PALOMA

Paloma restaurant has a reputation for being an exceptional venue that impresses with its luxurious interior, and especially with its fantastic cuisine. So we went exploring. After all, who could resist French dishes by a real Frenchwoman? To our surprise, when we met the French Chef, Alexia, we discovered that she had a strong American accent. It turned out that this likeable lady, for whom food is a passion, was born in America, where she ran her own restaurant in New York for almost 14 years. She then moved to Paris, where she won the BIB gourmand and Gault Millau awards for the Pomze restaurant. She also worked as a Chef at the Circle Line Restaurant, which was named as the best Czech restaurant by the Gourmet Guide in 1997.

 Why did you decide to return to the Czech Republic?

When I worked as a Chef in a restaurant in the Czech Republic in the '90s, I really liked Prague. It was at a time when a lot of things were opening and the atmosphere was amazing. When they contacted me, saying that they would like to transform a luxury restaurant here into a more accessible bistro/brasserie to attract customers, and asked me to move here from France, it was the feeling of friendship that I'd felt in the Czech Republic that more or less persuaded me to return to this country.

 When you were putting together the menu for Paloma restaurant, did you have a completely free hand?

I did. However, we naturally searched together for what had the greatest potential to attract attention and what would work best. Originally, it had been a different concept – fine dining – which combines an experience, but also tends to be more expensive, basically a Michelin restaurant. We wanted to maintain the quality and uniqueness of the dishes served, but to make everything more accessible. This is the path that gastronomy is currently taking all over the world. In order for Paloma really to work, something had to change. That's why we chose a combination of fine dining and bistro – a kind of modern French brasserie. Although we don't call it that, you will find many typical French products here.

 Is it difficult to work as a Chef in a foreign country?

For some, maybe. I regard it as a motivating challenge. I really enjoy this kind of thing. One gets to know new people, a new way of thinking. It is very interesting to combine different thinking and cultures into one whole. So when I opened a restaurant in America, it was French. Personally, I don't eat American food, so it was very interesting to work in the States with something that they were not used to at all and to try to adapt it to them somehow. Because that's how it works. When you come to a new country and introduce a different cultural heritage, and I'm talking about the cuisine of course, you adjust it a little bit, so that people can accept it more easily. And, at the same time, you have to stay faithful to your country of origin. So that when a Frenchman comes to Paloma, he still feels the vibe of home. And at the same time, the food offered must speak to the locals. This is a challenge that I really enjoy extremely.

The interesting thing about Paloma restaurant is that it looks almost as if it comes from a classic movie, where – just like here – you can see into the kitchen, the Chef walks among the customers and at the same time supervises all the dishes. How difficult is it to find the right staff?

It's definitely hard work, because we all have slightly different backgrounds and it's important to clarify from the start if we'll be able to work together. It is important that those I choose have a feeling not only for the Czech, but also for French tastes. So it's mainly a kind of tutorial programme at first, when we're looking for a balance. My cooks were not familiar with French cuisine, and it is perfectly fine that they had to learn to work with it at first. I don't expect anyone to do everything according to my ideas at the beginning. The important thing is that they can handle everything later.

 It sounds like a demanding job, where you are practically always on hand. Do you have any time for your personal life?

I might have a week off now, so, yeah! But it's true that I generally devote enough time to my work. I enjoy it and I'm glad to see that customers enjoy it too. After all, that's what work in gastronomy should be about. About the joy of food that evokes pleasant emotions. If it doesn't evoke them, something is wrong.

https://www.palomapruhonice.cz/restaurace