Syrup, schnapps and chocolate

When Peter Made wraps strips of dough around thick wooden skewers, every move is perfect. No wonder: He first stood in the bakery at the age of twelve. Since then, his passion for Kürtöskalacs, also known as Trdelník in the Czech Republic, has never left him.

"It actually comes from Hungary," the baker explains as he turns the dough-coated skewers in oil and sugar. After the yeast dough is grilled at 900 degrees and the sugar melts, the pastries are rolled in either ground walnut or cinnamon. Actually a food of poor people who cooked the cake like a kind of stick bread over an open fire, the yeast snack further developed into a real specialty that was also consumed in noble houses.

Sweet syrup

But the Czech trade fair presentation in Hall 11.2 is also a platform for innovative founders. The company Vladimír produces syrup from exclusively natural ingredients.

Vladimír Macoun came up with the idea when he was working as a bartender in Prague. "There were no suitable regional products, yet we have a long tradition in the Czech Republic, for example, for elderflower syrup," he says. His stand also offers fruity varieties such as raspberry, mango, blueberry and strawberry. In addition to lemonades, the syrups can also be used to mix alcoholic drinks. Lavender, for example, tastes excellent with Prosecco. Ginger syrup is suitable for Moscow Mule, but also as a hot ginger tea, recommends Vladimír Macoun.

High-percentage spirits are available a few meters away at the distillery R. Jelinek. The well-known Slivovitz, plum brandy with honey, but also brandies made from birdberry and raspberry are among the best sellers. But the distillery, founded in 1894, has also made a name for itself with kosher schnapps, which it exports as far as the United States. "A rabbi supervises the selection of fruit, production and bottling," explains export manager Petra Ceresnikova.

Would you like an Easter gift? The company Mickey Bakeware has brought along suitable cookie cutters, including for cookies that can be hung on cups thanks to a matching indentation. Cookie stamps, motif rolls or cutters for small cookie houses are also included.

Beautiful through chocolate

Sweet gifts are available from Steiner & Kovaric. The assortment includes almonds and nuts in chocolate. Pralines rolled in Indian moringa powder glow green. The "Moona" chocolate produced with collagen is said to act as a beauty cure from within. It also contains vitamin C from açaí and acerola. "We follow the approach 'from bar to bean,'" explains Majid Wachtarczyk. Fair-trade organic cocoa beans are ground for up to 72 hours for the chocolate, which makes for a particularly fine taste.

Visitors will find the Czech delicacies in Hall 11.2.