Daniel Biro combines his Swiss, London and Viennese experiences in Kobazi Bay’s newest restaurant, ZAZIE Bistro&Bar. We spoke to the young chef taking the throne about the opening, the wide selection and his past role models.
Vince: ZAZIE is located in a very prime location, on the ground floor of an office building. What is your vision, what kind of restaurant do you want to achieve here?
Judge Daniel: More than 10,000 writers work in the region. surprising. That’s why breakfast and lunch are so important to us. This community needs to capture something exciting and good. I want to implement a cozy bistro style, where office workers will mainly find healthy, high-quality food. They sit with us and finish in forty minutes. At dinner, there was already a slower, more complex concept in mind, with area residents being our main audience. I imagine a place that changes a little every day, Zazi It always shows something a little different.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner in Kobazi Bay
Vince: From breakfast, to the lunch menu, to dinner, ZAZIE offers it all. What is the biggest challenge for you?
Judge Daniel: I’ve tried almost everything from small restaurants to fine dining and hotels. The varied breakfast offer is new even for me. We like to be one of the few places that puts so much energy and quality into our breakfast dishes. It all reminds me a lot of my youth, when my father, Lajos Pero, would make amazing sandwiches at home. ZAZIE sandwiches partly follow this honest, ingredient-focused Scandinavian line, which is also close to home for me. But I feel like the whole concept of the restaurant is mine, completely me. I certainly didn’t put a lot of work into the list.
Vince: As the head chef of Vendéglő a Kisbiróhoz, you have already managed an established kitchen, but now you are co-founding a startup restaurant. How was the transformation?
Judge Daniel: I’m lucky to be working with people we’ve been with for years. This made my job much easier. The whole team came with me. This is almost unprecedented at home. And not because my father is a famous chef, but because I do everything for them, and vice versa. We are here for each other. I can be conceited and arrogant, only after his head, but the most important thing is that my team goes home happy and comes away smiling. We really are like a big family. For example, I have known one of my colleagues since I was a little kid.
Vince: I studied abroad in Switzerland and worked in several countries. Besides Scandinavian cuisine, what else is close to you?
Judge Daniel: The school gave me a very strong French foundation with great global influence. Not surprisingly, I have fellow students from sixty-four countries. For example, I really liked Asian cuisine, which can be seen in my own style. I like the way the deep bowl of ramen is presented, to show things off in a compact way. I like to hide surprises. But I can recognize almost everything that is youthful, comfortable, stylish and of good quality.
Examples
Vince: You’ve said in many places that your father is your biggest role model. Which of your previous stations had a great impact on you?
Judge Daniel: I would first like to mention the Arts Club of London. It is worth noting that I practiced kung fu until I entered university. That’s why I love competitive mode, when everyone is fighting for the same goal. I experienced the same thing at The Arts Club, an upscale, Michelin-starred French bistro. Forty of us were working one shift, in unbearable heat, amidst screaming. But I loved every minute of it. I felt like I came home there. I learned there in one year what I would have learned in ten other places. Another special stop was Constantin Filippo restaurant in Vienna. In a two-Michelin-starred restaurant, you really learn everything, at the highest level.
Vince: How do you measure ZAZIE’s success?
Judge Daniel: I would consider it a success if we worked close to a full house. The best thing that could happen to a restaurant. Michelin is an important professional standard for me. I think ZAZIE is well suited to represent the values of the Michelin editorial team and be included in the guide with some sort of recommendation. This will be a huge compliment to the company, the team and me personally. But it will also be important that many students come to us. I love teaching and working with young people, because they are the future. We have to prepare them well so that our gastronomy can continue to develop.
Vince: How do you stop it? Do you cook at home?
Judge Daniel: For me, the kitchen is my life and my work. In my free time, I like to give space to others. In such cases, I prefer to spend as much time as possible with my partner, family, friends or dog. If I’m starting out for fun, I really like trying different creams and hot sandwiches.
Author: Adam Geary
Cover photo: ZAZIE
