La Perla de Marton Restaurant & Bistro is a place where the owner does everything he can to make the restaurant work, no matter how difficult the situation. With unvarnished honesty, Peter Marton spoke about the epidemic situation, business, professionalism and the secret of their survival.
Who is who? Péter Marton is a master chef who has long been known to the Győr audience as the former chef of the Carmen restaurant or from several cooking shows on Revita TV.In 2019, however, he opened his own restaurant, La Perla de Marton in Győrújfalu.
You were in a particularly difficult situation, yet you managed to survive the epidemic. What was the secret?
I opened the restaurant in September 2019, which means that six months later it was already closing. We didn't have a core audience at that time, we hadn't launched advertising campaigns, we weren't known yet, so I had to move immediately. As well as introducing delivery, I decided to keep the restaurant open until 3pm. It was a good decision, because if I hadn't done all this then, I could have closed it down. However, I did not think that this period would require even more solutions.
Indicator: creativity, flexibility and professionalism
We have expanded our offer with a weekend menu and the possibility to order different dishes, always reacting quickly to changing needs. I think that if I hadn't been a chef, we wouldn't have been able to manage this period either. I would say that it was a matter of luck that we survived several times, but not really. I always had to be on my toes, brainstorming, watching the demand and responding well to it. That's why I can't be in two places, because if I'm working in the kitchen, I can't manage the restaurant. Fortunately, I have now managed to find excellent chefs, colleagues with whom we can work very well together. Of course, I'm still in the kitchen a lot, because it's in my blood.
New menu, new concept and gypsy music every weekend
The current economic situation is particularly difficult for restaurateurs. Rising prices for raw materials, labour costs, energy costs, and I could go on and on, all of which are immediately reflected in our prices, making it almost impossible to get quality and profit on a menu. I had to make a choice, and I chose quality, as I have always done, in every case. There is no compromise on this, as our public already knows. The price of the menu has increased minimally, all dishes are available at a uniform price, despite the different VAT rates, either on the spot, takeaway or delivery. In addition, there are extra menus daily, using ingredients such as catfish, toothfish, tenderloin or beef. New this year is gypsy music for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays. And for weekend dinners, whether a la carte or evening menu parades, we try to please our guests with light live music, providing extra entertainment. Based on our experience so far, this seems to have been a good idea.
Flavour is key: we cook gently!
We work with more technologies such as smoking, smoking, grilling. We combine new technologies with traditional flavours, but for me the most important thing in a dish is always the flavours, maybe we can consider it as our motto.
For the summer, I want to have barbecue evenings on our large terrace, where we fire up our new gas barbecue and cook better and better delicious meals. We're looking forward to this year, with a full team again and more great ingredients, new dishes alongside traditional favourites.
One of the favourite dishes at La Perla de Marton Restaurant & Bistro: chicken breast stuffed with feta cheese, baked in bacon, with a spicy dip and sweet potato chips#
