Kateřina Winterová: I have always been more of an observer

Kateřina Winterová: I have always been more of an observer

In the 90's you were the singer of the cult band The Ecstasy of st. Theresa. Don't you miss music?

Yes, the band became cult, but I didn't realize it at the time. It happens to me when someone reminds me like you do now, or meets me on the street and says that the music may have saved his life. That really happened and I was a little scared. I had no idea we had such a responsibility.

For me, the band was associated with a certain age, when none of us had a family, but an even greater need to express ourselves, do things our way, maybe even resist and try different limits of everything, especially in music. Over time, I have found other channels through which I can express myself, and they may be more understandable to the audience and to myself.

I have a family, my children have changed my view of the world and I have become more balanced and happier. In music, I also dealt with my inner emotions, problems. So I don't miss that period, but I like to remember it very much. I'm glad the experience met me. I always wanted to be a singer.

So not an actress?

The singer. From preschool age. It wasn't until later that it turned into an actress, because I went to a playwright. After the conservatory, I did a band and a theater. It was two equal worlds for me, and I balanced between them.

Yes, the band had their time in my life. It's nice that our work is recorded, that people can play the music and it still makes them happy. And in the end, I think of that Angel as a singer. (Laughs)

How did you like your music life? You probably can't talk much about a healthy lifestyle.

I was never the type to look for exuberant company. I've always been more of an observer. Sure, I got drunk sometimes, smoked a lot of cigarettes, and how many different baguettes I ate at the pumps! But I don't feel like I'm fully living what you're about.

In my opinion, in professions that lack a regular rhythm, a healthy lifestyle always suffers. When there is no order, it doesn't matter if you are a singer in a band or a baker. One has to be careful, to develop suitable habits, in order to be able to function more easily.

You balanced between the band and the theater and now between the theater and the kitchen. Wouldn't you just be happy on stage?

I enjoy the challenges and opportunities of what will appeal to me in life. I've always gravitated with herbs and plants in general, as well as showing off a bit. There are things that take my heart and I'm happy when I can say or write something about them and it brings someone joy, new information or inspiration. And that, in turn, brings me joy.

And currently it's the National Theater, the Herbarium, my website Culina Botanica (a magazine about nature, cooking and health) and topics around the garden and recipes.

You do it to the fullest. After all, you took a trip to India last year for spices!

Yes, I also write about her in the World Cookbook, which was inspired by spices and also a herbarium trip to India.

How did it happen?

We thought we mapped a lot of herbs in the Herbarium, but what about spices? These are also herbs, so what to look at them closely? We went to India because most of the world's spices are grown there. It was famous and fascinating, even though it only meant about five days of my stay.

It was such an intense flight through Indian plantations and farms and it was amazing. I still remember him and draw from him. Just deciding to go to India was not always my taste, it was more to the colder north. But I'm so glad I experienced it. And that I was holding a flowering clove in my hand, which you won't see in our botanical garden either.

That I saw what nutmeg looks like in its true form, that it is such a pear-apricot that hides a lot of layers, similar to our walnut.

Thanks to all those fragrant experiences, such a small encyclopedia, a spice herbarium, with many recipes and a bit of interesting history about spice journeys. There are many crops, such as cloves or pepper.

Do they cater to you at the National Theater?

Yes, it's a nice support. I will be able to devote myself fully to the Herbarium and all activities around it. So also the preparation, research, thinking of the book, because it often concerns what will be filmed. What will the scene look like, what will I be wearing, who will I ask for cooperation, where will we go for a report, what article will be published on my website ...

Do you invent all this yourself?

I have a small team of long-term co-workers who help me fulfill my ideas. For example, this year I chose the topic Home at Herbarium. The funny thing is that it was created before the crown. We said to ourselves that we were in the world in the last series, so we will return home, to the roots, the kitchen "from the garden directly to the plate".

In Herbarium this year, I focus on old varieties. During the spring quarantine, I planted enough of them to have something to show and cook for the audience. I am also preparing a new publication on this topic, I really enjoy it. Just inspiration from our flower beds, meadows and groves.

This is inspiring, because you are also beautiful, tidy and stylishly dressed when cooking.

