It is well known that success or failure is decided by every small detail. One of them might well be the taste of home. Therefore the Czech athletes in Korea will be served Olympic bread Karel every morning at the Olympic Village. This idea was devised by slalom canoeist Vávra Hradilek, and President of the Czech Olympic Committee, Jiří Kejval. “For the ten years that I have been travelling to competitions I have always really missed Czech bread. I think that many of the athletes often feel the same,” he says. The bread can also be purchased by fans at the Olympic Festivals in Brno and Ostrava.

Bakery in Korea

Every day our Olympians will have freshly baked bread, marmalade and honey on the table – all from South Bohemia. “In the past I competed in Sušice, where we also purchased the legendary local tarts. Then after the Olympics I met with baker Karel Rendl,” explained Vávra. “Later, when discussing Czech traditions with Jiří Kejval, the topic of bread came up. We had the idea of connecting these things together”.

The bakery was shipped out in early November, and has just recently arrived in Korea. This fragrant and treasured food will be baked in the Czech House. “We will bake at night so that in the morning it can be distributed to both villages. Every day we will bake around 80 loaves,” says Karel Rendl, who will be assisted in Korea by another two bakers, including his son who is the sixth generation of Rendl bakers. Some of the bread will also be supplied to the Slovak House.

A secret? No, “just” wholesome bread

The recipe is not secret or shrouded in mystery. “Why would we think up something extra? We stick to traditions. We simply bake good and wholesome bread from high-quality ingredients,” says Karel, whose name the bread bears. “However, it’s a coincidence as we selected this name according to the bread that my mum used to bake at home,” smiles Vávra.

The bread at Olympic Festivals  

Not even the fans will be deprived of the bread, which will be delivered to the Olympic Festivals in Brno and Ostrava. Visitors will be able to buy bread baked to the same recipe with the same yeast. Olympic bread Karel can be tried in various versions with high-quality spread available in five types.