BEHIND THE GOTHIC FACADE – A MEETING WITH SIMON TAXACHER IN HOTEL COPERNICUS (KRAKÓW)

A few years ago I stumbled upon a magazine article about Hotel Copernicus in Kraków. Just two things from the article have stuck in my mind: the hotel's Medieval origins and a wonderful view of the Wawel Castle stretching from the roof terrace. The hotel is often visited by celebrities staying in Kraków (including my favourite actor, Benedict Cumberbatch) but because I'm definitely not a celebrity, the only thing I could do was to stroll along quaint Kanonicza street and wonder what's hidden behind this impressive Gothic facade.

However to my great surprise and delight, a few weeks ago I received an email inviting me for “snacks” and a press conference with a famous Austrian chef Simon Taxacher, which was going to take place in the Hotel Copernicus itself. As you can guess, I couldn't miss such an opportunity. :)

The meeting took place on the 17 October 2014 as part of the prestigious Gourmet Relais & Châteaux Festival, whose highlight was a seven-course dinner prepared by Simon Taxacher, an acclaimed chef (awarded numerous prizes, including 2 Michelin stars) and the owner of an Alpine hotel and restaurant Rosengarten in Tyrol, Austria.

Here are a few interesting facts that caught my attention during the conversation around a solid, wooden table in the hotel restaurant.

• Simon Taxacher combines regional products from Tyrol with ingredients from other countries so that his cuisine is both local and varied
• he pays a lot of attention to not only the look and structure of his dishes, but also the tableware on which they're served
• because he usually works up to 16 hours a day in his restaurant, at home he prepares only simple, quick dishes
• he values team-work and thinks highly of his co-workers
• even though he's pleased with the awards and praises, he always cooks to please his clients, not critics   

The “snacks” mentioned in the invitation email were actually three of the seven dishes from the menu prepared for the festival dinner. The food was not only delicious but also beautifully served. Some dishes looked like little pieces of art. Sommelier Andreas Katona matched the food with Austrian wines. And this is what we had a chance to eat:

Beetroots (old variety), sea-buckthorn, cottage cheese

According to Mr Taxacher, the beetroots are grown in a traditional way in Tyrol. They were served with mountain cottage cheese, sea-buckthorn and beetroot juice meringue. All the ingredients created a perfect blend of flavours but I especially liked the delicious, creamy cottage cheese made by the chef and his team from Alpine cow milk. The beetroots were served with 2012 Grüner Veltliner wine with a spicy, black pepper flavour.

Veal cheek, date malt, Jerusalem artichoke

Apparently beef cheek meat is a relatively rare restaurant dish as it's often used for veterinary inspections. That's why the chef has to cooperate with a vet who won't destroy the meat structure during the check-up. I can't say anything about the veal cheek as I don't eat meat but Ada from blog Pora coś zjeść praised its taste and tenderness. In the meantime, I happily nibbled at the date sauce and all the titbits served with the meat, especially Jerusalem artichoke – a traditional but now forgotten vegetable which is slowly coming back into culinary fashion. Even though I'm not a great fan of red wine, I fell in love with 2009 pinot noir from a small Austrian vineyard. It was definitely one of the best wines I've ever tried.

Garden - plums, nitro-chocolate, gin and tonic

For dessert, we had nitro-chocolate, in other words chocolate foamed with liquid nitrogen and tasting like something between chocolate mousse and ice cream. It was served with a delicious plum sauce, gin and tonic mousse and fresh clovers. The pink dessert wine Rosenmuskateller had a pleasant rose flavour but was a tad too sweet for my liking.

The whole meeting passed off in a pleasant atmosphere. I left the hotel with new culinary experiences, new acquaintances and a box filled with delicious things from Tyrol (including my favourite elderberry syrup). Finally, I discovered what's hidden behind the Gothic facade of the Hotel Copernicus and I must admit reality exceeded my (already high) expectations.

PS. I would like to thank the owners and staff of Hotel Copernicus for their invitation, professional organization of the meeting and a warm welcome. Special thanks to Simon Taxacher and his whole team for preparing all the delicious dishes and for sharing with us his culinary expertise. It was a great pleasure to meet you all. :)

Address: Hotel Copernicus, Kanonicza 16, Kraków (Old Town)

Website: www.copernicus.hotel.com.pl

Address: Hotel Restauracja Spa Rosengarten, 

Aschauerstrasse 46, 6365 Kirchberg, Tyrol, Austria

Website: restaurant.rosengarten-taxacher.com

Gourmet Relais & Châteaux Festival: www.gourmetfestival.pl

FOOD FESTIVALS IN KRAKÓW AND MAŁOPOLSKA – SUMMER 2014

If you like food festivals and are going to be this summer in Kraków or around, you can check out a new tab on my blog: FoodFestivals - Summer 2014.

