“I have known Kristóf Kovács for many years. Our joint brainstorming for the renovation of the kitchen at the Déryné restaurant really took off two years ago when we moved into our new showroom in Sóskút and Kristóf visited us on his way to Lake Balaton.

He stopped, looked around, and said nothing. A few days later, he came back. Once again, he walked around, looked, and then began to brainstorm and sketch. A few more days passed, and he returned again. And so it went on. He came back again and again because he found influences, inspiration, and ideas here that he knew we would be able to realize, based on what he had seen during his studies abroad in different parts of the world.

To my knowledge, Kristóf is unique in the Hungarian hospitality industry in that he regularly takes his entire staff—chefs, waiters, bartenders—to the coolest places in the world. They visit gastronomic establishments where they not only look, but also taste, live, and experience. They take videos, photos, and notes—and in the meantime, they taste, taste, taste. They then bring these experiences and ideas home with them and implement whatever can be adapted and will work in the domestic market: they host experiential dinners and incorporate the most successful and popular dishes into their menus.

Kristóf started telling me about how fire has become such a defining element of today’s open kitchens. In fact, we have gone back to our roots: everyone likes to sit around the fire, gather there, and cook on it. Since then, I have been looking at the world through this lens, and I have to agree with him. With this in mind, he had already installed a charcoal grill in the center of the kitchen years ago. Our task was not to replace this island, but to renovate the entire kitchen area around it. We dismantled the existing island and the Halton extractor hood, cleaned it up, then rebuilt it, re-tiled it, and surrounded it with a recessed LED strip. Since natural light cannot be brought into the basement, Kristóf used professional wall coverings and lighting solutions to make the lighting conditions as natural as possible for colleagues working downstairs.

As mentioned in the video, Kristóf sets high standards not only for himself, but also for everyone who works with him or comes into contact with him. As a client, I particularly appreciated his openness to innovation and professional suggestions. After I showed him the German industrial floor drains installed in our new headquarters, he replaced them all in his own facility without exception.

He consciously sought out joint-free floor and wall coverings, rounded corner solutions, and the use of monolithic floors. He was also very impressed by our suggestion for built-in concrete plinths. The essence of this is that debris and dirt cannot accumulate under the machines, as they are placed on a solid concrete platform. Kristóf consistently and consciously implemented this technical solution throughout the entire lower kitchen level – and, importantly, not only at the central cooking island, but also under the preparation and work counters.

The work counters were all made to measure: they extend from wall to wall, with upstands, and are covered with 2 mm thick stainless steel or granite. As a Hungarian restaurateur, he was willing to pay for the H2 design – a German standard that requires welded joints on the interior lower cabinets to prevent anything from seeping or infiltrating between the panels.

The kitchen concept developed during the multi-stage planning and consultation process had to be implemented in a functioning restaurant. We drew up a detailed schedule and had to coordinate the different departments not only on a daily basis, but also hour by hour. The Déryné kitchen ultimately reached such a high standard that a private VIP party was organized downstairs on level -1 for the opening.

There was nothing to be ashamed of or hide in the basement—and there still isn’t to this day. When we enter, we feel as if we have arrived at a designer bar or studio: the black-and-white framed portraits of the staff in the corridor, the beautifully designed spatial connections, and the spotless environment all reinforce this feeling.

The pictures speak for themselves.
High standards and perfectionism.
Openness to the new, the good, the better.”

Mirjam Kertész
Managing Director, Coninvest Group