#Jedz Polskie: La Koguta

Wykonanie

Dziś międzynarodowo z polskimi produktami w tle:) Zapraszam na rozmowę z Sophie Evans – właścicielką i twórczynią przesmacznej firmy La Koguta, która produkuje genialne przetwory i wszelakie chutney z egzotyczną nutą acz z prostych składników. Bo smak tkwi w prostocie:)
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Why did you decide to create La Koguta and why such a name? For Polish, this combination is weird a little..since a word „kogut” is a pure male word! And as we know, „la” in French means a female one:)
La Koguta came to life this past year to give a character to my jams and chutneys.
I suppose it all started many years ago when I first came to Poland. I made the mango chutney recipe my Mum used to make in Africa when I was a little girl, but I used Polish apples instead of the mangos.
I needed a name that brought together the fact that I am French but also very much that I am inspired by living in Poland. Our name LaKoguta is a little bit of a joke, at the same time I think it represents me very well….Le Coq or the Kogut is the symbol of France(he also tastes very good in a soup!).
In Polish you pronounce ‚gut’ in ‚kogut’ just like we say ‚gout’ in French which means taste. This always makes me smile and is a pretty link to my mother tongue and to my obsession for good food. My friends will tell you that I am not a very good student of your tricky Polish tongue and I often make up words…
I think they would also say that I am more like a rooster than a chicken!! In the future I would like to bring things from my native Provence to Poland with La Koguta
As I was reviewing your list of products I found it as a very exotic (not common combination) yet simple in the same time. What is the most important for you in the creation of La Koguta’s products?
I think you captured how I feel about food perfectly when you used the word ‚simple’. With cooking, maybe as with other things in life too, less is always more. It’s fun but it’s also a challenge to bring toegether very few basic ingredients to make something good. With La Koguta I hope I take simple home ingredients from Poland, like apples or beetroots and marry them with exotic flavours from the mediteranean(citrus fruits) or the tropics(ginger) to create simple but luxurious flavours
From where you take new ideas to create sth new?
It depends, some of my recipes are not new at all but old family favourites or something I experienced with a friend and re arranged to make my own. I love cook books and am always reading a few at the same time. I go to food markets to smell and feel all the fresh produce these sensations often collide with other things I have been thinking about…I also travel home to France to visit my parents often. Childhood memories of food and stories I read as a child are also a big inspiration…
Do you take some polish ideas to your cuisine as well?
Of course. Making pretty jars during fruitful months of summer sun to store in sparkly glass like fruity treasure in your food cupboard for leaner winter months is a very Polish tradition I think…Remember how I said this all started with apples impersonating mangos in my mum;s chutney. When I came to Poland I adopted the Polish breakfast style… Bread and ham or cheese and maybe a sliced tomato or two. I missed my mum’s chutney or the English pickles we have in sandwiches in England so I started to make my own. Chutnies are an exciting accessory for a boring sandwich.
Where we can buy your products? I must say it is not easy to get one:)
We sell our jars Targs, like Targ Sniadanowie or now at the Jarmark, please like us on facebook and we will let you know which targs we are selling each week. We are also in Mielzynski’s food shop All Around Wine and Spizarnia in Pruszkow.
Please check our website lakoguta.com and e- mail or call us for more info.
I heard that you are also the owner of Creative Catering. Could you tell us sth about?
I have been working as a private chef and caterer and occasionally a food or recipe consultant, for the last few years. Creative catering is my original company. We specialise in high quality finger food for special corporate or private events. I also do made to measure fine dining and design food ideas for product launches.
So why not restaurant if you like so much cooking? :)
I think service is very important in a restaurant. Running a successful restaurant is not really about cooking and food. It is about service and managing a multilayered business. You can have the best or most original food in the world and go bust! You know El Bulli went bust!? Owning a restaurant is a lifestyle, more than a job, you need to be at work 7 days a week and when everyone else is going out or resting.
Maybe one day if I find a business partner who would be a good operator a restaurant could be an exciting adventure. I would love to create recipes and menus and to bring more French or Provencal recipes to Poland.
Thank you!
Składniki
Ciasto:
¼ szklanki otrębów pszennych drobno zmielonych
½ szklanki mąki lub około szklanki mieszanki z mąki, w moim przypadku: orkiszowa i pszenna
½ łyżeczki proszku do pieczenia
2 łyżki cukru (raczej z tych miałkich)
Szczypta soli
1 roztrzepane jajko
1/3 szklanki mleka
Sok z ½ połowy cytryny
Oraz konfiktura Figa z pomarańczą
Jak robić
Wszystkie suche składniki ze sobą zmieszać. Następnie roztrzepać jajko z mlekiem oraz z sokiem. Wlać do suchych składników. Dobrze wymieszać. Odstawić pod przykryciem na 10 minut.
Usmażyć na patelni, Wykładać gotowe placki na ręcznik papierowy. Podawać koniecznie z konfiturą: figi z pomarańczą.