The trout season and ramsons in the Masné krámy restaurant

On 16th April, the trout season starts in the Masné krámy restaurant. Specialties made from fresh Šumava trout and brook trout will appear on the special weekly menu. The fish have been supplied by the renowned Trout Farm Mlýny (Pstruhařství Mlýny), which has a registered trademark of “Šumava Trout”. The gastronomic opening of the trout season in the Masné krámy restaurant has become a tradition, as this year is the seventh in a row. During last year’s gourmet event the guests consumed over 300 pieces of trout and brook trout within six days, the most favoured dish being “Grilled trout filled with ramsons”.

“Trout and brook trout rank amongst the most savoury domestic fish, which can also be prepared in a less common way, e.g. boiled,” says the Masné Krámy restaurant’s head chef Luděk Hauser. The head chef also prepared several interesting meals with the use of ramsons for the forthcoming week. Specialties from ramsons will appear on the restaurant’s menu for the seventh time in a row. “The flavour of ramsons is milder and less distinct than that of regular kitchen garlic, therefore it is very suitable for seasoning fish. I recommend that the guests try ‘Bruschetta with cherry tomatoes and ramsons’ as an ideal light starter before savouring fresh fish. As far as the main course is concerned, the guests should not definitely miss ‘Grilled trout filled with ramsons and spring onions’ and ‘Chicken breasts filled with goat cheese, served with pasta and ramsons pesto’," adds Luděk Hauser.  
The Masné krámy restaurant draws its visitors not only due to its great cuisine, but primarily owing to the perfectly treated beer, particularly Budweiser Budvar Krausened Lager. Masné krámy is the only restaurant in the world where Budweiser Budvar Krausened Lager is drawn directly from a tank. The restaurant’s capacity is 200 places. Detailed information on the Masné krámy restaurant can be found at www.masne-kramy.cz.

This year, the Masné krámy restaurant celebrates two important anniversaries. On 13th February, it was 650 years from the moment when the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. ordered the demolition of the original meat market (‘masné krámy’ in Czech) on today’s Přemysl Otakar II. Square and its subsequent moving to Krajinská St. to today’s location.  In addition to that, the Masné krámy restaurant was open to the public on 1st October 1954, therefore nearly 60 years ago. The restaurant has always exclusively drawn beer from Budějovický Budvar Brewery.

TROUT SEASON OPENING AND RAMSONS SPECIALTIES
in the Masné krámy restaurant
16.4. – 20.4.2014

Starter:
100g    Bruschetta with cherry tomatoes and ramsons, white bread prepared au gratin with goat cheese                                                                
Soup:
0.22 l    Ramsons cream soup with butter croutons            

Main meals:    
1 pc     Grilled trout filled with ramsons and spring onions, served with home-made fried dumplings from mashed potatoes
150 g    Pork burger with ramsons, served with a fried egg and spring salad
1 pc    Baked brook trout with cumin, served with mashed potatoes                
180 g    Trout fillets served in a foil with ramsons butter, served with home-made fried dumplings from mashed potatoes
250 g    Vegetable couscous with mushrooms and ramsons, topped with Parmesan cheese                    
The head chef Luděk Hauser recommends:
1 pc    Boiled trout with root vegetable and butter, served with parsley potatoes    
150 g    Chicken breasts filled with goat cheese, served with pasta and ramsons pesto
               
Dessert
110 g    Lime parfait with fresh peppermint and fruit                

Luděk Hauser
The creative head chef of the “Masné krámy” restaurant can boast a 14-year long foreign experience in the Bavarian hotel of Bayerischer Hof, which was selected for the Michelin guidebook. He began working in this hotel from scratch, gradually making his way up to the position of assistant head chef where he then worked for several years. His experience was also acquired by helping to prepare so-called “culinary trips” to various destinations worldwide for the guests, which were special thematic evening buffets of various cuisines. During his professional career, he often prepared menus for interesting personalities of the German show business. Furthermore, he also cooked for HRH Bavarian Prince Leopold and prepared a menu for the Czech ex-President Václav Havel, who visited the “Masné krámy” restaurant in 2008. He likes cooking Czech cuisine as well as venison dishes and specialises in preparing uncommon types of fish and Mediterranean dishes as well. He spends his leisure time fishing, playing golf and being with his family.  

About the Masné krámy restaurant
The meat market (“masné krámy” in Czech) has been at the present location in Krajinská St. for nearly 650 years. On 13th February 1364, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. ordered the demolition of the original meat market on today’s Přemysl Otakar II. Square and its subsequent moving to Krajinská St.  The present building of the meat market dates back probably to 1554. As the name suggests, the meat market’s original purpose was to process and sell meat. The reconstruction change into a restaurant took place in 1953. The restaurant bearing the name of “Masné krámy” was then officially opened to the public on 1st October 1954. The restaurant quickly became very popular owing to the first-class beer from Budweiser Budvar and its great cuisine. Following the 2002 floods, the “Masné krámy” restaurant had to be closed down, being re-opened again after a five-year break on 5th December 2007. The reconstructed interior follows not only the original restaurant’s tradition but also the historic character of the building. Therefore such architectural elements and traditional materials had been chosen so that they support the historic outcome (solid oak, natural leather, black mat metal and patina copper). The interior furniture is of a simple and purposeful character, its features evoking the historic unity with the building. That is not to say that even more modern trends of restaurant facilities equipment were not used in the “Masné krámy”. For that reason LC screens and other LC projection equipment can be found in here, so can WIFI internet connection or wireless cashier equipment. The capacity of the restaurant is 200 places.

“Krausened Lager” in the “Masné krámy” restaurant
“Masné krámy” ´s beer offer is dominated by Budweiser Budvar Krausened Lager, which is drawn directly from the beer tank there. Krausened Lager is only available in selected Czech restaurants. Due to its content of live yeast, the lager is very vulnerable to storing and care conditions (a temperature of 6-8 C°), which are met only by some restaurants. The initial brewing procedure of the Krausened Lager is the same as with Budweiser Budvar Premium Lager. The difference lies in the fact that a certain amount of “rings” is added into the ready-to-consume beer, supplying the beer with a new culture of brewing yeast at its best condition plus another share of the extract. Further fermentation of the beer then takes place and the live yeast gets directly to the customer, providing the resultant Krausened Lager with better sensory qualities distinct from the traditional keg lager (greater fullness of the flavour, stronger relish, firmer head etc.).

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