The communist legacy in gastronomy

The Czech Republic has once again failed in its bid to appear in the latest World's Best Restaurants ranking list. Spain's "El Bulli" restaurant took first place. "An evening meal with wine costs 250 dollars there," Petra Pospěchová writes. "Some of the more exclusive restaurants in Prague charge just as much, but you can get a table there by reserving shortly beforehand. This shows that they cannot compete with 'El Bulli'. The Czech restaurants have a long way to go before they make it to the top. Their greatest weakness is the service. The years of communism had a greater impact in the catering trade than in other sectors. ... The chefs have shaken off the legacy of those times, but outside the kitchen there is a lot to be done yet."

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