Jirka, Honza and Denys are the core trio of ARTE Restaurant, which celebrated its first anniversary at the end of October. We caught up with our fine dining team on this occasion to give us a glimpse behind the scenes of Pálffy Manor’s experiential restaurant as they prepared for one of the dinners.
Do you remember opening day?
Jirka: The first day was a bit nervous—like the first day at any other job. We did not know what to expect, but we were excited. But it already feels like ages ago, as if we have been here for 10 years. Probably because it is so intense.
A lot has probably changed since then…
Jirka:Everything has moved forward; sometimes it feels like a completely different restaurant, but that is normal because it is evolving. Just as the dishes improve day by day, the restaurant itself is being refined as well. From the table settings to the music—everything had to go through its own development.
Today is Thursday and you are preparing the menu for this evening. It is quite calm here. Is it always like this in your kitchen? Easy-going, no stress or nerves?
Jirka:Sometimes we do get on each other’s nerves, but even if we tell each other off, we have a glass of wine in the evening and everything is resolved. And in the morning we start again. But in general it is calm here; above all, we try to make it pleasant. What can make us nervous is when someone is late. That is why we introduced a rule: whoever arrives late in the morning has to prepare breakfast for everyone the next day.
That is a good solution—you came up with it nicely.
Denys:What did we come up with?
Honza:That if you are late, you make us breakfast.
Denys:Yes, fortunately I am not late very often.
Honza:But tell them about the time you did not come to work at all.
Denys:That is true, but it was not on purpose. I was sitting at school and suddenly it hit me. So I called Jirka to ask whether I was supposed to be at work today. And he said yes (laughs).
So then you must have had to make breakfast every day for at least a month, right?
Denys:They somehow forgave me.
Jirka:But the nice thing is that people like Denys work here—true enthusiasts—who sit at school from Monday to Friday and then, from Thursday to Saturday, also work hard here on top of that.
It is important to truly love your work. Which part of the evening do you enjoy most?
Honza:Definitely the service, when we go to the guests in person. It happens about six times during the evening. We always welcome them personally, say goodbye, and in between we ask what they liked or did not like… we collect feedback, which is important to us.
Can you estimate how many guests visited the restaurant during that year?
Jirka: (after deep consideration and some demanding calculations) 1,400.
Honza: (after deep consideration and some demanding calculations) 650.
Honza, you guessed more than half less.
Honza:Wait, I will recalculate (laughs)… So, 1,000.
Denys:I say 948.
It was exactly 1,346. Jirka, you win a good feeling. Among those nearly 1,400 guests, are there any who have stayed in your memory for some reason?
Jirka:Sometimes, when there is time and space, we offer guests a short tour of the manor after dinner. It is an added value that comes from the setting in which the restaurant is located. Once we had a gentleman who took this tour with us, and when we were in the premises of what is now the Hostinec Palatín restaurant—specifically in the bar area—he burst into tears. It turned out that he used to live in that exact spot with his grandmother (in the second half of the 20th century, parts of the manor were used by the Municipal National Committee’s housing administration as rental apartments, editor’s note). This gentleman’s grandmother had already passed away, and the memory moved him. The entire evening, including the tour, was a truly memorable experience for him.
Honza: We also had a guest—a gentleman from Košice—who found out about us online and travelled by train for six hours just to have dinner with us. Right after dinner he got back on the train and went back to Košice. It makes us happy when someone is willing to travel across Slovakia because of us.
Jirka:And of course, we truly appreciate guests who are our regulars. There are many who come regularly for every single menu, and we thank them for their loyalty.
In ARTE’s first year, you introduced five different seasonal tasting menus. Is there a dish among them that is your absolute favourite?
Honza:Venison tacos—one of the Amuse Bouche—are extremely popular with guests as well. It is a course we have had on the menu for a long time and we cannot take it off because the guests themselves want it. And definitely the pigeon, which appeared in the very first introductory menu. We have it again in the current one, although in a slightly different form. It always captures guests’ attention, because many of them still remember that pigeon used to be commonly eaten, which is no longer so usual. In this way, we take them back to those times through memories.
Do you also have a particular ingredient you generally enjoy working with most?
Jirka:Definitely all the ingredients we grow ourselves in Farná. We also work with many local farmers; in general, we take exceptional care with the quality of our ingredients. Since summer, we have also introduced something new on the menu—a selection of high-quality local cheeses—and it is something we and our guests enjoy very much.
And now, reveal some secrets from behind the doors. Who among you is the biggest worrier?
Honza: (points at Jirka)
Jirka:Probably Honza…
Jirka: All right, me too. But in the order I said. And Denys talks the most—we call him “Cheeky Excuse”.
Denys:Since when am I cheeky?
Jirka:Since you started.
Who is the most stubborn?
Jirka and Honza:Denys!
And who is the biggest perfectionist?
Jirka:All of us. That is what fine dining is about—everything has to be 100%, perfect—so we have to be very detail-oriented.
Is there anything you would like to add in closing?
Jirka:Only that we would like to thank all the guests we have met over the past year at ARTE. And we look forward to everyone else who decides to visit us. We will do everything we can to ensure they experience something truly exceptional with us.
So, all the best to ARTE—and for the coming year, tons of new ideas and guests.
Editor’s note: No arguments occurred during this interview, and no team member was harmed.
Jiří Zajíček
Head Chef
Our Head Chef Jirka, known for his unconventional style, has worked in kitchens around the world throughout his rich career—from Czech classics to exotic Asia. This experience has helped him develop a truly unique style that combines local ingredients with innovative approaches.
Ján Jati
Sous Chef
For our Honza, cooking is above all a passion, not just a job. A trained baker whose path led him to the culinary arts, he has been working with our Head Chef Jirka for 10 years. Thanks to this, they are a well-coordinated team that runs like clockwork in the kitchen.
Denys Tudovshi
Chef de Partie
The youngest and most talkative member of the team matches even more experienced colleagues with his hard work and determination. A natural entertainer, he insists on the quality of his work and already has several medals from culinary competitions in which he represents his school.
