“St. Martin Feast” in the Masné krámy restaurant

The Masné krámy restaurant’s head chef Luděk Hauser has prepared “St. Martin Feast” for the traditional Czech cuisine enthusiasts, with the main temptation being, of course, roast goose with stuffed apple, red sour kraut and a variety of dumplings. The geese will be roasted in one piece, with one serving being ¼ of a goose, therefore about one kilo. Other specialties from Luděk Hauser’s kitchen will also be worth savouring, such as roast chicken thigh a la goose, roast goose liver or turkey steak with juniper berry and rosemary. The feast in the Masné krámy restaurant will last until Tuesday 11th November.

“We are going to serve only the best quality geese of Czech breeding supplied by Nové Hrady Fishery,” says the Masné krámy restaurant’s head chef Luděk Hauser. The geese from Byňov by Nové Hrady rank amongst sought after specialties, as far as their flavour is concerned, and they come from the only breeding farm in the Czech Republic with a more than 30-year tradition. Further information about geese from Nové Hrady can be found here.

St. Martin Feast in the Masné krámy restaurant
7.11. - 11.11.2014

Cold starters
80g    Roast goose liver, potato pancake  CZK 69
80g     Foie gras, served with prunes in Grappa and Balsamic vinegar, bread CZK 69

Soup
0,22 l    Cream soup from goose giblets with peas  CZK 39

Main courses
250g    Roast chicken thigh “a la goose”, served with red sour kraut and a bacon dumpling CZK 105
200g    Turkey steak with juniper berry and rosemary, served with a plum sauce, buttered carrots and rösti CZK 159

Head Chef Luděk Hauser recommends
¼         of a golden roast goose, served with stuffed apple, red sour kraut and a variety of dumplings CZK 329

Dessert
110g    Potato pancakes filled with plum jam, sprinkled with nuts and poppy seeds  CZK 69

We recommend trying - beer spirit
1.5 litre    Budweiser Budvar B:Cryo (before treating)  CZK 290

St Martin wine
0.2 litre    Müller Thurgau, high-grade varietal white wine  CZK 34
0.2 litre    Svatovavřinecké, high-grade varietal red wine CZK 34

The Masné krámy restaurant draws its visitors not only due to its great cuisine, but primarily owing to the perfectly treated beer, Budweiser Budvar Krausened Lager in particular. Masné krámy is the only restaurant in the world where Budweiser Budvar Krausened Lager is drawn directly from beer tanks. 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, 650 years passed 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 Budweiser Budvar Brewery.

Beer in the Masné krámy restaurant

Krausened lager Budweiser Budvar B:SPECIAL
The most important beer the Masné krámy restaurant offers is Krausened lager Budweiser Budvar B:SPECIAL. Krausened lager is available just in selected Czech restaurants, as it contains live yeast and is therefore very sensitive regarding its storing conditions (the temperature of 6-8°C) and treatment. Only several restaurants meet these strict requirements. In the Masné krámy restaurant, Krausened lager is drawn directly from the beer tanks. The initial brewing procedure of Krausened lager is the same as with Budweiser Budvar B:ORIGINAL. 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. The yeasts keep up their work, getting live directly to the customer, providing the beer with different sensory qualities  distinct from the traditional lager Budweiser Budvar B:ORIGINAL.(greater fullness, stronger tang, firmer head etc.)  

People in the Masné krámy restaurant

Luděk Hauser - head chef
The Masné krámy restaurant’s creative head chef can boast his 14-year long international practice in the Bavarian hotel of Bayerischer Hof, which is listed in the Michelin guidebook. He started there from scratch, gradually working his way up to the position of an assistant head chef, where he stayed for several years. He gained a lot of knowledge by helping to provide guests with special culinary insights into interesting parts of the world in a form of thematic evening buffets. During his professional carrier he often prepared a menu for interesting personalities from the German show business. Among others, he cooked for HM Prince Leopold of Bavaria. He also prepared a menu for the Czech ex-President Václav Havel, who visited the Masné krámy in 2008. He likes making traditional Czech cuisine dishes as well as from venison. Furthermore, he specialises in preparing uncommon types of fish and Mediterranean cuisine. He spends his free time fishing, playing golf and spending time with the family.
   
Tomáš Olejník - restaurant’s manager
Following his studies in Austria he worked in the Austrian Alps for several seasons. At the time he participated in the realization of a royal wedding for 450 guests in a town of Seefeld, when a daughter of the famous crystal jewellery maker Swarovski married a member of the Spanish royal family. He gained further experience in preparing receptions and in catering in the German hotel of Kempinski Airport Munich. At the turn of the millennium, he opened the operation as the restaurant’s manager in the newly reconstructed Kongress & Theaterhaus in the Austrian town of Bad Ischl. He also assisted in opening the newly reconstructed Crowne Plaza hotel (part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group) in Bratislava. He favours genuine old Czech cuisine as well as light Italian cuisine. He likes sports (tennis, golf and ice-hockey) and spending time with his family.

The history of the meat market and the Masné krámy restaurant

The beginning of the meat market
The meat market has been located at its present position in Krajinská St. for no less than 650 years. Initially situated on the Market Square - today’s Přemysl Otakar II. Square, the meat market was a wooden building, or more likely a complex of small wooden shops, which originated at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. The first written reference dates back to 1336 (24th June), when the town was flooded, with the water reaching right up to the meat market.    

650 years at the same location
In 1364 (19th February), Charles IV. ordered the pulling down of the meat market located on the Market Square owing to its bad hygiene and appalling smell. A new location was sought and found at the present location of the Masné krámy restaurant (meat market in Czech) in Krajinská Street. Locating the new meat market there had its justification since many master butchers lived in Krajinská Street at that time. The new building was built of wood as well. As its name suggests, the building was used for processing and selling meat from the very beginning.    

460 years of a historical building
The present brick building of a basilica ground-plan probably comes from around 1554, though some writers refer to 1560 or even 1564. Its tall middle hall was intended for the town residents, therefore the public, while both sidelong lower halls were home to individual butcher shops accessible to shoppers from the inside via arcades. Additionally, there were separate entrances for suppliers from the courtyard as well as the street. The western face of the building has been maintained up to the present day in the Renaissance style with battlements and loop-holes on the attic gable; the actual gable is formed by so-called swallow tails. The eastern face of the building was rebuilt in the early 1830’s, probably in 1831. The twin stone Renaissance portal is original whereas the shops underwent some structural changes throughout the 19th century. The butcher trade (smaller animal slaughtering including calves) in the meat market’s courtyard maintained its limited operation there until 1899, when the meat processing was finally transferred to the “Pražské předměstí” outskirts and the individual shops were sold off.  

60 years of the Masné krámy restaurant
Owing to the property’s severe dilapidation, its demolition was seriously considered after the WW2. Luckily, a converse decision was reached and the historical building was subsequently reconstructed during 1953, turning into a restaurant according to the architect J.Fidra’s design. The restaurant named Masné krámy (meat market in Czech) was officially opened to the public on 1st October 1954, gaining quickly a considerable reputation owing to the prime beer from Budweiser Budvar Brewery and excellent cuisine. Following strong floods in 2002, the Masné krámy restaurant had to be closed down, being 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. Hence 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.

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