The beginnings of La Degustation: A dream we almost didn't say out loud
A Michelin-starred restaurant in the centre of Prague
The tasting menu presents a seasonal ingredients from select farmers, gatherers and hunters. We place a lot of energy into finding them, and cook to emphasise the individuality of each ingredient.
Our dishes are rooted in traditional cuisine, finding inspiration in the cycles of nature, and the relationships between the ingredients we select. When we prepare game, careful attention is payed to the environment in which the animal lives, what it eats, and how the seasons influence its flavour.
Our sommeliers contemplate and experiment with wine and non-alcoholic food pairings, mixing fruit, vegetables, herbs and nuts into their drinks.
Tomáš Karpíšek, owner of the Ambiente restaurant chain, and chef Oldřich Sahajdák had a dream. They said they didn't even dare to say it out loud, but they wished to cook Czech cuisine like the world's top chef Thomas Keller.
"Tomáš Karpíšek invited me for lunch at Le Patio and it's clear - they're not good at it, so we're taking it from them. I really like it there and two things go through my head, I'm having a baby and I want to cook in this pub. In October 2006 we opened La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise, and my son was born. Nothing would be the same again," writes Oldřich Sahajdák in his biography.
In the beginning, the cook was Marie B. Svobodové
"We kept it a secret from everyone until the last minute that we would focus on Czech cuisine. When the whole team of the new restaurant first met, I pulled out the chef Marie B. Svobodová and explained that this was the right way to go," says Tomáš Karpíšek.
He came to the conclusion that he could only succeed with "mother" Czech cuisine. He was inspired by chef Vito Molica, who cooked at the Four Seasons Hotel. "I said then that Vito was the best because he cooks in his mother tongue. All the Czech chefs at that time were competing with French and Italian cuisine. But it's almost impossible to speak French like a Frenchman, let alone be able to cook like one," Tomáš points out.
Czech and world cuisine
The whole concept required long preparation, travel and a strong team. The Michelin star was only a "virtual" goal. "In the kitchen, in the early days it was very similar to the first Ambiente, Tomáš Karpíšek cooked with us and we came up with the menu," recalls Oldřich Sahajdák.
At first, the restaurant had two chefs, with David Díaz Delgado cooking alongside Sahajdák. He was responsible for world cuisine and, among other things, taught local chefs techniques that no one here knew.
We ate lobster and had a beer!
"He'd been trained in elBulli, he knew molecular cuisine and that interested me a lot. So while the guys went for a smoke, I was experimenting under his influence," recalls Martin Štangl, one of the chefs who were at the birth of La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise.
"It was a beautiful time. We used to be closed on Sundays, so on Saturday night we ate lobster with the waiters and went for a beer. We treated ourselves all Sunday and went again from Monday," he adds.
There were days when no one came...
Filip Trčka was put in charge of service. "Together with Olga, they put everything into the new restaurant. They created a system of preparation, dispensing and service that had never been there before," says Tomáš Karpíšek. "The beginnings were difficult," recalls general manager Tomáš Brosche.
"For the first two or three months, we had guests from Ambiente coming in at a significant discount. And then suddenly nothing. There were days when not a single person came for the whole day," admits Tomáš. "But the guests from abroad liked our place and that gave us strength. And after three years, people started writing about us and everything was suddenly better," adds Olda.
Visits by Michelin commissioners
After a year of operation, the people at La Degustation came to the conclusion that the ingredients from the suppliers no longer met their quality requirements, so they hired Libor Beran, a sous-chef from Ambiente. "Every day I go to the farmers, I know the pickers and hunters, in short, for eight years I have been making sure that the guys have something to cook with," Libor sums up. In the same year, Michelin commissioners started visiting the restaurant.
"During an inspection visit, when they wanted to see the kitchen and talk to the chef and the manager, they always told us that we were doing well and to keep going, but still nothing happened," recalls Tomáš Brosche. "In the first years, especially after the first visits of the commissioners and the doubtful reviews, the hardest thing was to keep faith and a constant direction," adds Tomas Karpíšek.
Forty bottles of champagne to celebrate
In 2012, news broke through the media that La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise had been awarded a Michelin star. "It was only then that Michelin called us and we could start to believe it," laughs Tomas Brosche. "We were very happy and then we had a big celebration, with about forty bottles of champagne." La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise continues to offer Czech specialties, with one course and one amouse-bouche remaining from the original menu.
Two of the original three tasting menus are now two, and in 2014, pairings with non-alcoholic beverages were added. "We cook Czech cuisine, we use only seasonal ingredients and we enjoy it, after all, we have been doing this since 2006 and we are still evolving," summarises chef Oldřich Sahajdák.
