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

GLUTEN-FREE PIEROGI VS. PINK DWARFS (KRAKÓW)

This weekend my American friend came to visit me in Kraków and I was faced with a culinary puzzle. Where can I find a restaurant serving dishes which are gluten-free (Kathryn is gluten-intolerant), vegetarian (we both don't eat meat) and, most importantly, tasty? I found the solution to this riddle on the Internet (e.g. here and here) and below you can read an account of our culinary adventures.

POD BARANEM – GLUTEN-FREE PIEROGI 

Almost every foreigner visiting Poland wants to try our famous pierogi (Polish dumplings) but where can I find pierogi which are gluten-free? Apparently, in a restaurant near the Wawel Castle called Pod Baranem, which has probably the widest array of gluten-free dishes in Kraków. Our pierogi ruskie (Russian-style dumplings with cottage cheese and potato filling, PLN 24) and pierogi with cabbage and mushrooms (PLN 25) were delicious – covered in melted butter with fried onion and full of yummy filling. The effect was spoiled by dough which was slightly too thick but Kathryn explained that it could have been the fault of the gluten-free flour. All in all, we left the restaurant full and happy.

Address: Pod Baranem, św. Gertrudy 21, Kraków (Old Town)

Website: podbaranem.com

SHAKE & BAKE – GLUTEN-FREE CAKES AND SMOOTHIES

The following day, we had breakfast in Shake & Bake cafe close to the Bagatela Theatre, which serves gluten-free pastries and shakes. Savoury muffins (with cheese and olives) were very nice but unfortunately they were sprinkled with huge salt crystals turning the muffins into a salt mine. Luckily, brownie with peanut butter was very nice and almost salt-free. In the cafe, we were accompanied by two pink dwarfs and a cute pink deer. :)

Address: Shake & Bake, ul. Dunajewskiego 2, Kraków (Old Town)

Website: shakeandbake.pl

CAFE MŁYNEK – VEGETARIAN AND GLUTEN-FREE

We had a hard time choosing our food in a vegetarian restaurant Cafe Młynek because all gluten-free dishes and desserts seemed really nice. Finally, we followed advice from a friendly waitress and ordered crunchy potato pancakes and spicy pasta with vegetables and hot pepper. The servings were so big that we didn't have any space for dessert. But after lunch we stayed in the restaurant's beer garden to sip coffee with cardamom and hot ginger lemonade and admire the view of the quaint Wolnica Square.

Address: Cafe Młynek, Plac Wolnica 7, Kraków (Kazimierz)

Website: cafemlynek.com

CAFES

Fortunately, most of the drinks are naturally gluten-free so we could safely venture into my favourite cafes: Mleczarnia in Kazimierz (you can read more about it here) and Forum Przestrzenie near the Vistula River (it serves really nice coffee and home-made lemonade). We spent the evening in Domówka Cafe, sipping cider and playing a funny board game about shopping in the communist era called “Kolejka” (which means “queue” in Polish). On the whole, I think Kathryn's stay in Kraków was a great success, both from the social and culinary point of view. :)

OTHER GLUTEN-FREE PLACES

Here are a few other gluten-free restaurants and cake shops which were also on our list but we didn't have enough time to visit them.

WieloPole3 (read more here) – restaurant with unusual vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes Wielopole 3 (Old Town)

La Manzana – gluten-free Mexican restaurant, Miodowa 11 (Kazimierz)

Red – gluten-free cake shop, Smoluchowskiego 7 (Bronowice)

NovaKrova – gluten-free began burgers, Plac Wolnica 12 (Kazimierz)

PS. All photos in this post courtesy of Kathryn.

WIELOPOLE 3 (KRAKÓW) – VEGGIE DOESN'T MEAN BORING

I've never been a great fan of meat but a few months ago I stopped eating it altogether. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants in Kraków serve a rather limited set of vegetarian options - only pancakes, pierogi (dumplings) and salads. That's why when I feel like eating something unusual, I go to a vegetarian restaurant WieloPole 3.

