The Párisi Passage Café & Brasserie restaurant was opened in one of Budapest's most unique monuments, the Párisi Courtyard on Ferenciek Square, over a year and a half ago, where you can enjoy both the turn-of-the-century café atmosphere and the delicious elegance of modern fine dining.
But even the atmosphere of the place is charming! Many people stop by just to see how the historicised building, which had previously fallen into a pitiful state of disrepair, has been renovated and is famous throughout Europe for its Arabic, Moorish and Art Nouveau features. But once you get a glimpse of the charm of the place, you can hardly resist staying for a coffee or a bite to eat in the restaurant. And what can we expect? Chef Lajos Lutz chef of the Passage Café & Brasserie in Paris.
- What kind of kitchen did you put together?
- We've been through several menu changes, and each time the aim was clearly to show thoughtful evolution to our guests. We've gone the extra mile in both food quality and presentation. A Parisi Passage Café & Brasserie is not a classic restaurant, as it is located in a hotel. Our current offer can be so varied, yet still be in harmony and be seen as a whole. You can find French bistro dishes like beef bourgignon, classic local dishes like venison backbone or Hungarian mangalica butter, but also dishes inspired by Azzarian and Middle Eastern flavours. Much more than before, specialities made with only vegetable ingredients are given much more attention, in line with changing guest demands.
Photo by PÁRISI UDVAR HOTEL BUDAPEST
- How did you try to bring in the Hungarian guest?
- Fortunately, the restaurant has been building on the Hungarian clientele from the beginning, but due to the virus situation we had to and still have to focus on this much more than before. We have introduced a number of new products that specifically target potential customers living here. Our Bistro Lunch offer, available every day, is an innovation that is now working excellently, with delicious food, quick service and seasonal ingredients. The possibility of ordering cakes, and being featured on home delivery apps are in fact alternative channels where we can introduce ourselves to more potential domestic customers.
- Hotel kitchens and restaurants are quite a varied business. You have to take care of almost everything as head chef.
- This is a very specialised area of catering, as it is much more than a classic restaurant: breakfast, room service, lunch, dinner, coffee breaks, events. We can also cater for fashion shows, football teams and foreign delegations. Every day we are on standby, every day we have to deliver, because high quality is a constant, that's the most important aspect. This requires organisation, excellent teamwork and well thought-out processes.
Photo by PÁRISI UDVAR HOTEL BUDAPEST
- How do hotels and catering work at Christmas and the end of the year, New Year's Eve?
- Fortunately, we are getting better and better results. If we look at the hospitality sector as a whole, it is of course difficult to compare this period with the situation 2-3 years ago. Nevertheless, restaurants are filling up more and more often, and guests are hungry for a real, creative gastronomic experience. Hungarian customers are also becoming more open-minded, trying more and more unusual and special dishes. Hotel catering is also on the increase, with many large and small events taking place in the last quarter. Our great strength is our ability to react quickly, to find solutions to meet specific needs in this fast-changing period.
Photo by PÁRISI UDVAR HOTEL BUDAPEST
- How do you, Lajos Lutz, as a chef, especially at the head of such a serious system, see the ominous labour situation?
- A significant number of workers have moved to other sectors in the last two years. Many are working in construction, perhaps trying to make a living as couriers or in office work. Just look around the city centre, many otherwise reputable restaurants have been unable to reopen even after the virus situation eased because they cannot find workers.
- Where can you currently get labour?
- I think the good question here is how rather than where. The way we see it is that there is a limited amount of labour currently working in the hospitality industry, which is shared by a much larger demand. We are in the fortunate position of being able to offer job seekers the hospitality of a luxury hotel and an exclusive restaurant. This can be attractive to both experienced, seasoned colleagues and young people who are looking to develop, establish their career and gain relevant experience. For the kitchen and the whole restaurant team, it is true that we are constantly developing together, through training. We transfer useful, real knowledge in the field of premium catering.
- As you are known to many in the hospitality and related sectors, working in almost all aspects of hospitality, how do you see the issue of raw material supply?
- Sourcing quality and, where possible, local ingredients has never been more of a challenge in my career than it has been recently. The drastic price rises are just one of the difficulties, many suppliers and producers have gone out of business, deliveries can be disrupted, and good quality raw materials can quickly run out. The situation abroad is no better, with orders from France arriving with great difficulty. As a chef, this is a constant challenge, an adaptation, because such difficulties cannot reach the table and the guests. However, despite the difficulties, we have managed to establish closer cooperation with some of our partners, so that we can, for example, provide our mangalica cheese from Debrecen, made from marked, genuine Hungarian mangalica, or even our delicious truffle honey, which we source from the Tokaj region.
Author: Tamás Budafoki
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