Tomorrow (8^th June 2014), for example, you can take part in Salt Festival in Wieliczka or a cycling picnic in Kraków. But there's a food festival ever weekend so every foodie visiting Małopolska region will be able to find something interesting to see and eat. Enjoy the summer! :)

PS. All the photos were taken during 2013 editions of the festivals.

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PHOTOS FROM FOOD FESTIVAL - MAŁE NAJEDZENI FEST! KIPI KASZA, KIPI GROCH (KRAKÓW)

Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow,
Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow,
Can you or I or anyone know
How oats, peas, beans, and barley grow?

This English nursery rhyme which can be a free translation of the polish name of the food festival Małe Najedzeni Fest! Kipi kasza, kipi groch, which took place today in Coffee Proficiency in Kraków. As its name suggests, the festival was dedicated to various grains, groats (kasza in Polish), and legumes: from beans, to peas and chickpeas, to buckwheat groats and more.

Coffee Proficiency is an interesting post-industrial building dominated by a steel mezzanine, metal walls, and mysterious coffee roasters. It definitely isn't a place for a romantic date but as a venue for a lively, energetic food festival, Coffee Proficiency turned our to be perfect. 

At the festival I met a few old acquaintances, including a blogging duo Gotowanie z Pasją. They served their delicious tarts, which were as always closely linked with the event's main theme. We bought a piece of tart with millet groats, chicken, and black olives, which was absolutely delicious, especially when we heated it up.

I also appreciate their strict adherence to health and safety rules. Paweł cut and served the food in special gloves, while Grzesiek took care of the money transactions. Consequently, no germ had a chance to sneak from dirty notes and coins to the food. :)

We also tried lovely hummus (paste made from chickpeas, tahini, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice) from Hummus Amamamusi.

It was arguably the best hummus I've ever eaten - delicate, creamy, with a distinct taste (could it be cumin?).

Another unusual dish I tried was vegan lard made from beans prepared by Jadalnia. It was slightly sweet but it went well with fresh bread and some pickled cucumber. 

Even sweets baked by Book me a Cookie were made from various groats, such as semolina, instead of flour. It was undoubtedly a tasty and healthy alternative to traditional cakes. :)

We washed it all down with excellent, aromatic coffee made by the hosts Coffee Proficiency. It had a rich taste bringing to mind dark chocolate. The photo below shows an artistic barista, who painted hearts with milk. ;)

Najedzeni Fest! as always proved to be an excellent festival, full of positive energy and delicious food. Hopefully we all now know how oats, peas, beans, and barley grow, or at least how they all taste. ;)

More photos! :)
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Website: tutaj

Event website: tutaj

DUBLIN, CARNIVAL AND ART – JANUARY ON MY BLOG

Frans Snyders, A Banquet-piece, late 1620s

I was complaining that December was one of the busiest months but I didn't know what January had in store for me: lots of translation projects, taking care of my five-year-old niece, Little My, baking gingerbreads with my friends (something I didn't have time for before Christmas), and on top of that a trip to Dublin. And they say that the beginning of the year is usually uneventful... Fortunately, now I have more time so in the following weeks you can expect new things on my blog.

Frans Snyders, A Banquet-piece, late 1620s

1. First of all, I've changed the blog's background, which I hope is now more readable. What do you think about it? Just to remind you, that's how it looked before the revamp:

2. Apart from a few reviews of some very nice restaurants (such as Zazie) in the pipeline, I will soon post a short account of my weekend break in Dublin. Do you know what the Irish cuisine is famous for? How to hide Guinness bitter aftertaste? Where to eat nice fresh seafood? The answers will be revealed this weekend. :)

3. To keep the good mood, this Sunday (26 Jan 2014) a carnival edition of my favourite food festival in Kraków, Najedzeni Fest!, will take place in Forum Przestrzenie. Here you can read about the festival's autumn edition. Are you going to be there?

4. As promised, this year I'm going to add to my blog a new section on food and culture. I will write about my favourite books, paintings and films which contain some interesting food themes. I already have plenty of ideas but if there's anything special you would like to read about, please let me know. I love your inspirations. :)

Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Peasant Wedding, 1620

5. At the top of the page there's a new tab with the list of the restaurants I've already reviewed. New tabs will be added shortly.

Stay tuned! :)

PS. All the paintings were photographed in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin.

