I'm designing a Polish restaurant for British people - need information

hi, i am an interior design student in the UK and i am designing a polish restaurant for British people.

The restaurant will be based in Sheffield, UK, and the aim of the restaurant is to give brits an understanding of polish traditions and culture

i would like to know about traditions and customs that show polish culture

i would also like to know about the experience of eating at restaurants in poland as well as home cooked meals

i would be grateful for any information or suggestions at all
thank you

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another one in Sheffield where will this one be located ?

Will it be different to the one already there?

You've got to sell flaki.
But how do you translate it without putting people off?

There was the old technique in restaurants we used to have - putting everything in French so not too many people understand it.

To match the places I have eaten out in, you need two beautiful waitresses and one who looks really stern and serious.

Well,you could have a week where the managment are all german,then one where they are all russian,then the following week have the local russian steak house take over by force ...........
Seriously though,expand your thoughts a tad mate. So this place is going to be aimed at British nationals living in Sheffield that want a taste of Poland. A sort of Murphski's theme place? Traditionaly Polish,a toughy,depends on peoples tastes really,bars,cafes etc are many and varied in Poland as are traditions and styles.

I think that this will be difficult to do on a daily basis. I think that the most you can hope for is to cook traditional Polish dishes daily.

There are, of course many traditions and customs but I don't think you can apply them to daily living. More likely that they would be "special occasions".

However, plenty threads here about culture and of course, recipes.

Why do you pick Sheffield specifically?

Open a Polish Polish restaurant, then announce BRITISH WEEK, hosted by a big cuddly Owczarek Podhalański.

lots of rich southern students with naff all to spend daddies money on?
Seriously,Go to the consulate,I think its up near the SU,might be the road the english lit dept has lots of buildings in.....definatly online anyway,Im sure they will help you.

It is not (at least yet) a British thing to eat Polish food. Not that I'm aware of.
Such tastes need to be nurtured - start small would be my advice.

If there is something that could be prepared and sold from a market stall - nice foody smells wafting through the marketplace - that must be the best way to get people to give it a try.

Firstly, it is self-advertising - the sight, the smell, seeing people outside eating the stuff.
Secondly, it is a lot less expensive than a permenant building which is a much higher risk.
Thirdly, it is the sort of thing that can be easily aimed at anyone.

But you would need to find the right kind of Polish food that can be sold in this way.
Actually, this sounds like too good an idea to give away, especially after the Chinese noodle stall disappeared from my local market.

the restaurant won't actually be build its my final major project for university.
but i am pretending that the restaurant will be on west st in the city center because there are already a number of bars and restaurants in this area and the transport links are really good.

I would prefer a curry

There was a programme here in Poland that said that Londoners are going in for Polish food big time. What info do u need?

it is becoming more popular, but thats mostly amongst those who have some Polish connections and the more adventurous types. Its never gonna take over Fish n Chips or Doner Kebabs as the staple diet. :) All the Polish restaurants Ive been to here seem to serve up the same type of food that you can get in jars in the supermarkets, such as Bigos, Golabki etc.. I dont think much of it is freshly made here.

U r probably right, curry is in the UK 2 stay. Pierogis may become like sushi, we'll see

Is it Indian curry that's popular in the UK or Chinese curry?

indian

That's good stuff. I just started eating it here. We have a new Indian rest. and it's so good.

I'm sure if a PL restaurant would open in the UK you can find a few good homestyle cooks. I think it would get business especially from the PL ppl and like sapphire say's ppl with PL interests.

Good luck

curry is fantastic food - i once blagged free curries in paris's best curry houses thanks to a bbc card - all for research purposes you understand ;-)

ive thought about openning a peirogi restaurant where they are served with different sauces from all over the world - a combination of culinary cultures... obviously curry would be on the menu...

- Hardly a Polish food.

we cant blame poland for that... or can we...?

The only problem I have about a Polish restaurant in a foreign country that relies on its polish community for success is that the average polish family eats in more than they eat out.
Hopefully your community is into cultural foods, otherwise it’s a tough business to get into, I know 2 or 3 small polish restaurants that failed in my city… Mind you it’s a city of only 100,000 people.

I would place a big Żubr (made of a skin of a real animal)...



...in front of It. Maybe not very sophisticated but people would wonder what the hell is this, so maybe more would visit...

doing that in the uk would no doubt lead to a visit from the animal rights brigade

- Even if the animal was killed during legit hunting?

i think that animal rights activists tend to believe that hunting animals isnt legit

Inside a lot of wooden things + maybe some "naked" bricks...

...like here...



[img]http://www.hotelnews.pl/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/karczma.jpg[/i mg]

http://www.karczmapodkogutem.pl/foto_start.html

where is that I swear I had dinner there with my ex while in Poland.. far table on the left.. is this a restaurant in Gliwice?

ive eaten in many restaurants like this :-)

No Szczecin, Świnoujście and some in the mountains...

lol ja i guess its a common theme in poland for a wooden restaurant.. but I mean its SOoooo Identical to the one ive been two

- So do they actually noodge all the butchers in their shops too?

It's a f... mad mad world we're living in.
:)))

i kinda get the feeling theyre calming their protests for fear of being labled terrorists, having all their rights taken away and locked up for an indefinate period

yeah... it is a f... mad mad world we live in

- Brother, can you actually mix both Polish and Brit architectural elements, creating a new quality? I mean the good Brit pub plus the good Polish gospoda, or karczma? Make it eclectic, I'd say!

I stayed once in Świnoujście, quite nice with a free ferry service from the mainland. I wonder if the service is still free though? There was a nice little town by the sea called Wolin where I nearly thought of buying a small house all those years ago.

- It lodged in a shed for oinkers?



- It desired to purchase a pigsty?
:)

Actually, I went off the idea because I later found out that the son of the Polish lady I was with had been stealing all my money. As I say, the Poles are their own worst enemies in the end.

Someone at work told me about a Polish food shop in the sleepy town of H******d. I might have to check it out this weekend. I shall be making some observations about the clientele, as will they - 'It's a disgrace, letting a donkey into a deli without curing and smoking it first!'


All three of those pictures looked very similar to the first place at which I ever ate anything in Poland.
Limited experience here though.

this is deffinatly the idea i want to go for, keep it modern and fresh but still incorporating traditional polish elements (but not in a tacky way)
i just strugling on which traditional elements are the most important to focus on to really get the culture and feel of poland across.

anyone got any ideas on the traditions that are most important about the polish culture

I think, I may help you if you are still looking for some informations. If you still want to know some of the polish traditions contact me on anna ad kutyla dot com