Portrait of Otto Vašák
i. Biography
Otto Vašák is the head chef of Restaurant ESSENS in Hlohovec, South Moravia, where he has led the kitchen since 2019 and built a tasting-menu-driven restaurant centered on seasonal, local ingredients. He is from Valašské Meziříčí in the Beskids and has been profiled as a rising Czech chef after previously working for three years at La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise in Prague. In 2025 he was named Gault&Millau’s Chef of Tomorrow and became the first Czech chef to appear in The Best Chef Awards ranking.
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