HOLIDAY WISHES + PICS FROM CHRISTMAS MARKET

I would like to thank all of you for being with me this year. I hope you'll visit my blog also next year, especially because I'm planning to add a new section: food in culture. More details will be revealed in January.

And in the meantime I wish you a very merry and tasty holiday season 

and a happy New Year! :)

PS. Yesterday I went to one of many Christmas markets currently taking place in Kraków. This one is called Galicyjski Kiermasz Adwentowy and is situated just outside the main railway station. Here are a few pics. Enjoy! :)

NAJEDZENI FEST (AUTUMN EDITION) - WHIRL OF TASTES

Do you also feel that recently there has been a food festival in Kraków on almost every weekend? I'm glad of it because I love the whirl of festival colours, tastes and smells. They make me feel like a child at a (culinary) funfair.

An exceptionally strong whirl caught me today in Hotel Forum, the venue of Najedzeni Fest Festival - Autumn Edition. Lots of dishes from around the world, lots of tasty wines and lots of interesting people who wanted to share their passion with us.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to take part in any workshops or conferences but walking around the four big banquet rooms, talking to the vendors and tasting their products was exciting enough. Below you can find a few of the most interesting moments from the festival.

Two charming Italians, signor Cesare Candido from Akademia Kuchni Włoskiej and signora Chiara Grella from Fattorie Del Duca gave me some interesting-tasting polenta (Italian dish made of cornmeal boiled into a porridge) with truffle butter and mushrooms. In the photo you can see signor Cesare with a big pot of polenta.

I also tasted a few wines and my favourites were slightly fruity Australian Chardonnay recommended by a very nice sommelier from Dom Wina...

... and red Georgian wine Khvanchkara served by Supra, which apparently was Stalin's favourite wine. But I'm not sure if Stalin's approval is a good or bad thing. ;)

I was also tempted to try a mysterious green drink from Storeko. It turned out to be barley grass juice, which didn't taste particularly good but it's reportedly very healthy.

And finally, I bought a loaf of home made bread from GabaBa Eco Chleb, whose stall was beautifully decorated with autumn flowers and fruits.

There were so many stands and products that it would be impossible to mention all of them. But you can find more information in the photo gallery on my facebook page or on the Festival's offical website.

And what did you like most? :)

Photo gallery: here

Festival's website www.najedzenifest.blogspot.com

PS. On your right you can find a new tool - contact form. So if you have any thoughts on my blog or restaurants in Kraków, feel free to drop me an email. :)
 

Polish version 

KRAKOWSKIM TARGIEM – THE MOST COLOURFUL FESTIVAL OF THE SEASON

 

Do you like traditional markets? I love them. In Poland, they usually sell fresh fruit and vegetables, local produce, such as oscypek (sheep cheese), and much more. The food there is much better than in supermarkets and the vendors are very friendly and chatty.

That's why I couldn't miss the Festival of Cracow's traditional markets called 'Krakowskim Targiem,' which took place yesterday (12th Oct) in Plac Nowy in Cracow. The name is a play on words: 'krakowskim targiem' is a Polish idiom meaning 'a compromise' but literally it means a Cracow's ('krakowskim') traditional market ('targiem').

Even though this summer and autumn have abounded in food festivals in Cracow, I think 'Krakowskim Targiem' was the most colourful and varied one.

The stalls were full of beautifully arranged autumnal fruits of the earth, especially round-bellied pumpkins and juicy grapes. There was also a plethora of forest mushrooms. I especially like saffron milk caps (called 'rydze' in Polish) fried in butter, which are a simple but delicious dish.

The most eye-catching stand was probably the one with exquisitely carved fruits and veggies. I really love the cute courgette roses.

Apart from food, there were also a few stalls with hand made jewellery, antiques and other birck-a-brac. Maybe someone bought this cute little nesting box?

The air was filled with the smells of smoke and delicious hot dishes, such as pierogi (Polish dumplings) and Moroccan specialities. Unfortunately, there were so many people who also wanted to taste the free food that I didn't manage to push myself forward. Maybe I'm too shy? :/

But I did manage to buy a jar of heather honey, a wooden spoon, some traditional cottage cheese, a punnet of sweet raspberries, and coffee spices with cardamom. As always, I spent more money than I'd intended but at least I've got some tasty souvenirs from the fair.

And for those who didn't manage to visit the festival, I recommend the traditional markets in Cracow, which are open all year round, especially Stary Kleparz, Plac na Stawach and Plac Nowy. Shopping at the market can be great fun. :)

Website: here

Fussy on Facebook = more photos

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