It's situated in 3 Wielopole Street, near the Main Post Office in Kraków. Because the restaurant is in the basement and has dark walls, it is always quite dim. The interior décor is ascetic: simple wooden tables and chairs, scanty decorations and a kind of baking paper in place of a tablecloth or table mats.

Fortunately, the quality of food compensates for any décor shortcomings. The menu is very short and changes seasonally, which is a big plus. It's dominated by fresh vegetables and various groats, including bulgur, which is very popular not only in its native Turkey but also, apparently, in Scandinavia.

I also liked buckwheat balls with horseradish and apricot sauce (PLN 10) but my favourite dish is potato pancakes – served with poached egg or fried mushrooms (around PLN 10). They have crunchy crust and big chunks of potatoes – exactly how I like them.

The restaurant's flagship drink is a mix of barley grass juice, apple juice and lavender syrup (PLN 4.50). The drink is nutritious and refreshing but if you don't like the taste of lavender, you should try home-made lemonade with elderflower syrup. For dessert, you can eat a small but quite tasty chocolate cake (PLN 7.50)

WieloPole 3 is a great place for an inexpensive, original lunch or dinner. I highly recommend it especially to vegetarians, vegans, people on a gluten-free diet, and everyone who wants to try healthy, wholesome food that doesn't taste like cardboard.  

Pros: tasty, unusual vegetarian dishes, affordable prices, friendly staff

Cons: gloomy interior, baking paper instead of tablecloths

Address: Wielopole 3, Kraków (Old Town)

Website: www.facebook.com/Wielopole3

PS. A new tab with a list of autumn food festivals in Kraków is available at the top of the page. :)

ITALIAN PASTA WORKSHOP IN PIRI PIRI (KRAKÓW)

Italian pasta is amazing. You need only 3-4 quality ingredients, 15 minutes of preparation and a delicious, wholesome meal is ready. That's why I was happy to take part in a free pasta workshop organized last week in Piri Piri restaurant in Kraków.

The workshop was lead by Maciej Wawryniuk, a culinary consultant of Kamis, a Polish company producing spices. Together with a few other chefs, he cooked various pasta dishes, at the same time giving us some culinary advice.  

Here are a few tips I remembered:

1. Shape and type of pasta have to complement the sauce. For example spaghetti, which is probably the most popular pasta in Poland, doesn't go well with all the flavours, so it's worth trying also other pasta types, such as penne ('feather' in Italian), fettuccine ('little ribbons') or farfalle (butterflies).

2. If you don't want your pasta to stick together, you should cook it in plenty of water. Don't add any oil as it's considered by many Italians as a grave sin against pasta (as I found out myself while sharing a room with an Italian girl ;)).

3. Add pasta to the sauce, not the other way round. The pasta can be slightly undercooked because it'll still cook in the hot sauce.

During the workshop we could try about 17 different dishes. The portions were on the small side and they had to be shared among 2 or more people at each table but because there were so many of them we didn't leave the restaurant hungry.

The workshop was actually a review of the most popular Italian pasta dishes that can be easily made at home. I especially liked squid ink pasta with shrimps, pasta with pesto alla genovese, and puttanesca, which I often cook myself, while the least palatable was butter sauce with asparagus and prosciutto crudo and homemade pasta, which tasted more like some kind of dumpling than real Italian pasta.  

Below you can find a few dishes which inspired me to start my own culinary experiments. :)

Spaghetti aglio e olio ('spaghetti with garlic and oil') – an Italian classic. It requires only 3 ingredients: olive oil, garlic and chilli or peperoncino peppers. Unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to try it but it looked quite nice.

Puttanesca (it means, well, 'a call girl' in Italian) – tomatoes, olive oil, olives, capers, anchovy, and garlic. You don't need any extra salt because the capers and anchovy are already salty. I usually add black olives, instead of the green ones. It's delicious! :)

Crème fraîche with wild mushrooms (porcino, prawdziwki) – the sauce smelled amazing but sadly our table didn't have a chance to taste it :/  

Primavera ('spring') – mixed vegetables with parmesan. Some recipes allow also crème fraîche or chicken.

