The days when a menu contained a large number of dishes – from soups to meat, pasta, pizza, salads and desserts – are now almost a thing of the past. Restaurants are focusing more and more on seasonal or even daily offers, which often contain only one or two pages.
An interesting phenomenon is also the tasting menu, which you come across commonly abroad, but which is becoming more and more visible here in our restaurants.
A tasting menu brings a guest a lot of advantages – for a relatively advantageous price you get a kind of “overviewˮ of what the given restaurant serves, and you come to know the signature foods of the head chef for the specific restaurant. You can try several courses and spend more time here, and the evening is not just about staving off hunger but becomes an evening-long program, during which the daily necessity to eat becomes a small celebration. The size of the portions is set such that guests can handle the entire tasting menu without any problems. Foods in such a menu are focused on seasonality, and the head chef uses top-notch, sometimes even untraditional ingredients – all so that the foods are served like works of art and are a feast for the eyes before being eaten.
A tasting menu for the most part consists of several courses – the head chef at the introduction will want to get you at the start with small delicacies, so-called “amuse-boucheˮ. The verbal combination comes from French and its literal translation is “entertain the mouthˮ. Next in line are appetizers, soup, a fish or vegetarian course, a meat course, and dessert is the climax of the menu . At the complete end, a so-called “petit-fourˮ may come – in French this means “small ovenˮ, which was once added to the main over and the excess heat was used for baking tiny cakes, which the guest got as a consideration.
You can try several courses and spend more time here, and the evening is not just about staving off hunger but becomes an evening-long program.
In Slovakia you can find a tasting menu at the restaurant Gašperov mlyn, in Batizovce, under the High Tatras. This mini restaurant with three tables set up its tasting menu such that it is all they offer. The menu consists of about nine courses and for guests this is a surprise up to the last moment.
You can also order the pairing of wines with the dishes, which enhances the experience of the foods even more. Furthermore, the head chef and his team will come to introduce each of the individual dishes. The restaurant interior, which is a modern redesign of an old mill, creates the impression of uniqueness. A visit to Gašperov mlyn is a genuine experience which is worth adding to your program with every visit to the High Tatras. But beware: a reservation needs to be made at least one day before the planned visit.
Text and photo: Gašperov mlyn
