Silesian Flavours Culinary Trail

Roulade with dumplings and red cabbage is to Silesia what champagne is to Champagne – that is how the organiser itself puts it. The Śląskie Smaki (Silesian Flavours) culinary trail was launched by the Silesian Tourist Organisation (ŚOT) in 2012 and is one of the first culinary trails in Poland. It is made up of several dozen restaurants across Silesian Province serving certified regional dishes – not only Silesian but also from the Jura, Zagłębie and the Beskids.

Four cuisines in one province

According to ŚOT, the region's cooking was shaped by Czech, Austrian, German and Jewish traditions. Upper Silesian classics on the menu include roulade with dumplings and red cabbage, wodzionka and hekele, a herring salad. Zagłębie brings zalewajka soup and prażonki, the Jura offers Częstochowa pea soup and trout, and the Beskids contribute griddle cakes with crackling or serula, a kind of sour soup made with buttermilk. The organiser speaks of more than 100 regional dishes on the trail restaurants' menus.

How the certificate works

Only venues holding the "Śląskie Smaki" certificate can join. A certification panel tastes the dishes, and only then do they go onto the certified menu. You can recognise a member at the door: there is a trail sign on the entrance, a certificate on the wall and a special insert with regional dishes in the menu. The list includes the Szyb Maciej restaurant, Dworek Carnall, Dwór Bismarcka, Karczma Sączówka, Restauracja Cysterska, the restaurant at the Pałac Czarny Las hotel and Zagłębie Smaku at the Holiday Inn in Dąbrowa Górnicza.

Awards and festival

• 2013 – Polish Tourist Organisation certificate for the Best Tourist Product.
• 2015 – distinction in the European Commission's European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) competition.
• The trail is a member of the Polish Culinary Trails consortium.
• Every June the Śląskie Smaki Festival takes place – the region's biggest food event, with cooking shows and tastings. The first was held in Podzamcze, and the most recent editions, the 19th and 20th, were hosted by Koszęcin.

Tripto tips

• This is a driving trail spread across the whole province. Pick one sub-region and combine lunch with sightseeing, e.g. Zabrze and its mines or the Jura and its castles.
• The current restaurant list, recipes and a video cookbook are on slaskiesmaki.pl.
• In the restaurant, ask for the "Śląskie Smaki" insert in the menu – only those dishes are certified.