Organised on 4 October, this year’s International Chefs Day was held to the theme of a ‘Day of Gastronomy and Solidarity’ in the Old Town Square. The event was graced by Livia Klausová, wife of the president of the Czech Republic, MD Pavel Bém, mayor of the capital city of Praha and Petr Hejma, chairman of the city part Praha 1.

Co-organizers:	Èeská centrála cestovního ruchu - Czech Tourism Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Czech Republic
Main partner of the event:	Poštovní spoøitelna (Post Saving Company)
Main media partner:	Èeský rozhlas 2 – Praha (Czech Radio 2 - Praha)
Partners of the event:	Brum-licht, CDV Services, Folk Association of CR, City part Praha 1

The Association of Chefs and Pastry Chefs of the Czech Republic, cooperated with the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Czech Republic, Èeskou centrálou cestovního ruchu – Czech Tourism, and a number of other partners to prepare the celebrations of International Chefs Day for the second year running.

The morning of 4 October saw cars and trucks from Praha and other regional hotels bringing delicacies made by the chefs for all festival-goers at Old Town Square. Those who came to celebrate the day with the chefs, came to taste the offered meals prepared under the topic ’Czech Traditional Cuisine’ and express their solidarity with all those starving round the world.

Unfortunately, the weather was cold and visitors had to warm themselves up by drinking mulled wine and dancing to performances of the Strahov, Rí Ra, Kvìtovanka, K-band and Ametyst bands.

All those present were first welcomed by Kubec, president of the Association of Chefs and Pastry Chefs of the Czech Republic, followed by Vondruška, director of the Czech Tourism and finally by Ing.Hlinka, president of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Czech Republic.

At noon, the guest of honour, the first lady of our Republic, Livia Klausová came to officially launch the whole event. She gave only positive feedback about the creations of the Association and commended all those who strove to improve the gastronomy level of the country. Klausová also expressed her thanks on behalf of the Endowment Fund, as proceeds from the sale were donated to the Fund, allowing children to make a fresh start to their lives.

Klausová then welcomed all participants and tasted the dishes of each individual stands. The line-up was truly attractive – all kinds of goulash and dumplings available, as well as different kinds of cabbage and smoked meat. Also available were Czech cakes, apple and chocolate pies, home pancakes with cinnamon, grilled chicken slices, goulash soup in a small loaf of bread, roasted and stuffed piglets, potatoes, cabbages with sausages, grilled tartare steak, home chips, a number of pasta variants, Rohovec beer and stuffed chicken legs. It was reported that the Japanese tourists liked the potatoes with home sausages and cabbage the most, but personally I think that everyone could find something to cater their own taste. There was barely enough space to maneuver as over twelve thousand visitors were present to enjoy the taste of Czech gastronomy.

Visitors were also encouraged to visit the marquee of the Post Saving company, where the first round of the nation-wide competition Pastry Cook of the Year 2008/2009 - the Martin Braun Cup – was taking place. Junior and senior chefs were invited and three golden medals were awarded in all. Lukáš Skála from the InterContinental Hotel was the winner in the category senior. The next golden medal was awarded to Michaela Hellerová from the junior category, SPV of the hotel InterContinental. The third was awarded to Josef Nagy of Corinthia Towers Hotel from the junior category. The winners received trophies and a book, entitled ‘Food’ from Makro.

The panel of judges, consisting of Eichner, Olah and Makusi proclaimed the best booth and awarded the Challenge Cup of the Chefs day to Pilsen Restaurant of the Obecní dùm in Praha. The second place was taken by the hotel Dorint Don Giovanni and the third by the North-Bohemian branch of AKC ÈR. The judges assessed the booths on the relevance of the food to the topic, appearance of the booth and culture of sale.

The prizes were awarded by Kubec, president of the Association and the hymn ‘Chef is the Master’ – a hymn celebrating the art of cooking and Czech gastronomy - closed the Chefs Day. Proceeds of the event (CZK 120 thousand) were donated to the Endowment Fund of Livia and Václav Klaus.

For more details about the results, please visit www.akc.cz

We would like to express our sincerest thanks to all those who took part in the second International Chefs Day: InterContinental Hotel, Hotel Dorint Don Giovanni, Johann Kotányi, Pilsen Restaurant of the Obecní dùm in Praha, Café WOW, Vitana, Unilever food solutions, Hotel Holiday Prague Congress Centre, Clarion Congress Hotel Prague, Corinthia Towers Hotel, Steak Gril Roudnice n.Labem, Hotel ParkHoliday, Brewery Rohozec, Marko Cash & Carry, Hotel Yasmin - Noodles Restaurant, InterGast a McCain, North-Bohemian branch of AKC ÈR Teplice managed by Míèek, in cooperation with Nowaco, Hotel Olympik Holding and Fair Trade. We would also like to thank Czech radio 2 for their support during the competition.

History of the International Chefs Day
The International Chefs Day cannot boast of a long history as of yet. Its rise was instigated three years ago with an idea conceived by Dr Bill Gallagher, Honorary Life President of WACS, a global association bringing together 96 member states including the Czech Republic. The International Chefs Day is presently celebrated in most WACS member states all around the world. It represents an opportunity for gourmets and the general public to meet and enjoy the epitome of good food and fine wine. The main mission of the organisation is the involvement of all Association members and their partners in the social responsibility initiatives pursued by each respective country. These efforts resulted in holding gastronomy-oriented charity events, where event days are used to draw attention to the issue of global starvation. At the same time these are the days on which we pay homage to the families of chefs who have done credit to the trade. During this event – with both its gastronomic and culturally-social focus – food specialties supplied by the partners of the Association and the restaurants located in Praha and beyond are sold. Proceeds of the event are donated by the event organisers to the Endowment Fund of Livia and Václav Klaus.