Interview with Radek Hasman: "We are building a luxury box catering full of diverse and delicious flavors from premium foods."

Radek Hasman is one of the leading chefs with great ambitions to conquer the world of gastronomy. Despite this, he remains in the Czech Republic and changes established trends in catering. As a chef, he won many awards and the prestigious Michelin Bib Gourmand, which Radek won seven times in a row, is one of them. How did Radek get into cooking and gain valuable experience? What was his dream job and what trends are moving the world at the moment? Meet this inspiring man who prepares delicious boxes for you every day.

Hello, our first question will be about your basically new project YES Krabičky. How are you doing in this direction and what are your goals?

Hello, yes, yes. YES The Krabičky are still almost in their diapers. We started them with my friend Radek Vítek during the pandemic, it is currently a year ago. Despite the fact that it is not entirely easy, as there are still many people in the Czech Republic who do not pay much attention to the quality of food, the first place for them is rather the price, we have acquired a surprising number of clients from the beginning and we give them our absolute best. We don't pretend to be anything we can't be. We build luxury box meals full of diverse and delicious flavors from premium foods. We aim more at people who work from home or those who are so busy that eating comes second to them. We try to save them time and their health. Thanks to YES Krabičky, you don't have to buy any fast food.

YES Krabičky are therefore a somewhat unconventional box diet. Is it true?

You can say that. We treat ingredients and food in general with respect and choose only the best quality. No semi-finished products or frozen foods. Everything as it should be. Although it requires higher expenses and thus prices, maintaining quality is more important to us than quantitative growth. As I mentioned above, we mainly focus on a different target group than most other companies, but of course we also have reduction programs that are suitable for weight loss. In such a case, quality is again important so that weight loss is effective and healthy.

When you talk about that quality, what are your suppliers like? Are these premium ingredients hard to come by?

It's not complicated. Almost everything is readily available in Europe. Fortunately, I have many contacts. For example, we buy mozzarella from a friend of mine who is Italian by origin. But the cheese is produced in the Czech Republic. Anyway, there are also foods that we don't use that often due to the economic aspect. It is probably clear to everyone that truffles cannot be in every meal. The prices of the resulting boxes would be unsustainable, but we occasionally try to include these luxury foods in order to offer our clients dishes that they would not normally cook at home. After all, fresh meat, fish and other foods are a matter of course.

How often do you repeat the recipes in YES Krabičky?

We usually keep a two-month rotation, but we always try to change the recipes somehow so that they are always something unique, and at the same time we are constantly inventing new variants. We want to take the best care of every client and this is the least we can do.

Let's focus on you now. What is your gastronomy journey? What got you into cooking?

Originally, I didn't want to be a chef. I was drawn to the military because I was very interested in history. Unfortunately, it was a bad time for that, right before the revolution, and my family was slightly at odds with the regime, so I abandoned this dream and went to a hotel school. My path as a cook subsequently took me to various establishments, which, however, represented the war for me many times. Kitchen operations are pretty crazy at times and that taught me a lot. It could certainly be argued that the better the enterprise, the greater the war. Well, I didn't want to go to the normal operations. I always needed to have something special, so there was plenty of war.

For example, in which operations did you work?

I have a really big list of them. For example, I worked at the Ambassador Hotel, which was one of the most famous establishments in Prague at the time. I studied there under Mr. Sapík and despite the fact that I was only an apprentice, I was given a relatively free hand. Apprentices even had their own kitchen, fully equipped by the way. Thanks to this, I had the opportunity to cook for the Castle, where they always invited the best chefs in the country and I worked with a lot of them. For example, I did a banquet for Pope John Paul II, who came to thank us personally. He shook my hand and then handed over the rosary. It was fantastic.

After the Ambassador, I joined the Palace Hotel, which was one of the most prestigious establishments in Europe. I learned a lot there. And then the marathon and completely different levels started. Prague Square, Pravda restaurant and Kampa Park opened. I fell in love with Italian cuisine in Square, which was a great success to get to. My position was assistant chef. It was Riccardo Lucque back then who taught our entire team Italian eating habits. My job was probably not to be thrown away, because he subsequently invited me to be the chef at his newly opened establishment called Aromi. I couldn't refuse that offer, and that opened the door to the whole world. Specifically, to the world of Michelin stars, where the approach to employees was completely different. It was not possible to immediately take up the dream position. First one washes dishes there and then one is promoted. That was a real war. A school I'm really happy for.

What did abroad teach you?

Definitely work with fresh ingredients. And when I say fresh, I mean really fresh. I have been learning how to perfectly kill fish and preserve them in a way that makes them as tasty as possible, which is quite a long process. It must be left to sit for at least 5 days so that the cook can avoid post-mortem stiffness.

Overall, I learned how to handle food, which only a few people here in the Czech Republic can do. It was interesting, for example, to see how oil is produced from local olives. We went to Italy, where the oil was actually made from the fruits that the farmers grew themselves. Or, for example, the correct production of pasta. Well, as I said before, Italian cuisine is written in my heart.

Your ambitions are huge, what drew you back to the Czech Republic?

Weaker competition. There are really a large number of high-quality establishments and very skilled chefs abroad. You can easily fit in there. In the Czech Republic, we are still a little behind, that's why the career is formed better here. I had a few offers but never accepted them. I have a family here and I really want to push gastronomy forward. And that is what is really needed in the Czech Republic. Right now is a better time than before. People are more traveled and can appreciate better restaurants more. It is necessary to take advantage of it.

Can you tell us about your Michelin Bib Gourmand award?

I got it with my cooking team at Aromi restaurant. And even seven times in a row. Those were great years. During the time I worked there as head chef, Aromi also won the American Travelers award and we were also in the top fifty best new restaurants.

You have a great overview. Can you guess the current trends that are working?

The biggest trend that is currently on the rise is bistros. Whether you look around the world or even here in the Czech Republic, these smaller stylish businesses really have their meaning. They're usually not that expensive to run, as you don't have to pay countless staff, and they often also live off their own produce - they grow herbs, bake their own bread, and so on. As a result, they can be a little cheaper than restaurants, and that's a big plus these days.

What is your main project at the moment?

They are clearly YES Krabičky. Although I am the co-owner of the Amano restaurant and sometimes I miss the operation of a classic kitchen, everything is a little easier when it comes to packaging, so I decided to devote myself to it. We know exactly how much to cook, which greatly eliminates stress. Plus, I work with my friends for the most part, so that makes it all the more enjoyable.