The craft of patisserie has taken a serious blow, and needs time to recover: In conversation with pastry chef Lukáš Pohl
Myšák: Pastry shops on both banks of the Vltava River
Lukáš, can pastry chefs truly return to tradition these days?
They can, but tradition means something a little different to each of us. My grandmother lived in the Podkrkonoší region, so we spent whole days running through the woods and meadows, picking herbs, cooking, drying, and canning. In my opinion, this is precisely the tradition and the era to which Czech gastronomy longs to return. Not just chefs, but pastry chefs as well.
Even though we’re influenced by cuisines from around the world, we’re increasingly embracing classic Czech dishes made from traditional Czech ingredients —and with that comes support for farmers, an understanding of the seasons, and crafting various products by hand. The goal is to make the most of what our country has to offer.
Which traditions are you continuing at Myšák?
The ones established by Mr. Myšák himself. His work and process were thwarted by the communist regime, and this meant various practices emerged that our pastry shop has nothing to do with. Many people come expecting to find the things they are used to, but we can’t meet those expectations; on the contrary, we want to change them. Often, when people look back fondly to what was “before”, they are often thinking of “the quite recent past — a time that we, as pastry chefs, would rather forget. We understand that these are our guests’ memories, and that it’s a sensitive topic, but very few people remember the era we actually want to recall. The past of this shop is complicated, just like the history of Czech confectionery. The craft has taken a serious blow, and it will take some time for it to recover.
At Myšák, we stick to Czech classics, to which we add our own creative touch. We also use ingredients that we know and trust, and are happy to tell you all about. Our butter, cream, eggs, fruit, and other ingredients are of a quality that cannot be replaced by anything else. We’re returning to a time when honesty reigned among pastry chefs, along with respect for the craft, for the artisans, and for the customer. These were precisely Mr. Myšák’s values.
On the plate, these classics sometimes look a bit extravagant.
We try to make Mr. Myšák’s original desserts in our own way, adding variety, but we don’t stray from the classic recipes. A “Prague Ball” (Pražská koule) may not always be perfectly round, but we’ve preserved the process and technique, because even when a pastry chef experiments, they must not ignore the principles of the craft. I don’t think we’re particularly extravagant — on the contrary, our take on a Czech pastry shop isn’t all that colourful, because the colour comes solely from the season. Guests’ reactions to our twists on classic desserts are generally positive. Sometimes though, it becomes clear that as Czechs, we don’t like change and prefer to stick to the beaten path rather than blaze a new — and perhaps better — trail.
And is Myšák blazing that trail?
I think so. At least, that’s how we’ve set things up, both in our operations and our approach to our employees. Myšák’s reopening marked its revival. Not only did we finally move production here, which used to take place at Café Savoy, but we also implemented several other major changes, and our next task is communicating these to our guests. We wanted to simplify service, so we introduced a self-service system and a payment kiosk. it's a move that has made me realise how important it is to talk about why certain changes are made.
So communication with guests is the key to implementing change?
Absolutely! Give guests a story, and they’ll understand you. As soon as we announced that Myšák isn’t a café, but a pastry shop, people suddenly became much more open to the idea. While some people miss the fancy service, hiring ten more staff members would drive up prices, which are already quite high.
Now, you choose at the counter, get a number, and we’ll bring your order to you. Plus, you don’t have to pay right away and can add to your order later. It gives us and our guests more freedom – and we're still able to give everyone our full attention. And as for the payment terminal, that change is justified by hygiene reasons. We don't want the person serving desserts to also be handling money, and now, one person can staff the whole counter.
How does production balance tradition with innovation? Do original recipes mesh well with new techniques?
These days, we have far more technology at our disposal. Even at Myšák, we embrace new tech — modernisation doesn’t harm tradition, on the contrary, it helps us improve both our work and the final product. One example is vacuum canning — all the flavours are perfectly concentrated, and simultaneously we save on storage space. Despite that, we're firm in the belief that technology will never replace human hands, heart, and creativity.
Has the product lineup changed much?
Not significantly. The breakfasts that people are accustomed to from Café Savoy have disappeared from the menu, but we’re coming up with various options for sweet breakfasts, and we’re also making buns with cream or seasonal strawberry dumplings. A popular new addition are the filled croissants, which are yet to be truly discovered by guests. They’re a combination of French croissants and Czech childhood memories, like fruit compote or sweetened curd cheese. Mr. Myšák traveled a lot and brought home plenty of inspiration, and the Myšák brand follows his lead by also blending various influences, including my own experiences from the USA. Every now and then I’ll combine two Czech desserts, or maybe fill a croissant with peanut butter.
What are your visions for the future?
We’d like to host weekend brunches, and are thinking about creating our own chocolate and ice cream. We spend a long time thinking about additional products, which build on what you’ll taste here in the shop. We want to tie our offerings together so that the whole experience makes sense. Myšák has a big vision for the future; in my opinion, there's great potential, whether we're talking about the product lineup or hosting parties and catering. But we want to proceed step by step, and stabilise a foundation on which we can build something solid. Only then can we add wings, build more floors, and create a sweet empire.
What do you value most about your work at Myšák?
The people who do it with me. Half the team is new, and the main criteria for selecting them was that they genuinely wanted to be part this, and got involved even before the renovation was finished. It's only with partners like that, that can you embark on a “construction project.”
And once you’ve built it…
You create a place where people can meet and relax. When you're out in a space like this, you should be able to switch off your brain for a moment, forget your problems, and just enjoy the flavours that bring you joy. In a way, it’s a form of meditation.
If the pastries at Myšák could talk…
They’d say "We’re made from the best, high-quality ingredients, and we’re worth the price. You won’t regret it." It might sound a bit bold, but passion is simply part of enjoying sweets, and my former chef, René Stein, always said that food has to be sexy.