Yes, thank you for the compliment, but it's twenty-five minutes on TV. I don't pretend to walk in civilian clothes and in the field. It's not a documentary, although it would probably be interesting and in sweatpants (laughs). It's just a show and I'm a herbarium show.

You mentioned the style "from the garden right on the plate". Our ancestors probably had no choice but to be ecological naturally.

Our ancestors did not think about it, it is our name for something we are trying to return to. When I talk about ancestors, I mean mainly those before the Industrial Revolution. We may be romanticizing it, but life was pretty cruel back then. They had to live in harmony with nature, it determined the order of life. So a sustainable way of life was a matter of course, not a privilege like today.

In addition, they had a religion, a strong faith, to help them survive a crop failure. And thanks to him, even some holiday moments.

In the Middle Ages, the holidays were around fifty a year.

There were really enough of them. These were several spring celebrations, autumn, summer and, to survive, winter. We have them connected with Christianity, but they were also based on pagan holidays, which were nicely connected with the course of nature.

Every year, the cycle of the seasons was quite similar, not like now that the weather is flying up and down. So they really didn't have much to choose from. One year apples were born, then more rye, then mushrooms again. They had to take life as it came and pray a lot.

When the industrial revolution came ...

And it brought not only the bad, but also improvements to make life easier. Unfortunately, among other things, artificial means to make vegetables and grains grow faster, better and without pests. But it no longer has much to do with nature.

However, I understand that feeding such a mass of people is difficult. I used to be more implacable, but today I understand the development. But it stops working because it is forgotten that you can't just take and multiply. We are all trapped at once. The soil is sick, the water is sick ...

Are our glaciers melting, animals licking and the Gulf Stream turning? It's all upside down. We have just exaggerated it and now it is not sufficiently addressed due to the different interests and money that flow from certain people.

Well, so what about that?

It's just saying, it's worse. I am glad that, thanks to the Herbarium, I see people trying to manage the land well and sending what they grow healthy to other people. They buy their products and thus support the farmers. I am glad that I can contribute to this process, inspire.

I used to feel like I had to save everything. Recycle all the plastic, sort out all the waste and plant five hundred trees. But that would drive you crazy. It is better to be like our ancestors and think about the distribution of power. About what I can do, and a little bit is enough.

I am convinced that, for example, one organic meal a day will change a lot around us, so I teach our children. If I already have a garden, I don't pour chemistry there, I can do it. Or I'm looking for old varieties that give me seeds, and then I can grow them myself. Even just for insect and bird food. Sometimes I shop without packaging. And another has a straight shop without packaging. I admire and support all these activities.

I am glad that young people - and not only those of course - are upset about the current environmental situation and want to change something, because I have children at home and I want them to live in a better world. Or at least not in worse.

You also grew an eight-hundred-year-old Aztec pumpkin. How did you get your hands on it?

I came across her seeds on the internet. She was from America, such a rarity. I wanted to see if he would grow up here. I like its taste, even though it is not as sweet as hokkaido, which is already more refined. This one is more watery, its structure is good, for example, for broth.

But most importantly, the gardener wants to see his fruit, even if it is not very showy and tasty. And even if he says he won't grow it again, he'll plant it anyway.

That is why I love Karel Čapek, who was able to describe the gardener's feelings perfectly (in the book The Gardener's Year, 1929). I publish my calendar - An entertaining calendar in which, in addition to excerpts from old magazines, I always have to include Karel Čapek, whose feuilletons are amazing. They accurately describe my relationship with cultivation.

I'm not a learned pro, I'm an educated amateur, and I'm not angry if something goes wrong. But I'm happy when it works.

How does the rest of the family react to working in the garden?

Well, they work there. When it is necessary to dig up potatoes, we dig up potatoes, when it is necessary to collect mandelinka, mandelinka is collected. Same with marigold flowers, hoeing and weeding. Children get a crown for that, you know, times are bad (laughs).

Your son is said to be cooking, and he even ground flour for pancakes!

Yes, he grinded, he enjoyed it because we bought a special grinder.

I was afraid that you also grow grain.

