Client: Cluj Palace
Country: Romania
Date: 2021
Project Summery:
The restaurant Cluj Palace located in downtown Cluj-Napoca approached us with the desire to create a menu consisting of 20 dishes that reflect the aristocratic atmosphere of the Palace, based on traditional Transylvanian cuisine but with unique twists in flavor and presentation. Our company delegated Chef Zoltán Kovács for the task. Our team visited the location several times, conducted surveys of the site and kitchen technology, and held multiple days of cooking trials on-site. The accepted recipes and technological processes for the menu were then sent to the client, followed by another 3 days of cooking to prepare the dishes and present the serving style. All processes on-site were recorded with a camera to allow the kitchen staff to review the exact steps later on.
Tasks related to the project:
• On-site survey
• Evaluation of operations and performance
• Analysis of existing menu items
• Providing advice for kitchen renovation
• Conducting SWOT analysis
• Continuous consultation regarding ingredients
• Providing a menu of 20 dishes
• On-site cooking trials (3 days)
• Finding suppliers
• Menu compilation
• On-site training for chefs and cooking the menu (3 days)
• Writing recipes
• Technological descriptions for the dishes
Credits:
Project Director/Coordinator: András Timár
Restaurant and operations consultancy: András Glöckl
Chef: Zoltán Kovács (Master Chef)
Project Steps
Location of the restaurant
Initial Steps
After the on-site survey, we sent two proposals for menus, which we then cooked on-site for a joint tasting.
Here, we presented the flavor profile and atmosphere that we believe would suit the place.
The Second Step
After reading several old Hungarian, Transylvanian, and Romanian cookbooks,
we created the menu consisting of 20 dishes. Here are some dishes from the completed menu:
SOUPS
Cabbage cream soup made from three types of cabbage, served with ham and potato dumplings
Cauliflower soup with cheese toast
APPETIZERS
Grilled shrimp tails in chili olive oil, served with garlic white bean cream and fresh bread
Duck liver “Palace” pâté with apricot fig chutney
Bell peppers stuffed with minced meat, served with homemade tomato sauce
MAIN COURSES
Provencal lamb shank with ratatouille vegetables, Bordeaux sauce, and potato croquettes
Pork tenderloin from Transylvanian Mangalitsa
(Smoked bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin served on a bed of cabbage, with layered polenta)
Rosemary chicken breast with sweet potato puree and cranberry pear
DESSERTS
Apple pie with mulled wine sauce and Turkish honey parfait
Chocolate soufflé with blueberries and baked custard
Nuns’ bread
(French toast made from bread rolls fried in butter, served with marinated dried plums)
The Third Step
After the menu was accepted, we visited the site where Zoltán Kovács cooked the entire menu while also training the
chefs on-site on how to prepare the new dishes. We used a camera on-site to
ensure that the steps and movements in the kitchen staff were retained.
Werk pictures from the kitchen and a short video:
Some pictures of the final dishes:
