A few days ago, the Delirest competition - Culinary Cup - Slovak and Czech round - took place in Prague. The topic was soup as a main course, i.e. a large soup that also contains protein (egg, cheese or meat) and that can fill you up. A total of 17 chefs competed – 9 were from the Czech Republic and 8 from Slovakia.

"One of the nominees withdrew from the competition, so we approached a substitute Michal Baluch from our kitchen in the Entrance Area. Michal came, cooked the best soup and won. He thus became our champion of Slovakia," said Fero Sedlák, chef and creative director of Delirest, who won the international round of this competition last year and was a member of the technical jury this year.

In addition to Michal, Monika Tóthová, who is known to all guests of the Repre restaurant in the Entrance Area as always a smiling and cordial waitress, also took part in the competition. What the guests may not already know, Monika sometimes stands in the kitchen and takes a wooden spoon in her hand. It cooks very tasty soups and sauces.

"She cooked better than some chefs at the competition," says Fero Sedlák, a colleague: "Her dominant feature is high-quality, home-made food. It is very good in traditional cuisine, which we know from our grandparents and makes the kitchen special with dishes that young, modern chefs lack. During the competition, Monika had the greatest cleanliness around her. No chef had such order on his table as she did."

"I took it in a sporty way," says Monika and adds: "but I also had a bit of stage fright. Cooking soup in an hour is difficult. I decided on a Hungarian soup that guests always like here in Repre - Jókai bab leves (bean soup with smoked meat and vegetables)."

Michal Balucha , who has only been working in the kitchen of Delirest in the Entrance Area since September, found inspiration in Asian cuisine: "Previously, I worked in a bistro in Prešov, where we mainly prepared breakfast and Asian soups. So I believed in myself. That's why I cooked an Asian soup "tomka" at the competition, it's coconut soup with ginger and chilli, grilled chicken and grilled vegetables. The condition was to use seasonal vegetables, so I chose pumpkin puree. I'm glad I won this competition. I want to thank you for your trust."

Michal advances to the Czech-Slovak final, in which three Slovak and three Czech chefs will compete. The best three will lead the teams at the international Culinary Cup. The Czech-Slovak finals will take place in February, again in Prague, and the jury should include a legend among Czech chefs - Zdeněk Pohlreich.

Fero Sedlák has other plans for his young colleague, who was even his student: "Michal cooks in the kitchen in the Entrance Area of the specialty, takes care of the hot buffet and supervises the production of sweet glasses. After the New Year, we would like our customers to taste his dishes in the ÚMD canteen, in the Repre restaurant and maybe in other Delirest establishments within Slovakia."