Czech dream 2.0
E15: Huge numbers of Czechs are flocking to farmers’ markets. But the goods there aren’t always superior to supermarket fare.
Should a Slovakian greenhouse-grown tomato, priced at 69 crowns per kilo, really be sold at a Prague farmers’ market? This is but one question this author ponders during a Tuesday afternoon visit to an outside market located in Prague’s Náměstí Republiky. Elevated speakers enhance the whole experience, bellowing out a Hana Zagorová song, which cheerfully notes that “the world is full of miracles”. And who can argue? I look around and spot some fruit, vegetables, smoked meats and cheeses of varied quality, and also striped silk women’s shorts selling for 390 crowns, kitschy ceramics and a sea of PET plastic bottles filled with cheap wine. Even the “trdelník” rolled dough sweet pastry, that latest “local delicacy” to swamp the country, is well represented. After all, where would the country be without trdelník?
Czech Czechoslovakia
“Over the decades, the entire square has undergone several notable changes of appearance, almost as if were endlessly searching for its genuine ‘human’ face. But it is the farmers who finally succeeded in bestowing this. With that, the square gained a new, far more pleasant appearance, and ceased to merely serve as a place to pass through,” note the organisers
of Prague 1 Farmers’ Markets on their website. How true is this assertion? Some people really do enjoy shopping here; meanwhile, tourists photograph themselves brandishing the latest distinctive Czech trinkets. But there are others who would prefer that such stalls, many of which arguably belong in some poor fairground, stop blocking their way. Indeed, it is rather a shame that a so-called farmer’s market located in a square bang in the centre of historic Prague, looks as shoddy as this.
“They care about this place and that is why I come here and nowhere else,” says Markéta Přibylová, who sells ceramics
at a stall in the market. So how does this “care” manifest itself? Are they ensuring the goods sold are Czech? Or of the highest quality? Or both? The problem is that much of the stuff sold in the surrounding stalls is, though Czech, little more than junk. And then there is also a lot of non-Czech stuff too. “The goods must be from primary producers, but whether it has to be Czech too, I don’t know. Slovak tomatoes? Well, that is almost Czech, is it not? I remember when we were still one country,” recalls a smiling Přibylová.
“Trdelník also wasn’t invented in the Czech Republic [It's origins are Hungarian – Ed.]. But we do also have trout,” says a young blonde woman who boasts not only a piercing, but also her own interpretation of what is suitable for a Czech farmers’
market – in this case fresh seafood imported from Hamburg. My next stop is to the nearby Billa supermarket. Indeed, the very reason farmers’ markets emerged was to counter the frequently feeble and homogenous grocery offerings of the major chains. For Czech supermarkets, price is the number one concern – and studies show that is exactly the priority system
that Czechs want. But for the same price as in the nearby market, Billa offers far tastier and more aromatic tomatoes – not only Italian, but imported from other countries too.
So what exactly is the added value of farmers’ markets, when so often th ey don’t even sell Czech or better quality products? “Czechs are used to supporting their favourite sports stars and teams. There is even a saying that who doesn’t jump up for their team isn’t really Czech. I believe Czechs should adopt that same passion for their home-grown produce,” Jiří Sedláček, head of the Association of Farmers’ Markets (AFT), a member of the Archetyp NGO (which documents the histories of Czech
markets), and the organiser of two farmers’ markets (in Jiřího z Poděbrad square and Náplavka on the banks of the Vltava),
told Lidovky.cz.
“Czech tomatoes will not offer the same quality,” says Petr Pospíšil, one of the organisers of the farmers’ market at Náměstí Republiky. “Food producers, vegetable and fruit cultivators or sellers directly tasked by producers are able to sell at farmers’ markets,” adds Pospíšil. No stallholder may exceed a 10-percent quota for foreign goods. AFT’s terms (Prague 1 Farmers’ Markets are not members) only permit highquality foreign foods, or those for whom a Czech equivalent cannot be found domestically. This clause is reflected in the likes of saltwater fish imported from Germany, though here too one could debate whether such items are suitable for a Czech farmers’ market given their emphasis on locally-sourced, environmentally sound products. But surely Slovak tomatoes are in no way special; a smaller carbon footprint can be achieved by importing from Germany, Poland or Austria. “Many people go to Mr. Šanda for Slovak tomatoes, and they are well liked,” notes Pospíšil.
Arguably, however, in this case, a visit to Billa might yield better produce.
Factory food sneaks in
Czech farmers’ markets were born a number of years ago out of sheer frustration. An official at Prague City Hall engaged in
a study of such markets in Berlin and New York and doggedly sought to find a suitable location for a similar enterprise in the Czech capital. Eventually, the pre-communist era tradition was revived in Prague 9’s Klánovice by the journalist and author
Hana Michopulu. “A service for the city, money for the countryside,” she said, describing the farmers’ market concept. But she soon had to contend with two problems: a tragic lack of producers of quality local goods as well as a concurrent verabundance of producers of mediocre goods. Both these issues endure to this day.
In Prague alone, several such markets can be found – many even operating on weekdays: right in the centre of Prague in Náměstí Republiky, at Jiřího z Poděbrad square, at Náplavka, at “Kulaťák” (Vítězné Náměstí in Dejvice), at Vršovice, at Karlín,
and also Pražská Tržnice in Holešovice. Others can be found on the edges of the city. Indeed, today, such markets have become the rule rather than the exception across Prague and beyond. Some are far closer to the ideal than others. But it is possible to stumble across quality smoked meats, canned vegetables, fresh breads, freshly laid eggs, homemade butter or yoghurt, varieties of Czech potatoes unseen in supermarkets, fresh herbs, lard etc. – albeit prices can often be high. For example, a stall run by the Petite France bakery offers quality breads and pastries according to French recipes; but the products are sold at prices comparable to those found in La Gare, a top French restaurant in the centre of Prague. In many cases, stalls merely offer more expensive, and often worse varieties of items sold in supermarkets and stores. Dozens of varieties of “Medovina” honey mead is a perfect example.
“A great idea, but it just sort of degraded over time,” says noted Prague butcher and meat smoker Tomáš Hudera, describing his own experiences at the Dejvice farmers market. “Two years ago, I visited such a market when it was still working properly. Primary producers and growers should be represented there, not distributors, who purchase smoked meats from
large-scale producers. That is happening everywhere. But people, unskilled in being able to tell the difference, remain in the dark.”
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