Arrabbiata ('angry') – garlic, tomatoes, red hot chilli peppers. Very, very spicy, so we decided to skip it. Just in case. ;)

Squid ink pasta with shrimps - squid ink pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and crunchy shrimps. Definitely one of the best dishes we tried. :)  

Pasta alla Norma (named after the opera 'Norma' by Vincenzo Bellini) – tomatoes, aubergine (eggplant), ricotta salata cheese (replaced by Parmesan during the workshop), and basil. I really like the combination of tomatoes and aubergine.

Pasta with pesto alla genovese - pine nuts, fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese – blend all ingredients and voilà! Homemade pesto can be quite expensive (pine nuts cost around PLN 100 / kg) but it's so much better than the store-bought. Simple and delicious! :)

Address: Piri Piri, Na Błoniach 7, Kraków

Website: piri.krakow.pl

Event website: here

More photos
Wersja polska

KARMNIK (KRAKÓW) – FEELS LIKE HOME

Where do you usually buy food? As I mentioned in the post about Krakowskim Targiem Festival, I love traditional markets, especially Plac na Stawach in Kraków (near Cracovia Stadium). There are my favourite, friendly greengrocers, a butcher's shop with always fresh meat, a stall selling home-made cottage cheeses and butter, and much more. What's more, everyone, both vendors and buyers, are much friendlier than in your usual supermarket.

Famished after the shopping spree, we usually go for lunch to nearby Karmnik restaurant (karmnik means 'bird feeder' in Polish), where the atmosphere is even more welcoming than at Plac na Stawach. The restaurant is run by one family who oversee all the details: from serving the guests, to preparing the dishes, to changing decorations according to the season.

The interior is small but neat and cosy. In the photos you can see the winter look dominated by silvers and whites with splashes of red and green. I especially like the quaint, yellowed pages from an old cookery book hung on the walls. I can't wait to see what this artistically gifted family will prepare for the spring season. :)

Menu changes daily but you can always order some nutritious soups (PLN 6-8), meat with potatoes and salad (PLN 15-20) and crunchy pancakes (PLN 9-11 for 2 pancakes). Sometimes there are also delicious savoury tarts (about PLN 11 a piece), which are a particular favourite of mine. Pasta, such as penne with chicken and spinach (PLN 16), is also very good.

Portions, especially of the meat dishes, are really large: the cutlet is as big as the plate, there's a heap of potatoes and four different salads served on a separate plate. That's why D. and I often share one portion for two. Our favourite dishes are pork breaded cutlet (kotlet schabowy, PLN 15 zł) and grilled chicken breast with mozzarella and spinach (PLN 16). The latter is usually quite salty but as each portion is prepared individually for every client, so you can always ask for less salt on your meat.

All the dishes are really fresh and tasty, almost like home-made. Not all of them were to my liking, for example onion soup, which didn't taste at all like onion, but I think it's a matter of taste because D. really liked it. Drinks include delicious fruit juice called kompot in Polish (PLN 3), coffee and tea, but the only thing lacking in Karmnik is desserts. I think home-made cake would be a perfect complement to the lovely lunch.  

Karmnik is probably the restaurant I visit most often in Kraków – mainly because of the delicious food, friendly ambiance and very reasonable prices. You can have here both breakfast and lunch or you can just drop by to drink some warming tea with raspberry juice. I recommend this restaurant to everyone who likes Polish home-made food and warm, informal atmosphere. You can also come here with your kids or dog – everyone will be welcome. :)


Pros: tasty food, big portions, nice interior
Cons: wait time (dishes are prepared only after an order has been placed), some dishes are too salty, no desserts

More photos

Wersja polska

Address: Senatorska 13, Kraków (Zwierzyniec)

Website: restauracjakarmnik.pl 

Daily menu on facebook (in Polish): 

pl-pl.facebook.com/RestauracjaKarmnik