Last week, Michal Balucha, a chef from the canteen in the Entrance Area, took part in the Czech-Slovak finals of the Culinary Cup, which took place in Prague. He was nominated as a substitute for this competition organized by Delirest, specifically for its Slovak round, which took place last autumn, and in the end he left as the winner.

How did you do in the Czech-Slovak round? Clients of the canteen in the Entrance Area already know this. In the canteen, there is a small cup for winning the Slovak round, and now an unmissable, large traveling cup for the winner of the Culinary Cup with his name has been added.

Was it difficult? What did you cook and how much time did you have?

We had an hour and a half to prepare and four hours to cook. It was enough, but it was still a lot of stress, but also a great experience. We had the assignment given in advance, so I had time to think for several weeks about what and how I would prepare. We cooked a three-course menu. The appetizer was to be vegan, gluten-free, the main course was to be fish – sea bass, and white yogurt had to be used in the dessert.  As an appetizer, I cooked kale roll – Slovak "pigeons", but without meat, with sweet potato hummus, beetroot, buckwheat pop corn and black beluga lentils with sesame oil, lime and honey dressing.  I processed the fish completely whole. I made a fillet from it, I made a fish stuffing from the cuttings (it's something like a meatball), I boiled the head and bones and I made a sauce out of it. I served the fillet with cauliflower stew and hazelnut crumble. For dessert, I prepared fanky with raspberry jam, yogurt espuma (mousse) and raspberry dust.  We had to prepare 10 portions from each meal.

And what about the jury? Did you have stage fright? The culinary creations were also evaluated by the well-known Czech chef Zdeněk Pohlreich...

I had a lot of respect for Zdeněk Pohlreich. We all know from TV programs how violently he can react and comment on some dishes.  He had some small comments about my food, he also gave me some advice and was generally very pleasant.  I tried to incorporate salty, sweet, sour and crunchy ingredients into each dish. And to make it colorful. I believe that they liked it and the fact that I was able to use the whole fish probably mattered.

Do you also cook at home?

Yes, but it's more of a turn, my girlfriend cooks very well too. I like Italian cuisine, they can create great dishes from a few ingredients.  Here in the factory canteen, I learn how to cook large numbers of portions.

Michal Balucha originally wanted to become a computer network mechanic. He was somewhat "pushed" to become a chef by his parents, who both cooked excellently. In the first year, they had a great master who taught his students that contemporary gastronomy is a bit like art and that definitely "grabbed" him.

The creative director of Delirest, František Sedlák, of whom Michal was a student in his first year of high school, is also proud of the young chef's success: "I congratulate Michal and keep my fingers crossed for him in the international round, which will be held in Romania in the spring."

Michal knows how to turn very skillfully not only with a wooden spoon. He is also the guitarist of the band Teraborsuk, which will have a concert on May 7 in the Steel Arena in Košice.