The upcoming second edition of the Gault&Millau guide for Czechia confirms the brand's ambition to become an active driver of domestic gastronomy. We will witness the expansion of the awards, the premiere of the Stay&Dine hotel guide, and a more prominent presence of the brand throughout the year. At the same time, speculation about the leadership of the inspection team is also being clarified: "We are often compared to the Michelin Guide, but that's not really possible. Tomáš Kalina works with us, but I remain the chief inspector of Gault&Millau for Czechia," says Miroslav Lekeš, CEO of Gault&Millau for Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary.
1. What is the biggest news for the upcoming Gault&Millau 2026 gala evening?
There will be lots of new features, practically with every new edition. This year, there will definitely be a considerable number of newly rated restaurants, new trophies that the inspection team has focused on, and a brand new Stay&Dine guide. I believe that, in addition to the new features, this year's gala evening will also bring a number of surprising results.
2. Why did you decide to move the gala evening to the National House in Vinohrady this year, and what does this venue mean for the organisation and atmosphere of the event?
We always choose the venue for the gala evening individually each year, based on many aspects. Given that we announced our goal of evaluating a number of new restaurants in the second year in the first year, it is clear that the capacity requirements have increased. The National House has provided us with a beautiful and magnificent space that meets all the needs of the Gault&Millau brand as such and the entire event.
3. Can you confirm that Tomáš Kalina is the new Gault&Millau chief inspector in Czechia? If so, what role will he play in the organisation?
We can confirm that Tomáš Kalina is working with our organisation in several areas as an expert consultant because the brand's range of activities is really wide. However, I remain the chief inspector of Gault&Millau for Czechia.
4. What did the past year bring in terms of restaurant ratings – how has the scope or methodology of the inspectors changed since the first edition?
The inspectors' methodology is unchanged and the same for all countries where the guide operates. The scope has certainly changed – we had much more work to do throughout the country, i.e., re-evaluating the establishments from 2025 and adding new ones to the list.
5. You are expanding the guide for 2026 again – will there be more establishments evaluated than in the first version? And how realistically do you evaluate gastronomy in the regions?
Yes, I can confirm that we have evaluated a number of new restaurants that have been included in the next wave of evaluations. We will reveal how many of them made it into the guide at the awards ceremony. It is no secret that there are certain differences between individual regions, often resulting, for example, from the tourist attractiveness of a given location. However, it can certainly be said that Czechia has interesting establishments in the regions as well, offering high-quality gastronomy and interesting potential.
6. The new Stay&Dine hotel guide is a first – what were the main reasons for its creation and how should it influence the perception of hotel restaurants?
The Stay&Dine guide presents accommodation facilities, such as hotels or guesthouses, which have a restaurant evaluated by us as part of the facility or in its immediate vicinity, thus meeting a certain level of quality in terms of gastronomy and accommodation. We want to offer tourists from Czechia and especially from abroad – where the guide is established and well-known – the opportunity to travel to places where quality accommodation is combined with good food, creating a comprehensive experience. At the same time, we and our inspectors have noticed a significant increase in the quality of hotel restaurants, which are often a very underrated group in Czechia, and we would like to change this dogma.
7. Several new trophies will be added this year, as described in the previous press release – can you briefly introduce them and say what areas of gastronomy they are intended to reflect?
With your permission, we will keep the new trophies and their areas a surprise for the gala evening itself. However, we have certainly discovered new talents this year, and the public can look forward to a new name winning the title of Chef of the Year 2026. In general, we have expanded the awards to cover a wider range of competencies and aspects that are important for the development of local gastronomy.
8. Gault&Millau has also expanded its activities in Czechia during the year, for example with festivals. What is your strategy here? How do you want to influence the Czech gastronomic scene beyond the publication of the guide itself?
Although the guide is still relatively unknown to the public in Czechia, its influence abroad is enormous. We will strive to achieve the same in Czechia. Our work does not end with the publication of the guide. We announced that we want to promote Czech chefs and gastronomy abroad, or, conversely, bring interesting and inspiring personalities to us – which happened within the framework of partnerships with various Czech gastronomic festivals. Because Gault & Millau is not just about fine dining, but has a much broader scope, one of the goals is to search for talent. We were therefore happy to support the POP category, i.e., popular establishments – bistros, food trucks – in the POP Battle cooking competitions. And we can say with a clear conscience that there are some very talented personalities among the Czech POPs.
This year, we also want to bring to Czechia the concept of an international festival with a specific thematic focus, which is unprecedented here. The festival, called Culinary Affair, will take place on 23 and 24 May 2026 in Brno on the theme of "Pairing Flavours" and should introduce top Czech and foreign restaurants in Czechia, as well as interesting producers and pairing trends that may "move the world" in the future. This is also beyond the scope of the Gault&Millau guidebook.
9. How do you perceive the importance of Gault&Millau for Czech gastronomy in the context of other international guides, what is its position in relation to the Michelin Guide or other rating systems?
As we have already mentioned several times, we consider any support for Czech gastronomy, whether local or international, to be positive and important. Guides can complement each other in various ways and overlap in some respects, but each is unique in terms of its system, target group, communication, and different criteria. We are often compared in various ways, but this is not really possible. I think that even the individual roles are slightly different. But even that ultimately allows the customer to make the perfect choice.
We already see that thanks to our online and offline presence in Czechia, over the past year we have become a source not only for tourists who travel according to our guide, but also for many other media outlets, foreign awards, and foreign gastronomic events that are interested in the participation of our award-winning chefs, and that's great.
10. What would you recommend to restaurants or hotels that want to be better prepared for the Gault&Millau rating – are there any specific areas they should focus on this year or next year?
It is not possible to name specific areas that they should focus on in general, but if restaurants are interested, we will provide individual feedback after the guide is published, which may indicate areas that would be good to work on. However, we cannot be too specific – the individual evaluation criteria are and will continue to be subject to relatively strict confidentiality.
