The chef of Liget Royal Restaurant follows his former master: “Everything that is needed, nothing that is not!”

The chef of Liget Royal Restaurant follows his former master: “Everything that is needed, nothing that is not!”

- From assistant chef to head chef, and it’s been more than half a year now. What has changed since then at Liget Royal Restaurant, what is the cuisine of Tamás Bódis and his team like?
- Unfortunately, our previous chef was unable to continue his work due to an injury, so I had been substituting for the first time since August, and then, after it became clear that he would not be able to return to work in the long term, I took his place. We already had an established schedule and experience, and on the one hand we continued this, and on the other hand we started experimenting. The daily menu served as an excellent tool for this. Within this framework, we could try out the dishes that we thought would appeal to our guests. The basic aspect was to provide quality dishes, but at an affordable price. To do this, we had to choose good, but not too expensive, ingredients. We wanted simple, understandable dishes, with a little extra, a twist, which could even be a technological innovation or improvement. For example, to make the given dish lighter. A typical example of this is that we make a light cream instead of a classic sauce.
- In a short time, we found out what the guests like. There were absolute favorites, and several of them were added to the permanent menu. The lunch menu is also good because we can experiment and assess what is in demand. It is important to assess this, since we are not cooking for ourselves, but for the guests of Liget Royal Restaurant who want gourmet flavors!

- If we approach the question from a culinary philosophy perspective?
- My theory about cooking, or let's say the way I like to cook, stuck with me in the workshop of one of my chefs, Andor Kárász. His philosophy influenced me the most: to make great dishes from simple ingredients. He always said: "Everything that is needed, and nothing that is not." I have been following his thinking ever since, and I think this is absolutely visible in the dishes. None of them are too complicated, lovable, understandable, made from really simple ingredients, of good quality, with good technology, but each one has one or two small, surprising, or cheeky things that we sneak in. Something unexpected, but of course in a positive sense.

- The feedback is also very good, which shows that we are on the right track. There are a lot of five-star recognitions, many people take the trouble and describe in detail their experiences and impressions here. Because basically our main goal is to provide an experience, a gastronomic experience.

- What do these little twists and surprises mean, which the audience supposedly appreciates so much?

- These are mostly small accessories that are not used in the given dishes, that the guest does not expect at all. They add an unexpected, special extra flavor to the dish, of course, something that fits it. To name just a few of my favorites, pickled mustard seeds are a simple ingredient, yet they burst into your mouth with a new flavor and add a bit of acidity to your food. The crunchy bits are also a surprise when you bite into them, giving them an extra texture and a new experience, as is pickled onions, which I put on almost everything because they go with most of our dishes. They have character, are sweet and sour, and are a real treat to bite into, and they refresh the food. Another favorite of mine is finely chopped English celery with a little lemon zest, shallots, and parsley. I love sprinkling these on food, especially pasta, because they make it fresh and refreshing. This is not a witch's kitchen, these are very simple and tricky little things, but they enhance the taste experience.
- So, in the kitchen of Liget Royal Restaurant in Hévíz, every dish is about classic flavors, but somehow it's not, because there's always something extra, something new, something playfully special.

- Liget Royal Restaurant in Hévíz really does get a lot of five-star reviews in the most well-known search engine, but of course there are always a few criticisms. How much attention have you paid to this?
- We take all feedback very seriously and we are grateful for it. It is an incredibly good feeling to read these opinions, it gives you strength, confirmation that you are on the right track. So the minimum is that if there is a fault report, we consider it and if we find it justified, we react to it. Why not improve it if we know what still needs to be fixed?
- At the same time, there were several feedbacks one after the other regarding the portions, for example, that they could be a little bigger. Although these were related to the three-course menu offered at a discount on the lunch menu, which, if someone ate it in its entirety, they were guaranteed not to go hungry. We also know this from the fact that there was plenty of feedback on this as well, and some of the guests, responding to the critical tone, confirmed that this quantity was enough for them. We still thought it was worth addressing this issue. We have followed the basic principle of a no-residue kitchen philosophy so far, and we continue to adhere to it, but at the same time we increased the portions. We practically experimented with what is enough and what is too much. It seems that we managed to find the right measure, because we have not received a single negative feedback lately, and in fact many people have explained that our offer is extremely good in terms of price-value ratio, and the portions are generous, even on the lunch menu.

- How has the traffic developed since the baton was handed over?
- August-September was full steam ahead, and October brought unexpectedly excellent results. That was when we first joined the Dining City Restaurant Week campaign, which was a great success, so we are repeating it this spring between March 14-24. Now we are treating restaurant enthusiasts to a special menu prepared for this occasion. You can only book a table on the Dining City website for these days, and requests are already coming in.
- But back to the traffic assessment. December-January slows down a bit everywhere due to the holidays, except for New Year's Eve of course, but now our February has picked up nicely, and guests have arrived. Foreign and domestic tourists who come to our city for the benefits of Lake Hévíz typically come for a few days, a week, but they often choose us every day for the duration of their stay. For us, this also shows that if someone visits us just once, they feel the difference, the extra that we give to our guests.
- We have also developed a circle of regular guests, to whom we are especially grateful, as they are the ones who truly appreciate our work by returning to us again and again. This confirmation is important, as no successful catering company can operate without regular guests, and neither can the Liget Royal Restaurant. We look forward to seeing everyone in Hévíz!