13.03.2026
Lyon potatoes, venison in cream sauce, or simple family dinners. The cookbook by Marie Bata, wife of legendary entrepreneur Tomas Baťt, features 99 authentic recipes from the First Republic. The book The Culinary Art of the First Lady of Zlín: Recipes by Marie Bata was created on the basis of handwritten notebooks that returned to Zlín from the family archive after decades. It offers not only period dishes, but also a glimpse into the life of the woman who stood alongside the founder of the global Bata company. The book was launched in Zlín by Július Löffler, chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant La Villa.
The original recipes of the former lady of the house found their way to Bata Villa in Zlín in 2018. The inconspicuous hardcover notebooks arrived in wooden boxes with family heirlooms. One of them bore the simple inscription “Cooking Recipes”. Inside were Marie Bata’s handwritten recipes. The notebooks also contained clippings from Czech magazines, as well as French and English newspapers. Marie Bata also wrote her recipes in these languages.
“Suddenly, we were holding the cookbook of a woman who was part of one of the most significant business stories in Czech history. We were intrigued by the recipes and thought it would be symbolic to revive them in Bata Villa. We liked the idea that, after almost a hundred years, the Villa would once again be filled with the aroma of dishes that were once commonly cooked and baked here,” says Gabriela Končitíková, author of the book and director of the Thomas Bata Foundation, enthusiastically.
In the cookbook, readers will find inspiration for preparing meat and vegetarian dishes, breakfast variations, soups, original side dishes, and lists of entire menus.
99 Family Recipes and Michelin-Starred Chef
The publication of Marie Bata’s recipe book was preceded by several years of preparation. The Thomas Bata Foundation team first tested the individual recipes in practice to determine whether it would be possible to prepare the Bata’s favourite dishes from today’s ingredients after almost a hundred years, and whether they would stand up to the scrutiny of today’s diners. Not only did they stand up to scrutiny, they also caught the attention of Július Löffler, the Michelin-starred chef at La Villa restaurant in Zlín.
“Marie Bata’s honest home cooking was not only meant to entertain, but also to represent her family. I believe that many of her recipes, in a modern interpretation, can be a real inspiration for our field,” says the chef, who will officially launch the book at its public presentation in Zlín. Not only did it stand the test, it also caught people’s attention.
However, the book The Culinary Art of the First Lady of Zlín: Recipes by Marie Bata is not just a collection of recipes. It also offers readers glimpses into life in the Villa, stories about the Bata’s visits and experiences, and Tomas Bata’s thoughts on how people working at the Bata company should eat properly.
“Tomas Bata viewed food as one of the most important sources of energy. He made sure that his diet provided him with everything he needed, and at the same time he wanted to eat in the pleasant company of people he liked. As Marie Bata used to say, the art of cooking is just as important for a happy life as other forms of beauty,“ adds Gabriela Končitíková, author of a number of publications on the Bata theme.
The new cookbook is also a loose follow-up to her 2019 dessert book, 99 Sweet Dots by Marie Bata, which is also based on handwritten family recipes.
Baťa150 Project
The presentation of the book The Culinary Art of Zlín’s First Lady: Recipes by Marie Bata is part of the year-long Baťa150 project, through which the Thomas Bata Foundation commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Zlín’s most famous native son. Throughout the year, the project will offer thematic conferences, traveling exhibitions, lecture tours, and other new books on the subject of Bata.
The aim of the Baťa150 project is not only historical reflection, but also to open a public debate on whether the principles on which a global company and an entire community grew more than a century ago can also stand up in today’s world.
