From a small café to the grill at Prague's Čestr: Petr Vrtal on the new generation of chefs and the quiet work of a Michelin restaurant
Where Czech meat comes first
First experiences in the kitchen and Čestr
Petr, what were your beginnings like? Did you enjoy being in the kitchen as a young boy?
I used to cook quite a lot with my mum when I was a kid. On maternity leave, she used to make extra money by baking cakes to order, so we spent a lot of time in the kitchen together. But my first gastro job came when I got kicked out of high school and had to find a job to pay the rent. I joined a café and started cooking right away. Within two years, catering and weddings came along and I got more of a taste for the gastro scene.
When exactly did you decide this was the path you wanted to take?
After about a year at the café, I realised I wanted to do cooking full time and I got serious about it. I started a distance learning apprenticeship and I finished it a year ago. But I can't say it gave me anything more than the paper.
Did you have a mentor in the café that you learned from?
No mentor. There were a lot of young staff and they gave me a lot of space. I did all the thinking, but I also did a lot of the cooking. (laughs) I didn't know much then and I had to figure out a lot of things on my own.
When was the turning point that you moved from the coffee shop to a really pro operation? Do you remember your first week at Čestr?
In September 2024, I finished a week's work experience at La Degustation and that's where I definitely realised I wanted to move into a truly professional kitchen. I sent my resume out to a couple of companies at Ambiente and I just heard back from Čestr. I didn't have the confidence to go straight to La Degustation, I wanted to start a little more sensibly and not jump straight into Michelin. (laughs) And since I wanted to work with meat, Čestr was the most attractive option for me, and it was a good fit. I've been here for about a year and a quarter as a chef.
How was the apprenticeship? The transition must have been a big leap.
I started out in the cold kitchen and then I worked my way up through all the positions. I was very pleasantly surprised by the team because I was expecting a much tougher atmosphere. I immediately liked the sauna (ed. note: it is used for long roasting of meat), our own cutting room and our butchers.
Čestr processes specific cuts of beef from local breeders. Attention is also paid to what the animals are fed. Were you interested in this background before?
No, I became interested in it once I got here. I had limited options at the café. I didn't discover that you could choose your suppliers or think about the raw material like that until I came to Čestr. It's great to think about it again from a completely different angle.
An internship at Berlin's Horváth
You recently returned from a month-long internship with Sebastian Frank at Berlin's Michelin restaurant Horváth. It focuses a lot on vegetables. What makes a chef from Čestr choose such a place?
In the autumn, I came to our chef Pavel Brichzin with the idea that I'd like to look abroad. He was very accommodating and we agreed that I would try Austria or Germany, as I didn't want to go anywhere too far away. From a couple of restaurants that I liked, we chose Horváthbecause Paul and I agreed it would be nice to focus more on vegetables at Čestr too.
What did you pack for Berlin and how did you prepare?
Knives, shoes and trousers. (laughs) That was all of the work equipment, the rest was waiting for me on the spot. And the preparation? I tried to learn German on Duolingo. But in the end I didn't do it at all, fortunately everyone spoke English.
If you compare the first and last day in Horváth, what did the internship give you? Did it change your view of vegetables?
Fundamentally. Nowadays, it seems perfectly normal to me to think of vegetables as a main course, but also as part of a dessert, which I wouldn't have thought of before. And it's also given me an extreme attention to detail. Even for the most trivial tasks, like cutting shallots or making mashed potatoes. Now I just want to do everything the best I can - taste-wise and visually. I want to think about food holistically and give every ingredient the utmost care.
Is there anything that surprised you at a two-star restaurant?
The discipline and the silence. Extreme silence, both during preparation and service. The whole kitchen is absolutely silent. Small talk or jokes, which are the order of the day here, were non-existent. The social life of the team only began when the guests closed the door behind them. Then we went out for a beer. Everyone was very nice, I took away a lot of contacts.
On burnt steaks and plans for the future.
What do you think makes a really good chef? Is it technique, or is it what's in your head?
For me, it's the art of working in a team. You can't be a solo player, that's never gonna work in the kitchen. And you also can't take anything personally. You have to learn from mistakes, not repeat them, but at the same time not get stuck on criticism. Otherwise, it's great to follow better chefs on social media - it's one of the few things I enjoy about it, and it really motivates me.
Can you think of a big mistake you've made?
I went to Čestr mainly because I wanted to learn how to grill steaks. But getting started on the grill was hard. Making steaks for ten people is simply different from making them for 200 people in a restaurant. I messed up a lot of steaks in the beginning, a lot were sent back to the kitchen, which is probably the worst feeling for a chef. But in the end, it always gets fixed, and I got a lot out of it. Nowadays I enjoy grilling the most, it's my passion.
And what's your favourite cut?
Definitely beef shoulder, that's my favourite.
Do you feel that the approach to the craft is changing with your generation?
Cooking is becoming cool again for young people. It's great that I get to meet a lot of young and passionate people.
Do you have any role models?
I have a lot of role models, but my biggest idol is Thomas Keller from The French Laundry. And lately I've been really into E. J. Lagasse, a 22-year-old kid who runs a two-star restaurant in New Orleans called Emeril's.
What about your plans?
I'm looking to improve my skills in the preparation of fish and I plan on learning at the fishmonger's that we work with here at Čestr. And in the future I would like to educate myself in food creation and pairing - whether it's flavour or texture combinations.
Quick ping-pong
- The best food you've ever eaten: Grandma's Szegedin goulash.
- A raw ingredient you'll never get tired of: Tomatoes.
- What plays in your ears (not only) when you cook: The Offspring in the kitchen, German rapper Pashanim in my spare time.
- Your guilty pleasure: Definitely burgers - McDonalds is a very guilty one. Otherwise FatFuck Smash Burgers or Burger Service.
- If you weren't a chef, you'd be: A tattoo artist. I did that for about four years before I started cooking.
- A typical weekday menu: Oatmeal and fruit in the morning. For lunch, I go to the restaurant where my girlfriend works and have pizza or pasta. In the evening, steak or chicken.
- What are you reading or watching right now? I have mostly cookbooks at home, and sometimes I open one. The last good series I saw was One Piece.
