Related articles

The Czech Republic has a large Vietnamese community and today Vietnamese-run open-all-hours corner stores are to be found throughout the country. Indeed, a new report by market analysts Nielsen says that one fifth of Czech food shops are now Asian run. But what does the boom in Vietnamese stores mean for consumers? That’s a question I put to leading Czech food writer Petra Pospěchová.

Entering Ryby & Chips on Myslíkova St. in downtown Prague is akin to being teleported to a fish and chip shop in the UK or Ireland, albeit one where the menu is in Czech. Over the years, others have had little success in finding a market for this kind of fast food in the Czech capital. However, Ryby & Chips co-owner Matthew Salmon believes an authentic approach will set his recently opened eatery apart. When we spoke at Ryby & Chips, I first asked Salmon about the genesis of the business.

Despite projections of economic growth, fear of the future and high unemployment is making Czechs increasingly cautious when it comes to spending. Polls indicate that in 2013 two thirds of Czechs significantly cut back on their expenditures, forking out less on clothes, entertainment, holidays but also food and in some cases even medical care. Restaurants around the country are feeling the pinch and hundreds of them are literally fighting for survival.

The UK frozen food retailer Iceland recently opened its first store in Prague, its third location in the Czech Republic. The popular chain wants Czechs to acquire a taste for its frozen staples; if they do, Iceland has big plans for its Czech operation, with an appetite to expand to other countries in the region as well.

One of Prague’s most recent new museums is dedicated to the art of cooking through the ages, with a particular look at the Czech contribution to cuisine. The museum features special themed tours and cooking workshops, which have been a big hit with visitors.

A member of the country’s large Vietnamese community, Mimi Lan Nguyen came to the Czech Republic in the early 1990s while still in her early teens. Today she is a successful fashion designer with a flagship boutique on the capital’s Štěpánská St. The shop is actually on the outside of the grand city centre Lucerna Palace, and it was there that Mimi began introducing me to “her Prague”.

Prague is gearing up for end-of-year celebrations, with thousands of people expected to join the annual mega-party on Wenceslas Square. Also, with 180,000 tourists about to descend on the Czech capital hotels and restaurants are stocking up on champagne and preparing gourmet menus for the big night.

Child obesity continues to be a problem in the Czech Republic, having risen markedly in recent years. The popularity of increasingly passive activities from spending more and more time on the computer to the internet certainly have not helped. That’s where organisers of two projects underway – Škola plná zdraví and Česko se hýbe – hope to make a major difference.

The Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Dominik Duka, served the traditional Christmas lunch for the homeless and the poor. The lunch was served at the Archbishop Palace and the Capuchin monastery in Prague’s Hradčany district on Wednesday. The menu included beef stock with liver dumplings, beef in cream sauce and roast duck, the organizers said. Some 270 people arrived for the lunch whose tradition started 15 years ago.

Approximately 44 percent of restaurants in the Czech Republic will be open on Christmas Eve – the day most Czechs have Christmas dinner – according to a poll carried out by the gastronomic website Lunchtime.cz. Some restaurants plan to close early in the afternoon, while others will only open I the evening. Another five percent of restaurants will be open on Christmas Day. The website’s direct Igor Třeslín said that during the last five years that they have been collecting data on opening hours over the holidays, the number of restaurants open has grown significantly every year. Three years ago the vast majority of eating establishments in the Czech Republic were closed on Christmas.