Prague Restaurant Creates Coronavirus-Shaped Dessert

Pre-Advanced
2021-01-23

A restaurant in Prague, Czech Republic has invented a sweet treat shaped like the new coronavirus. The cake is an attempt to increase business — and it is already popular with diners.

The Black Madonna restaurant has suffered as travel to the Czech Republic decreased because of the coronavirus health crisis. The country is battling one of the highest rates of coronavirus infections in Europe.

The cake’s creator, Olga Budnik, said she got the idea while most businesses in Prague were closed earlier this year.

The cake is a little smaller than a tennis ball. It has a chocolate surface and is covered with cocoa butter. The virus’ “spikes” are made of white chocolate and dried raspberries. Inside the cake is a nut filling with raspberry sauce and raspberries in the center. The cake has been a big success. The restaurant has been selling more than 100 each day.

Vojtech Hermanek is the restaurant’s marketing manager. He said the coronavirus crisis has caused “a huge drop” in business for Black Madonna and other Prague eateries. He added, “But at the same time it was a chance to bring out the coronavirus cake which is a symbol…showing that not everything is lost.”

Olga Budnik said she was already looking ahead to the next product – a COVID-19 vaccination-themed sweet that tastes like “lots of lime with a bit of alcohol.”

Today's Vocabulary

1. invented (v)
to design and/or create something that has never been made before

2. battle (v)
to try hard to achieve something in a difficult situation

3. spike (n)
a narrow, thin shape with a sharp point at one end, or something, especially a piece of metal, with this shape

4. crisis (n)
a time of great disagreement, confusion, or suffering

5. themed (adj.)
designed according to a particular theme (= subject), or designed to relate to a particular place or time

6. marketing (n)
a job that involves encouraging people to buy a product or service

QUESTIONS
  1. How many has the restaurant sold in a day?

  2. Who is Vojtech Hermanek?

  3. Who is the cake’s creator?

  4. What is the filling of the cake?
DISCUSSION
  1. Do you like to eat some desserts after dinner?

  2. How often do you eat cake?

  3. Will you try to eat coronavirus shaped cake? Why or why not?

  4. On which occasions do people eat cake?

  5. Have you ever baked a cake?