Daniel's Kitchen is one of Szombathely's excellent restaurants, where you have an experience from the moment you enter to the moment you leave. The young restaurant is justly famous, but the chef, the owner, will tell you why.
„We started with a smaller place first, so as not to cause any problems. It was successful, which is why we opened the restaurant we have today, with 9 tables and 30 seats. The restaurant has a show kitchen with a real fire. I'm familiar with all the kitchen technologies, but a kitchen has to have fire, in every sense of the word,” says Daniel.
Dániel Németh, owner and chef of Daniel's Kitchen, has found himself in his profession. True, it was his mother who suggested this path to him, but it seems that it was no coincidence. He loves every aspect of being in the kitchen and doesn't go home until everything is done. When she started her apprenticeship in Sárvár, it was the real discipline - the kitchen order, as she puts it - that first appealed to her. He was dressed in his chef's coat, knocked on the chef's door every morning and then checked in again when he was done. They didn't finish because they were off the clock, they finished the job, and that was the beginning of everything.
Dániel: „I still remember how once Uncle Tóni, wearing a red knitted tie, used to cook a perfect jerky omelette in one half of the pan and make a sauce in the other half. I could see that this was simply his life. I'm a chef!”
Let's go to Danny's!
I asked about the choice of name, as it can be risky to build a brand on your own name. The answer was very simple. In Szombathely, Dani worked in a restaurant for 12 years, later as a chef, and even then the regulars knew that Dani was cooking there. Finally, when he opened his own place, they just said: ’Let's go to Dani's. But the restaurant is not a one-man business, the chef stresses. It works so well with his wife, Vivien, who handles all the ins and outs of the restaurant. The restaurant manager Péter Böröcz's attitude and experience are now essential to the smooth running of the restaurant. The chefs and waiters are not employees, but colleagues, and they think as a team.
No compromise in kilometres!
Daniel: „The secret of our restaurant is good raw material and good preparation. No matter how far from perfect angus, or Cancer, shell, chicken - if it's the best in quality, we bring it home to our kitchens. „
The restaurant's menu changes 2-3 times a year with seasonal offerings, but with an incredible variety of dishes. A mangalicáfrom the black angusthrough the sushi - you can find everything from. What they all have in common, however, is the high quality of everything on the plate. If necessary, ingredients are sourced from the Italian or Austrian market. The restaurant was initially designed for locals and food lovers from the area, but later foreign guests started to visit more and more often. Of course, this is also due to the fact that the restaurant is located in one of the most impressive hotels in the city, the Artis Boutique Hotel in the city centre.
Common sense during a pandemic
Daniel: „Delivery was never part of our profile before, so we didn't do it for a few months. We found something else that worked! We chose 2 days this week to have takeaway food and luckily it was a big hit.”
Daniel's kitchen was the place to be these days, as they strive to offer a filling and delicious meal that can be served and eaten at home. The restaurant's success is certainly due in part to their ability to think sensibly. They are not in a hurry, but are deliberate and work as a team. That's what the owner must have meant when he said, „Just because I cook well doesn't mean I have a good restaurant.”
What is the Daniel's Kitchen team up to?
A new place is opening in Szombathely, under the 100-year-old water tower. They won the opportunity to operate it in the spring and found a worthy function for it. A bistro with quality Hungarian ingredients and food at affordable prices will be opened in cooperation with Mészáros confectionery, where everyone who loves gastronomy is welcome.
Cool video of the bistro in the making here available for viewing.
Daniel's Kitchen recipe: farmhouse chicken breast with vegetables:
The whole yellow-meat farmhouse chickenThe breasts are separated from the bone by a y-cut to leave the wingtip attached. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh lemon juice. Place in the fridge overnight. Wash the mini carrots and mini beetroots well, cook them in salted water over a low heat until tender, or if your technology allows, vacuum-cook them in a vacuum bag. When they are cooked, cool them in iced water, drain them, and peel them gently with kitchen paper towels.
Clean the shallots, cut them in half, remove the petals and boil them. Cook a good-tasting pickle with rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, star anise, fennel and lime leaves. Cool, then put the lime juice in for one or more nights. The next day we make the carrot puree. Peel the carrots, cut them into large pieces and cook them in salted water over a low heat, or soften them until tender. Once cooked, pass through a fine mesh sieve and place in a blender. Dice fresh ginger finely and add the juice and zest of an orange. Start to blend, adding cold butter, until smooth and frothy. Remove the chicken breasts from the fridge, fry both halves in a little butter until crispy. Place on a greaseproof baking tray, brush with butter and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 15-18 minutes until cooked through. Serve to taste with the pickled green salads and carrot puree, then drizzle with the base juice.
