Krajinska 27 restaurant, microbrewery and guesthouse in the historic centre of Ceske Budejovice combines modern gastronomy with its own beer production, with a strong emphasis on honest craftsmanship. The current owner and head chef, Petr Šmídek, has been running the business for ten years. During this time, thanks to its family atmosphere, excellent menu and pleasant environment, it has built a loyal base of local regulars, while also being popular with tourists who come here for Czech cuisine and good beer. Two Vision combi ovens (B1011i, B623i) and a DeliMaster bakery oven are indispensable for preparing the menu.

What is the concept of your restaurant?

We are a restaurant and a microbrewery. We brew our own beer and aim to pair it with quality cuisine. We focus mainly on Czech cuisine, but overall it is European cuisine based largely on meat. We do a lot of grilling and bake our own bread. We make everything from scratch. I also like Italian cuisine, so we often prepare fish, seafood, risotto and similar dishes.

What are you best known for?

Our pale lager and pork ribs. We prepare them a bit differently than elsewhere – they are very meaty. And also our specialties and lunch menu.

Where do you get your inspiration? 

The gastro scene in Prague. Books. Travelling. When we go somewhere, we choose destinations based on whether there is a good restaurant or brewery.

You have one combi oven for cooking, another for regenerating dishes, and a DeliMaster baking oven. What do you prepare in them?

We use the smaller one for regeneration during service. We prepare dumplings or eggs for kulajda in it. In the larger combi oven, we mainly use the overnight roasting program. We put in 40 kg of ribs and let them roast slowly overnight. In the DeliMaster oven, we bake rolls and bread, and we also dry fruit and vegetables.

Which programs do you use the most?

As I mentioned, mainly slow overnight roasting at low temperatures. We try to set most programs ourselves. For bread, we use a program set up by my friend, a baker with twenty years of experience. We have also tried your preset programs – for example, the roast beef was excellent. The drying program is also very good.

Which feature or function do you appreciate the most?

It’s great that we can save programs and don’t have to remember them. We also use the sous-vide method a lot, thanks to the precise steam temperature. We prepare pork tenderloin and chicken this way.

What is the biggest benefit for your kitchen?

Above all, reliability. We can rely on the combi oven to work exactly as it should. And also its large capacity.

Would you recommend Retigo combi ovens to other businesses?

Absolutely. I have thirty years of experience and have worked with various brands, but Retigo is excellent. What suits us most is the ability to set our own temperatures for baking, steam cooking, and adjust everything according to our needs.

Petr Šmídek,

owner and head chef