Tomáš Novák

I grew up in Žižkov — the working-class neighbourhood of Prague that has the highest density of pubs per capita in the world, or so we claim. Czech food gets dismissed internationally as heavy and simple, which is not wrong but is also not the full story. Svíčková (beef sirloin in cream sauce with knedlíky dumplings) made properly is a remarkable dish. The Prague pub culture is one of the great food-and-drink cultures in Europe: Pilsner Urquell poured to a specific temperature in a specific glass in a specific sequence in a pub that has been operating since 1896. I know which Žižkov pub does svíčková that my grandmother would recognise, and which Vinohrady wine bar does Moravian wine without pretension.