paper plates. For older children, there will be a special gastro-quiz and a crossword on the theme “Taste the World!” There will also be gifts from Mattoni and Interspar.

You can look forward to sampling the wares of the following restaurants:

AROMI A LA FINESTRA • BISTRO FLORENTÝNA • BUDDHA-BAR • CHAGALL'S • CHATEAU MCELY, PIANO NOBILE • CORINTHIA TOWERS, RICKSHAW • FRANCOUZSKÁ REST. ART NOUVEAU • HORIZONT, PEC POD SNĚŽKOU • HUANG HE • KAMPA GROUP RESTAURANTS • KOBE • KULAŤÁK • LE GRILL & GARDEN @ KEMPINSKI • LES MOULES A LA GARE • LOKÁL • LVÍ DVŮR • MANDARIN ORIENTAL, ESSENSIA • MARRIOTT • MLÝNEC • MOZAIKA A MOZAIKA KRYSTAL • PHENIX • RADISSON BLU, ALCRON A LA ROTONDE • THE AUGUSTINE, MONASTERY • THE SUSHI BAR • U EMY DESTINNOVÉ • V ZÁTIŠÍ • YASMIN, NOODLES •

Beverages:Pilsner Urquell, Master, Mattoni (non-alcoholic), Stock Prestige Vodka, the Bacchus supplier of foreign wines, DeLonghi Coffee, the Spielberg winery, and authentic biodynamic wines from the Veltlín.cz group.

 

An example of what the festival has to offer:

U Emy Destinnové – Fillet of venison served with potato purée, sautéed garlic and thyme, and a demi-glace made from Amarone wine and cherries

Phenix – Small yeast buns filled with curd cheese and vanilla sabayon

Mandarin Oriental– Flank of pork in black curry, lentil sald and basmatic rice

Art Nouveau French restaurant – French-style snails stewed in red wine

Horizont, Pec pod Sněžkou – “Krkonošské kyselo” (traditional soup from the Krkonošše Mountains made with potatoes and sour milk)

Buddha-Bar – Sushi rolls

Mozaika– Cheesecake made from goat’s cheese with vanilla and fine cream topping

Venue:Prague Castle – Royal Garden, Ball Game Hall

Website:a list of restaurants, beverages, delicacies and a detailed description of the accompanying programme, including the timetable for cooking shows, can be found at:

www.praguefoodfestival.cz