Chef Horký: Prague is full of people who open restaurants out of boredom
You managed various restaurants in Prague, now you have taken over the Goldie restaurant in Tábor from Martin Svatkov. Does this mean you are running away from Prague?
A crucial aspect for this decision was the pandemic. because the investors let me down in their crisis attitude and I also ran up a lot. Some of those investors present you with huge plans, pull you in, but soon the whole plan collapses. We even had a detailed concept for a new restaurant in Nerudová street in Prague. There was already a new kitchen inside, all equipment and the like. But then the pandemic came and the investor ended the whole plan and overnight it all ended. Last May I said goodbye to him, took a month off and got job offers in the meantime.
And one of those offers was to take over Goldie’s restaurant in the Nautilus Hotel?
Yes exactly. I didn’t think twice because my family and I live in the south and it’s much closer to me than Prague. In addition, after the pandemic, I saw it as a new wind and a new opportunity.
They say that the Prague restaurant market is oversaturated. So did you go outside of Prague because it is currently more advantageous?
The trend is that it is starting to move more outside of Prague than it was before. I think the chefs have run out of patience and are tired of Prague. In Prague, the restaurant industry is booming, and everyone who has a billion behind them will open a restaurant after a long time, but they may not actually understand the industry at all.
What do you think so?
It happens quite often that I get a job offer from Prague for a new restaurant, and I now refuse such offers because I am happy at Goldie. However, if I refuse the offer, the new operators of Prague restaurants will start to persuade me to at least help them with the beginnings and give them advice on how to start. I was talking with an investor who currently wanted to open a large hotel in Prague with a huge canteen and restaurant. But it didn’t occur to him that he had no way to get staff at the moment.
Is it more profitable to start a restaurant business in Prague or outside it?
I think it’s better outside of Prague now. Of course, in Prague you have tourists, more people, but the competition is high there. I know many chefs who leave for other Czech cities.
You also ran into a staffing problem. How do you find staff at Goldie?
It is, of course, a complete tragedy. When I arrived at Goldie’s, almost the entire team from the kitchen and from the patio left, and many even rushed in another direction and ran away from the gastronomy. Some went with Martin Svatek to his new company Mace. We were thrown into hot water from the beginning and it was not easy at all. Just recently, I had a conversation with Mr. (chef Zdenek – editor’s note) Pohlreich, with whom we filmed at Prima, and we discussed the staff situation. We both agreed that the situation was really sad.
What do you think the outflow of people from the catering business is due to?
If we are going to comment on the pandemic, I think many restaurateurs have themselves to blame. During the pandemic, all the employees were fired, and I am not at all surprised that these people are afraid to return to the gastroenterology. They have lost confidence in their employers and fear losing their jobs in every crisis. That’s why a lot of people started working in various factories and corporations, where they have much more security in this regard.
On the other hand, many restaurateurs had no choice because they would not be able to do it financially.
Sure, that’s certainly true. Maybe it’s lucky that I’m not the owner and don’t have to deal with it. However, I understand both sides and I wouldn’t want to be on either side.
Does this mean you don’t want to own a restaurant in the future?
My second home is Slovenia. With a bit of an exaggeration, I always say that when the worst comes to worst, I would like to move to Slovenia, where I will fish and build a small bistro there that my wife and I will run. I would never want to open my own big restaurant. But I definitely plan to stay in the gastroenterology, I can’t imagine that I would do anything else even in the biggest crisis.
And how satisfied are you with the attendance at Goldie?
It is much better than it has been in the last two years. But eating is the culture of a nation. I wish people would be much more aware of this and visit restaurants for a cultural experience as well. I have traveled the world and worked in different countries. I like that people abroad already perceive it this way and know that they don’t have to go to a restaurant every day, but twice a month I save up for a good meal in a good restaurant and it’s an experience for me. Here, people say that they don’t have money for expensive restaurants, but then a gentleman in a shiny Mustang comes to us and says that the lunch menu for 180 crowns is terribly expensive. These are situations that just prove that it’s not so much about money as it is about priorities. In addition, our Czech restaurants of the experience restaurant type are still very cheap compared to foreign ones, despite the fact that the price of ingredients and good wines is no different. Today, people travel a lot and see how much quality French wine costs, so there is not so much room in the Czech Republic for setting high margins on these products.
Raw materials are also becoming more expensive. How does this affect pricing in your business?
You can tell a lot about purchases and, of course, we had to raise the price a bit, but so far it’s really only a low percentage. Our owner is comfortable with signing it on the margins. However, the price increase mainly concerns meat.
If the pandemic happened to return, how would Goldie’s restaurant operate? Do you already have an emergency plan?
This is of course up for discussion with our owner. I remember when fancy restaurants cooked in boxes during the pandemic. I’ve ordered it a few times out of curiosity and I don’t think it’s the same and it certainly doesn’t match the original price. If covid came back to the same extent we might be cooking tray meals, we’ll see. But I believe that we will not get into such a situation again.
Jan Horky
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