French Bastille Day celebrated with food market on Prague’s Kampa island

For the third year in a row now, the French Bastille Day on July 14th is celebrated with an open-air food market on Prague’s Kampa island. The stalls offer a wide variety of French wines, cheeses, meats and other delicacies to an increasingly interested Czech public.

Photo: CTK

A small square on Prague’s Kampa island turned on Thursday into a French marché, or market, which for two days offers passers-by a taste of some France’s most famed products, such as wines from Champagne, Langedoc and other regions, pates and terrines, all kinds of meats and cheeses. The market, first held in 2009 to mark the handover of the EU presidency from France to the Czech Republic, has since become a regular part of the July 14 celebrations. The French ambassador to Prague, Pierre Levy, opened the market on Thursday morning.

“It’s a special day today, the 14th of July, and we believe it’s extremely pleasant to have, on the one hand, an official event at the embassy with official guests like members of the government, and then also something which is very popular and very French, I would say, which is a French market. It’s not only a place to buy food but also a way of life, a place to share this very unique French atmosphere on this beautiful Kampa island just in front of Charles Bridge.”

Pierre Levy, photo: CTK

The idea to set up a French food market against the historic backdrop of Kampa island came from Thomas Button who runs a events firm and also imports wine and meat products from his native region of Corréze.

“Honestly, the beginning of the import business was just a pleasure because I could not find some foods in Prague, so I began importing them, and then give them to friends, and that’s how my company started.”

Mr Button says Czech have increasingly come to appreciate quality foods, after years of paying much more attention to price tags.

“I can see that a lot of lahůdky, delicatessen, are opening with much more fine foods from Italy, Spain and France and the whole region. I think that when you look at some of the stores that recently opened, people really go there for quality products, nice wine and cheese… I would say Czechs are getting more interested in good foods.”

Photo: CTK

Another stall, run by Dominic Collin, offers wines, terrines, and sausages. His company started importing these products directly from French producers to restaurants and wine bars in Prague. Mr Collin first explained to me the difference between pâté and terrine.

“The pâté is mashed meat, like a mousse, while terrine is really pieces of meat cooked together, so it’s bit coarser.”

You also import wines - is it hard to compete with local Moravian wines?

“Well, I was in fact surprised but we are doing quite well. In the past, French wines were quite expensive, which didn’t make any sense. But now, I have for example Cabernet Sauvignon for 150 crowns, which is cheaper than most Moravian wines, when we speak of quality wines.

Photo: CTK

“So at the beginning, people were reluctant to buy French wines, and they said it was too cheap to be good. But they tried it and now they like it. So we are not concerned with competition from Moravia because those wines can be very expensive.”

The food market on Kampa island runs until 10 PM on Friday. For more information, go to france.cz.