Happily to say, I am writing this entry in the heady afterglow of an idyllic afternoon of fine wine, gourmet food and balmy sunshine at the Prague Food Festival 2010, this year held in the Southern Gardens of Prague Castle. Despite being an a) self-confessed foodie and b) a Prague resident for nearly four years now, I have to admit that I have never actually made it to this event in previous years, mainly because I tend not to notice it’s ever actually on until I see it written up on other people’s blogs... In fact, I wouldn’t have even known it was on this time round if not for a very well-timed suggestion from my colleague just a couple of days before - thanks Misa!

Luckily for us Mr K and I both had the Friday off work, and in our keenness to finally attend must have been two of the first few people at the gate – a good decision as it later turned out, as on a weekday there were virtually no queues, fewer crowds, and more welcoming staff. Entrance was 400kč a head, but of that 250kč was given back in "grand" tokens, which could then be exchanged for the dishes on offer within the festival grounds. We also ended up topping up at one of the "grand" banks dotted around the Castle gardens, so that we could sample a few more options on top of the standard ticket allowance as well.

Usually it is Mr K who on such occasions lapses into a state of adult ADHD, but this time round I must confess to being the one who rather lost their head, as I ran round photographing like a mad woman and trying to decide what out of all the delicious displays on offer I would most like to eat. In the excitement, at one point we lost each other in Hartigovská Zahrada (needless to say, this time all Mr K’s fault), with cross words being exchanged on eventual reunion. But we soon made up again over glasses of cold, crisp Italian Lugana (at 2 grands a glass) from one of the many Bacchus stalls scattered round the gardens. See, all smiles here...

We also sampled a glass of pink Brut Nature (also 2 grand), which likewise went down very well.

At this point Mr K insisted on stopping by the children’s corner run by Radisson Blu / La Rotunde for a blueberry milkshake and mini chocolate and raspberry mousse (each 2 grands). I wasn't a particular fan of the blueberry milkshake, but loved the mousse, which had a really lovely deep, dark, velvety chocolate taste.

Finally, we rounded off with a truly to-die-for three-chocolate mousse at the Hilton stand, which Mr K and I agreed was the absolutely perfect sweet end to an already extremely enjoyable culinary experience.

Other dishes that I didn’t taste myself, but definitely looked tempting at least were the stuffed veal chest served with mashed potatoes, glazed carrots and sage sauce from the Como stand (4 grands);

Others I preferred to pass on were the pork from Lví Dvůr (8 grands);

Food and drink aside, it was also really lovely to roam the castle grounds in such sunny weather and take in the lovely views from the Castle gardens.

That said, I certainly didn’t envy the cooks slaving over a hot stove on such a balmy summer day!

Which just about wraps it up for my experience of the first day of Prague Food Festival 2010 really. Like I say, it was the first time I’ve ever been to this event, so obviously I can’t compare to previous years - however, I for one thoroughly enjoyed the occasion, and next time will be sure not to miss out on Prague Food Festival 2011!!!!!!! :-)))))