Academy - Cooking Classes
Prague Culinary Academy (PCA), a new school devoted to teaching the traditional craft of cooking, is committed from its founding to:
- teaching amateurs and training professionals to meet current standards of world-class cuisine and hospitality, putting Prague and the Czech Republic in their correct place as an international destination in dining;
- emphasizing, modernizing and adapting local ingredients and authentic Czech styles to promote a health-friendly and eco-friendly lifestyle;
- bringing international styles and techniques into the modern Czech kitchen;
- defining New Czech Cuisine for the 21 st Century;
- reviving the traditional Czech kitchen, which was heavily obscured in the second half of the 20 th Century.
PCA has deep roots in Central Europe and in particular in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. Founder and Administrative Director is a native Czech citizen, born and raised in Brno, is a culinary professional with an extensive background in fine catering and red-carpet special events. Founder and Executive Chef Allen Wertheim is an American whose mother was born in the first Republic of Czechoslovakia. He is a graduate of the internationally famous Ecole Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, but his earliest kitchen lessons as a child were in the Czech, Slovakian and Hungarian traditions of his mother’s family. The family’s “immigrant experience” also introduced other immigrant cultures’ styles, laying stylistic foundations for what later would become known world-wide as fusion cuisine.
The Prague Culinary Academy’s mission and philosophy is to teach cooking strictly as a traditional craft. All modern technologies will be applied, but there are no mixes, no shortcuts, no pre-packaged ingredients. The PCA curriculum teaches both amateurs and professional to cook world-class and fine-dining quality food using only basic raw ingredients, spices and condiments.
Looking to the future, we do this both for the love of cooking itself, and for the commitment to developing culinary lifestyles which are personally healthful, ecologically sound, and economically achievable.
The Prague Culinary Academy offers training informally for newcomers and serious amateurs, and formally for current and future professionals. The amateur class teaches basic menus and kitchen skills in a casual and convivial environment. These demonstrations are approximately 21 hours long, followed by a full sit-down meal. At this time, demonstration classes are conducted in English, with simultaneous translation available upon request into either Czech or French. The amateur classes may be reserved individually or as a subscription series.
Professional-track classes are 3 hours, concluding with a restaurant-style presentation and a tasting for teaching purposes only. Attendance is required for professional-track students, but if extra seating is available, non-students may reserve space to attend any demonstration. Instruction is in Czech, or in English with simultaneous Czech translation.
In the near future, Prague Culinary Academy will offer Master Classes for experienced working professionals and PCA graduates, and Guest Chef of the Month demonstrations which will be open on a first-come, first-served basis. We will also offer seasonal and holiday-themed special classes during the calendar year for career students and amateurs.
