Do You Want to Try Pork Knuckle or Fried Cockroach? Visit the Czech Food Festivals

Gastronomic festivals throughout the Czech Republic this year are attracting visitors with Czech specialties and gourmet innovations. Their visitors will be able to taste traditional Czech cuisine - Vacek trout, Moravian wine or beer from different regions. The food festivals also offer cooking shows, workshops and the new competition Food Specials Czech Cup 2014.

Prague: More than 120 kinds of beer and Michelin chefs at the Castle

This year, the capital of the Czech Republic will become the site of several gastronomic festivals. In mid-May the seventh annual Czech Beer Festival will kick off at Letná Plain, at which more than 30 domestic breweries will be presented. Visitors can look forward to a selection of typical Czech dishes - roast sirloin or pork knuckle, as well as delicacies from Europe, Asia and America.

Gourmets can take delight in a three-day celebration of food in Prague - The Prague Food Festival Michelin chefs, top businesses and unique dishes will all be featured at the Royal Garden of Prague Castle in May. For example, whipped lamb pâté with rosehip jelly or Sichuan flower ice cream. The motto of this year’s festival is healthy nutrition and the slogan "Eat, drink and live smart!" 

In Plzeň you can try fried cockroach or live flowers

The West Bohemian town with the famous brewery prepared in mid-May the fourth anniversary of the Apetit Festival, which attracts visitors with its wide range of delicacies of Czech and Italian cuisine. In addition to competing for the best restaurant and brewery, the festival will also feature performances by well-known chefs and bartenders. The extraordinary experiences of visitors will be provided by the molecular cuisine, as well as tastings of live flowers and insect specialties. You will also be able to try a scorpion or fried cockroach on chutney.

For gourmets, Litomyšl will prepare fish, snails, frogs, as well as goulash, and traditional cake

Lovers of fish, crayfish, frogs, snails and mussels will be inspired by the third annual Gastronomic festival M.D. Rettigová in Litomyšl. The birthplace of the legendary Czech cooks prepared a gourmet pilgrimage and food festival in late May with the theme: "A variety of fish and acquatic creepy-crawlies." One of the oldest trout farms in the Czech Republic, where the renowned "Vacek trout" is raised, is right in Litomyšl. The Gastronomic festival will also offer a tasting of Slovak, Dutch, and Japanese cuisine as well as a competition for the best homemade cake and pot goulash. This year's festivities have also prepared activities for children who can participate in a cooking school and decorating gingerbread.

The Food festival at Špilberk Castle will captivate visitors with its atmosphere and Moravian wines

Visitors can enjoy culinary art in the unique confines of Špilberk Castle in Brno at the third annual Špilberk Food Festival. During the first weekend in June, the best restaurants of the South Moravian region will be presented here. Part of the food festival will be a guided tasting with professional sommeliers and wine makers as well as a tuna portioning show. For lovers of good food and drink there is a rich program including a cooking school, cooking show and a Friday after party.

Wet your tongue on original Wallachian specialties in the Moravian town of Luhačovice

One of the newest food festivals in the Czech Republic offers its visitors typical Moravian and Wallachian specialties. The Resort Food Festival in Luhačovice will prepare the best dishes from local hotel chefs as well as a tasting of Moravian wines and the unique Sarbaz sparkling wines. The gourmet dining experience will be complimented by special mixed drinks. The accompanying program includes a cooking and bartending show, blind tastings and a music program with fireworks for visitors.

The Competition Food Cup Czech Specials: Come and sample regional ingredients which are not cooked anywhere else

This year, within the framework of four food festivals, the new gastronomic competition Food Cup Czech Specials will be launched. Selected restaurants will fight over the best dish, whose main course must include the specified regional ingredients - wild garlic, Vacek trout Moravian wine or Pilsner beer. The winners of the regional rounds of food festivals in Karlovy Vary, Plzeň, Litomyšl and Brno will meet in the final tournament at the International Day of Chefs and Prague Food Parade in September. The Food Cup gastronomic competition is part of the project Czech Specials of the agency CzechTourism, which aims to raise awareness about regional cuisine in the Czech Republic.

More tips on food festivals and Czech cuisine can be found at: www.czechtourism.com and www.czechspecials.com