Unless I'm a super woman, with a field of rye and a combine that I fix myself (laughs). That's not it. I don't even plan to.

Freshly ground flour is nice because it grinds the whole grain, which gives a lot of fresh valuable substances and a richer taste than we are used to. Plus, it's a little warm, that's an experience. Something prehistoric awakens in a person.

In the morning making a porridge of fresh flour is healthy and very good. But I understand that it is not for everyone and buying really good flour today is not a problem. Kids enjoy it, so let them cook. I have to dust the grinder again. It's perfect fun, and I don't mind the borscht after cooking at all.

The son has already worked out, he could open a pancake house from the stain.

How old is he?

Twelve and started at about eight or nine. I recently told him he could start with buns because he still only makes sweets. So he learned rolls. He knows perfectly leavened dough. If anyone takes over the reins of the Herbarium, it will be my son. (Laughs)

Are you not attracted to raising animals?

No, that's a big responsibility. Although I've spent most of my life with dogs. Now all I have to do is take care of the cat. And when it comes to food: my family and I used to take chickens and turkeys for the season, so we raised our meat. They had a paddock in the corner of the garden. But of course it is more difficult than with flower beds in the garden.

I'm glad we have neighbors who have rabbits, or that I can go to a farm where I know I'll buy good meat. That suits me at the moment.

Are bees not attracting you?

I don't dare for them, even though I already had a swarm of wild bees in my hands. But it's too many lives that go beyond me. This year I have borrowed bumblebee from Bumblebees Plus, an independent group of conservationists and lovers not only of bumblebees, but of nature in general, which is mainly dedicated to education and rescue, because bumblebees are an endangered species. They are declining, and at the same time they are important pollinators.

So I have a bumblebee for the first season, but I think I'll keep it so that a new mother can arrive in the spring. There are fewer bumblebees, they are bigger than bees and they also need care.

I guess it's easier with them than with bees, even though I love you and plant a lot of flowers in the garden. But bumblebees fascinate me.

How do you take care of bumblebees?

They must be cleaned daily with garlic with a valve that protects the entrance to the bumblebee. As they climb inside, they grab the pollen from the roots on their legs and can stick to the valve. If this is not cleaned, the valve will remain ajar, leaking, which could attract predators. They would then make a clearing in the bumblebee.

I like to spend time at that house. I watch the bumblebee workers come and go, and then I also like the click of that valve. It's very soothing, just alpha waves for the brain.

Many people who keep bumblebees gradually place them as close to the house as possible so that they can listen to the sound. For me, the bumblebee has become such a pet. I think insects have the ability to calm and tune people. It fascinates me personally. Without him, we would be impoverished. I also try to show the insects in the Herbarium and correct its reputation full of human prejudices.

Did you have a rich harvest in the summer?

I sowed honestly in the spring and I feel like it worked. During the summer, I mainly shot Herbarium. We drove around the beauties of Bohemia and for inspiring people and nature. The spectators have something to look forward to again on ČT 1 from October.

I also prepared other cookbooks that will be such a small surprise for fans from the fall, as well as news on my website. My second Entertainment Calendar for 2021 has also been published. I believe that I will delight lovers of traditions, nature and romance of bygone times. It is always a great pleasure to create it. Yes, it is a rich harvest for me and I am happy to share it.

I see that again we talked mainly about nature and not much about acting. We should fix it, don't you think?

In the spring, my fellow actors stitched together in the cottages and dug with love in the dirt, just like me. And I have it as a big topic now, apart from acting, so I think it's okay.

Your last film role was an alcoholic in The Wreck. That's what I call a counter-task.

It's an acting job and it will be played, fortunately they don't have to live. I really like working with Ondřej Trojan. We met at the film Toman and understood each other very much.

Then he offered me this crazy role of young grandmother Elvira. I carefully protected myself to see if it was for someone else. "Yeah, there were such ideas, but I want you," he said. "You play it, you have a comedy in you."

It was a satisfaction that a director understood that I could be funny and play someone other than a tragic character.

I really enjoyed it, I just wondered why I always have to smoke so many cigarettes in his movies when I don't smoke. But I survived a few days as Elvira.