Our gourmets

The evaluators are both as interesting and varied as the gastro-project ratings. People from the culinary field certainly have a different viewpoint than laypeople. And just like you, we are interested in both viewpoints – are the drinks and food professionally prepared? Is it to the taste of an ordinary guest, whose main focus is the taste?

So, we have involved both of them.

Štěpán Danihel

Chef at Long Story Short

A native of the town of Přerov, after graduating from the Secondary School of Gastronomy, he started baking in a local pizzeria, but it was only abroad that he experienced enlightenment and discovered the true culinary craft.

Ladislav Floreán

Private chef for Prague and Europe

The young private chef cooks with enthusiasm for people in Prague and elsewhere in Europe. He has worked in prestigious Michelin-starred restaurants such as The Fat Duck in England, Silvio Nickol Gourmet Restaurant in Austria, and in our Prague restaurant Field with Radek Kašpárek. He prepares a customized multi-course menu for guests.

Darina Sieglová

Apetit’s gourmet editor

She has been writing for Apetit magazine for years and regularly cooks on Czech TV’s Sama Doma. But you can also experience her as a chef on cooking courses, where she proves to people that food doesn’t have to be a boring daily chore and how not to go crazy from children’s picky tastes. Because food is supposed to be fun!

Petr a Gábi
P&G foodies

Food bloggers, owners of Etapa bistro

They show that healthy food doesn’t have to mean boring, tasteless vegetable mush. The turning point for them was a year in London, where cultures from all over the world blend and one can taste something completely different every day. You might know them as PG foodies, winners of food blog of the year.

Tomáš Martykán

Manager in gastronomy, bistro Pasečná and guesthouse Dobík

A Moravian to the core, this is why he loves food, coffee and everything around it – managing gastro operations, introducing innovations, building a brand, etc. He spent years abroad, from the Alps to the Cayman Islands, working for Marriott and Hyatt. At home, he was behind the successful Blue Lipno Restaurant under the Amenity resorts brand.

Martin Vašíček

Bistro Nejen Párek + Goodies from the mountains

He is currently in charge of running the bistro Nejen Párek in Velké Losiny, where he also cooks and ensures that the menu stays innovative. Under the brand Dobroty z Horty ("Goodies from the mountains"), he has started to produce specialties and jams. It was for these that he was awarded two gold stars at the Great Taste Awards this year!

Alexandr Nagy

Black Roastery and Café

With his sense of coffee developed to an extreme and coming from a Slovakian roastery with the ambiguous name Black, he can "sense" defects in coffee beans from (supposedly) three kilometres away. He believes in fine coffee, which is why he co-founded a small espresso bar in Bratislava in 2017. But it did not end with a coffee shop, and a few months later a roastery was added as a logical step.

Šárka Bolatzká

Coffee Stylist

Šárka has become completely absorbed by gastronomy (fortunately, not consumed). Especially the subject of coffee, which she loves to taste, to prepare and to teach others to make. In Krnov she runs a small café/cakery/bistro called Malé Café, but she operates beyond these walls as well.

Jiří Dužár

Co-founder of Bohemian Coffee House

He worked for more than four years at the New York office of the CzechTourism agency. In the gastronomy world he belongs to a family project that specialises in importing, roasting and distributing special coffee and cooking accessories to homes and restaurants. The Dužárs are passionate about making fine coffee.

Leona Špičanová

Author of the project VínoPsaní

Some years ago, while working in a wine shop, she fell in love with wine. After sommelier courses and her self-study, she decided to support domestic winemakers and bring quality Czech and Moravian wines to others. Although she does not live for wine, she and her husband started the VínoPsaní project.

Michal Kuropka

Winemaker from Slobodné Vinárstvo

He is known in Slovakia as a wine debater who is no stranger to irony, satire and sarcasm. He is from a fifth-generation family of winemakers and farmers. He creates wines in a low-impact way, exclusively from his own grapes grown organically. They are members of the oldest biodynamic farmers’ association in Austria.

Kateřina Černá

Wine Taster and Evaluator

Kateřina graduated in Lednice from Mendel University’s Faculty of Horticulture, in the field of viticulture and winemaking. The processes of wine ageing and production are therefore a piece of cake for her. She is a renowned judge and regularly participates in domestic and international wine competitions. Her love of wine has become her profession! And this is how it should be.

Martin Novák

Owner and brewer at Obora Brewery

He doesn’t hesitate to go his own way with his family and a bunch of people who love Obora. Obora is setting the course for sours that have long since outgrown the region. The beers are authentic, brewed largely with local ingredients. They brew bottom and top fermented beers and are not afraid of specialty beers.

Kryštof Materna

Author of the Pivandr, and not only

His book Pivandr is an entertaining read about Czech breweries and a guide for beer tours in various regions of the Czech basin. He is also behind the mobile and web app Pivandr, which makes it easy to discover new breweries and motivates trips to several regions and mysterious breweries in Prague.

Tadeáš Brožík

Beer Taster

In his family project PivotekaB.cz in Roudnice nad Labem, he focuses mainly on beer tasting, targeting specifically Czech microbreweries. He tries to bring them closer to the general public. Tadeáš is also planing to brew his own beer specials. And his motto? Since he is a passionate sportsman, he claims that beer tastes best after a good sporting performance!

How do we evaluate?

The numbers don’t lie. Therefore, we have set evaluation criteria with maximum points. Allocated points were added up and converted to percentages. All companies that have received a rating above 70% are presented.

Restaurants

Max. points in %

40%

taste and quality of food
20%

taste and quality of drinks
10%

presentation of food / drinks, appearance
5%

originality of the offer
15%

personnel (behaviour, knowledge)
10%

environment / atmosphere

Bistros

Max. points in %

40%

taste and quality of food
20%

taste and quality of drinks
15%

presentation of food / drinks, appearance
15%

personnel (behaviour, knowledge)
10%

environment / atmosphere

Cafés and Sweet Shops

Max. points in %

30%

taste and quality of coffee, variety of offerings
30%

taste and quality of dessert
10%

offer and quality of other drinks
5%

quality of offer for light meals
15%

personnel (behaviour, knowledge)
10%

environment / atmosphere

Wineries and Wine Bars

Max. points in %

40%

quality of wine
20%

extent of assortment
5%

extent of assortment
25%

personnel (behaviour, knowledge)
10%

environment / atmosphere

Pubs and Breweries

Max. points in %

40%

taste quality, treatment of beer
20%

beer snacks
10%

assortment of beer
5%

nealko nápoje
15%

personnel (behaviour, knowledge)
10%

environment / atmosphere

Our taste judges

Just like last year, we reached out to the general public in South Moravia. Gastro fans, gourmets, satisfied customers and enthusiastic laymen sent us their nominations. We asked about their favourite establishments in every category. Where? Through surveys at www.gourmetjiznimorava.cz and the Facebook page @TheSouthMoravia. We shared the surveys on the Instagram profiles @tastymoravia and @southmoravia.

The mayors of the towns and villages of South Moravia nominated their favourites.

We asked at the information centres of our region. Ehere else can you get proven recommendations on where to go for local /gastro/ treasures?

And, of course, we couldn’t do without nominations from experts who have an intimate knowledge of tourism. DMOs, i.e. destination managements organizations of the Moravian Karst and surroundings, ZnojmoRegion, Brno, Slovácko and Pálava regions and the Lednice-Valtice area, added their tips as well.