Mozzarellart – the Freshest Mozzarella in Prague

In the Nusle neighborhood of Prague, in 2014, Mozzarellart was opened – a unique and authentic shop which specialises in Mozzarella and other Italian cheeses.

The friendly, family-run business is like no other in Prague, or in fact in the Czech Republic.

Working exclusively with Czech milk imported daily from a local farm just outside of the city, and using Italian expertise and traditional methods, Mozzarellart produces on premises the freshest and most mouth-watering Italian cheeses in Prague.

As the name suggests, the main product is their fresh mozzarella, but they also sell delicious ricotta, stracciatella, and burrata, which are also made daily. My personal favourite is the burrata, which consists of smooth mozzarella on the outside, and creamy stracciatella on the inside.

You can also enjoy plenty of other Italian produce, such as their delicious cured meats. For Italians who are feeling a little bit homesick, this shop will certainly give you a taste of home. In-store, you can also find Italian products that you wouldn’t be able to find in regular supermarkets, so it’s definitely worth a look around.

Tiziana and Marco, the couple behind Mozzarellart, are from Apulia, Italy. The passionate Italian couple came to the Czech Republic for the first time in 2008 as students studying marketing. Following their stay in the Czech Republic, they started traveling around Europe and visited cities such as London and Berlin… “But we fell in love with Prague,” Marco told us.

They needed to start working in the city, and since they both come from southern Italy, where mozzarella can never be kept in the refrigerator, they said it would be nice to try to produce something they know and love. “Nobody was doing anything like that at the time. We are mozzarella enthusiasts and it’s part of our tradition, so we decided to share the tradition with the city we now call home,” explains Marco when asked why they chose to make mozzarella, and why in Prague.

But it was easier said than done. It was difficult in the beginning, as this was the very first business of its kind in Bohemia, and nobody knew exactly how it should be done.

“Creating such a shop was sometimes crazy. In particular, regarding hygiene regulations. Initially, the communication itself was complicated – I only spoke Italian and English, and most of the officials only speak Czech” Marco told us. Eventually, however, the initial difficulties subsided, and with the help of their friends, Marco and Tiziana finally opened Mozzarellart in the spring of 2014.

“We start production at five o’clock in the morning and we have the first fresh cheese ready at around nine o’clock in the morning. It is often the case that regular customers will come straight for the first batch and wait for their personal mozzarella. They sit at the table and watch the chefs prepare their personal cheese. All of the cheese you find here is fresh and made today. We take just the right amount of the raw ingredients, then we can guarantee 100% freshness,” explains Marco.

Practically speaking, the cheese is only milk, water and salt, so you cannot expect that the fresh, local cheese will last as long as the squeezed mozzarella from supermarkets.

The cheese will last a maximum of five days. The taste is delicate and creamy with the softest texture. It’s glossy and smooth on the surface, easily divided into thin strips. Comparing the freshly made mozzarella from Mozzarellart with the stuff you can find at the supermarket, the difference is obvious at just a glance.

“My goal is to sell my cheese at my shop. This gives me the opportunity to communicate with customers and receive instant feedback from them. We are trying to build our business on personal contact. People do not just want to buy cheese, but talk to us, and spend some time with us. This is the way it works in southern Italy, and we wanted to bring that here,” says Marco.