A Fresh & Tasty Way to a Better Lunch

Fresh & Tasty is a new product line introduced at the end of the summer by the Zátiší gastronomic group. Renata Lukášová, director of Fresh & Tasty, explains what led the group to launch the new venture.

The new product line was essentially created in response to our customers’ demand for food delivery. For several years now, Zátiší Group has specialized in top-quality restaurant and catering services; Fresh & Tasty is a natural extension of our portfolio. It makes it possible for our clients to enjoy top-notch food in the comfort of their own surroundings; the food comes as packaged sandwiches, baguettes, salads, sushi, desserts, etc. Starting in January, we will add chilled, pre-cooked or partially-prepared meals to the cold kitchen products we are offering now, all with instructions for easy home (or office) preparation. All of this will be in the price range of 50-200 Kč per item, with an online ordering system.

That’s certainly not a price point one would expect from Zátiší Group...

You are right about that. On the other hand, for the past 18 years our restaurant and catering business has followed the “value for money“ motto and, if I may say so, we have been true to this principle. Fresh & Tasty fits right into our philosophy; it’s just a new and different product which our group’s know-how and technology enabled us to create.

Whose signature do these new products bear?

The quality is guaranteed by Marek Purkart, the executive chef of Mlýnec restaurant and threetime holder of a Michelin Bibendum. He hand-picks the recipes from an array of possibilities suggested by our nine chefs, oversees the production, and fine tunes the delivery products so they’ll look and taste great even without tableside service. To watch Marek work on the development and testing of new dishes has been an eye-opening process for me, a real back-to-school experience.

We’ve heard you’ve been “back to school” since June...

I have indeed, literally so! Since my background is in sales and marketing and not food service, I’m thrilled to be discovering the secrets of stainless-steel kitchen drawers and restaurant refrigerators. But I’m also happy to say that after winning the business of the prestigious International School of Prague in Nebušice, we have been running the Cafeteria there since last August. The Cafeteria is presided over by Gianluca Giardi, an Italian chef whose native city of Livorno is known for its excellent cuisine full of fresh vegetables, fish, and of course, pasta. An ideal choice for children!

I love watching Gianluca move around the kitchen with lightness and grace, never making a big fuss about his cooking; everything smells of fresh herbs, and not just basil and thyme... this is such a long way from my memories of school cafeterias past which smelled mostly of the infamous “universal brown sauce” so dear to Communist-era cooks. Thanks to the children’s parents, the school and our collaboration with nutritionists from the Výživa dětí (“Children’s Nutrition”) centre, we now have over 30 recipes which Gianluca especially adjusted for children aged 3 to 18. We take great pains not only to make the food healthy and nutritious but also tasty and appealing to kids! Those who have little children know how vital that is. We also like to share the experience we’ve gained by offering cooking classes in nursery and regular schools and by providing catering services for children’s parties.

To sum up, the summer was all about development and testing. And since I didn’t manage to take a vacation due to the workload, I’m the only one on our Fresh & Tasty team who is currently less than “fresh” - but I plan to change that soon.

Renata Lukášová

Mobil: 774 196 511

renata.lukasova@zatisigroup.cz

www.freshandtasty.cz