Poultry in the spotlight: How do the chefs at Café Savoy work with chicken, duck and rooster?
Café Savoy
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"We mainly take whole chickens, and we use them to make thigh and breast cutlets and we make broth from the skeletons. One chicken weighs about 1.7 kilograms and Gourmet Poultry brings them to us twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays. In the kitchen, we like to know the meat well," says Martin Čáslavka, the chef of Café Savoy.
According to him, the chicken schnitzel is the most the best-selling dish on the menu and has been for more than 20 years. But besides it, other dishes are also prepared in the kitchen - sometimes chicken roulade is on the lunch menu. Roast chicken cooked to order was also very popular, appearing on the menu as New York Chicken.
But in addition to chicken, Café Savoy also serves duck, rooster and goose. "We cook duck breasts in a frying pan and confit the thighs in pork fat. For the duck breasts it's important to leave the skin on - It adds both flavour and fat, otherwise the meat would be dry," says the chef, adding that they rarely work with rooster, which is stewed for a long time.
"This is meat that needs time. The rooster is first deboned and cut up, the skeletons put into a thick broth for the sauce. The diced meat is then slowly simmered - prepared in a similar way to a goulash but with a slightly different process and different spices," he explains.
Poultry on the tasting menu
Poultry variations were also featured at the April Culinary event, which is a special menu for loyal guests. The four-course menu was themed around French cuisine and featured ducks and roosters in the lead roles, and the team from Café Savoy was joined by Boris Agostini from Gourmet Poultry, which has been supplying poultry to the restaurant for over four years. Together with Café Savoy sous chef Tomas Vlček they conceived, prepared and published the menu.
On the plates were for example rooster consommé, duck ragout with pasta or rooster in wine with mashed potatoes.
The story behind the meat: Where does the poultry for Ambiente come from?
Behind the four-course poultry menu at Café Savoy, it's not just the culinary ideas, but also It's the years of honest breeding. "Originally, we ran our own family farm with a small number of poultry. We were careful about the quality of the feed, the health of the animals and the space available," says Boris Agostini of Gourmet Poultry, a long-time Ambiente supplier.
Although the family sold the farm after tragic events, most of the breeding is now run by their former employees, and Agostini and his colleague Hana Malečková continue to oversee the quality and philosophy of the entire operation.
Their approach is still the same: healthy animals, Czech origin and taste, that reminds you of your childhood. "We hear from the chefs that our poultry smells and tastes like it used to - no unified breasts with no smell or colour," says Agostini. They also offer less common cuts such as hearts, necks and offal.
Slaughter takes place twice a week, with fresh meat going to restaurants and markets on Wednesdays and Fridays. From Monday to Friday, between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., their poultry is available for purchase in the Holešovice Market Hall 22, and on Saturdays they are there until they sell out. And they are also preparing new products - autumn geese and Mulard "goose".
Where to go in Ambiente for poultry?
But gourmet poultry is not just a matter for Café Savoy. Their chickens and other poultry can be found at other Ambiente locations.
At U Kalendů the Chicken Kiev is a star. This dish is prepared of breaded chicken breasts or thighs fried until golden brown and served with herb butter, mashed potatoes and lettuce. Thanks to the quality of the ingredients and careful preparation, it has become one of the most popular dishes on the menu. It is the chicken that comes from Gourmet Poultry or Druhaz Poultry Farm.
At Karlin's Bufet, poultry meat appears in various forms. One of the most popular dishes is fried chicken in buttermilk served in brioche. This combination of tender thigh meat and fluffy pastry is complemented by seasonal side dishes and sauces. But you can also enjoy chicken broth at Bufet, grilled chicken or a caesar salad.
High-quality poultry thus finds its place in the various Ambiente kitchens, from classic steaks at Café Savoy to traditional chicken Kiev, to modern street food at Bufet. It's clear that whatever you're in the mood for, the poultry in our restaurants is always carefully selected and prepared with respect. Come and taste it!
