But when will he get it? Will the first official Czech Michelin Guide be announced this year? Jan Knedla and his team at the Papilio restaurant in Vysoké Újezd will certainly not disappoint the Michelin inspectors, as they proved with their last summer tasting menu.
This tasting evening, which mirrored the summer season, was given a light, fresh touch by Papilio's chef Jan Knedla and his team. In doing so, Knedla displayed a flair for very interesting combinations and ingredients that many guests experience exclusively in a high-end version of preparation. It is thanks to him that guests can enjoy the delicate flavours of snail liver, brains, tripe, or turkey at Papilio. Of course, not separately; these giblets and other products that some chefs would refuse to process are only put on the plate, or rather on the menu, after the main ingredient.
Even the first canapé, simple and sexy on the surface, was worth it. Fresh radish, which is used to make a meringue filled with farmer's curd with chive emulsion, and pieces of sourdough bread for crunching opened the taste buds very pleasantly. Of course, with a glass of champagne to start. The noble wine was accompanied by a second amuse-bouche, which was a delicate and perfectly flavour-packed variation of cherry soup. Beautiful service accompanied the combination of fresh cherries, cherry wine vinegar pearls, and cherry balsamic, again accompanied by small pieces of bread. "The Spanish have gazpacho; we are famous for our cherry soup," commented the second canapé chef with a smile.
Papilio always comes up with an interesting selection of wines at the tasting, often going against the trends or selecting wines that a guest would not normally expect at a wedding. It was similar this time. Wines such as the Saint Bris Sauvignon Blanc "Exogyra Virgula" and the Riesling "Klangwerk" Weinheimer Hölle from Alexander Gysler or the Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett from the Mosel winery J.J. Prüm were drunk for the first time by some of the guests. We applaud.
The third canapé is the local signature dish "fake truffle", which we've written about in previous Papilio reports. Still, it is unique and delectable at the same time. Soon a selection of pastries, including lavash, lands on the table, but the butters are interesting. The paprika one has a touch of koji vinegar in it; the other butter gives character to the onion miso. Another of the interesting things that Knedla and his team showcase at Papilio. On every menu, in many dishes, we find the products of the vinegar maker Vasek Smolík, whom Knedla has sort of discovered for Czech gastronomy, and his products underline the uniqueness of Papilio compared to other establishments in the Czech gastronomic scene.
The marinated whitefish, as the first official starter, had fresh notes while being perfectly full in flavour thanks to the caviar-dill-celery-kefir combination, promising an awesome showcase of culinary creativity throughout the evening. And it won't be long in coming. Ravioli stuffed with aged cheese, plus tomato and (finally!) snail liver, are simply the bomb. Beautiful plating, delicious flavours.
And we're not letting up. Veal brains combined with fava beans, black garlic, and mushroom mousse with lemon thyme and sage are the perfect umami. "I love tripe," comes the chef's direction. And we're sure of it, because the next course is tripe. As Jan Knedla would say - local calamari, which overlays a fillet of zander. For some, it may be too much, but they are perfectly processed and it is the tripe whose taste stands out the most in the dish. The question arises whether the main ingredient, the zander, should not stand out. The chef smiles and says that next time it will be without fish. The sea buckthorn balances the flavour very well.
Another vinegar arrives on the scene, this time beer vinegar, in which the aged selec's back has been marinated. The meat is tender, the portion just right, all backed up by a strong pork broth that is enhanced by the presence of turkey on the plate. Perfect. And we're staying with other lighter meat options. In the next dish, the quail meat is very interestingly prepared - as a roll stuffed with a stuffing of brook crayfish, accompanied by chard and radishes with vinegar, around which the dish is complemented with crayfish sauce and quail bone sauce, which create beautiful contrasts between each other.
Chef Knedla has chosen the lamb loin as the main course of the tasting this time, and rightly so, as it is perfectly held aloft by the anchovy emulsion and the bear garlic capers, while the salad leaves partially lighten the dish and keep it in balance. The lamb bone and wild mint sauce is brilliant - ask for it at Papilio, it's worth a try, it's unusual and perfect.
The selection of cheeses at Papilio is a joy in itself, always surprising, just like the pairing of dishes with wines. It doesn't matter at all that they are not only from local suppliers; you can forgive it here just as you can forgive that the wines on the menu are not only Czech and Moravian. French cheese, like Austrian cheese for example, is welcome as long as they are delicious. And they are.
After all those inspired combinations, we refresh our taste buds and taste the first pre-dessert: Green Tea-Grapefruit-Bergamot-Soy. The green tea jelly is a pleasant surprise, as is the soy espuma. The whole dish is a great start to this section and a good prelude to the main dessert, which is based on pickled cherries. Perfect timing - such sour cherries are very well suited to the turn of summer and autumn. The sorbet is made from sour cherry balsamic, and the chef also pours cherry sauce over it in front of the guest. The emphasis on the ingredients, the variety of textures, the intensity of flavours, the season - this is how we imagine a perfectly prepared dish to the star. There is also a mousse of salted almonds and premium chocolate.
The emphasis on perfect service that Jan Knedla at Papilio has been emphasizing throughout the restaurant's existence is also evident here. The open kitchen is quiet, and the guest has the feeling that the chefs are communicating with just a glance. The plates and bowls used in one of the best restaurants in the Czech Republic are strictly white or clear. No rusticity, no blue, brown, or otherwise colored dishes. Knedla really uses the plate as a painter's canvas. For some, this may be limiting; for others, the white plate is an equal partner, an adequate challenge, a space to tune the intimate atmosphere between the food and the guest before the first bite is tasted. And Papilio succeeds without fail. Bravo.
A few more petit fours and we're off to wonder where the Michelin inspectors are.
