Our story

László Zila, master confectioner, inventor, founder of a catering dynasty

"Renewal, development and having satisfied, returning customers are important in the profession of catering.”

László Zila master confectioner, a self-sufficient confectioner for 25 years, opened his confectionery in 1984, at the water park in Pestszentlőrinc, Budapest.

 

A real caterer family

Zila család a Zila formákkalEvery member of the family is in the catering industry. Mr. Zila's father was a butcher, his mother worked in a confectionery and his brother is a cook. His parents suggested that he chose confectionery as a profession.

Mr. Zila accepted the parental decision and later required his children to study this profession too. His older son, László Zila Jr. is an economist but studied confectionery as well. He works as a manager at Zila Coffee House. Krisztina, the daughter has a degree in catering and studied confectionery and the waiter professions too. The youngest attends secondary school. He studies confectionery and cooking at Gundel Károly School of Catering and Tourism. Mr. Zila says none of the children objected to catering, they did not wish to choose another way.  Zila Coffee House runs as a family business, supervised by Mr. Zila and his wife, while the children are senior executives.

 

Story of the Coffee House

Caput Gloriae Virtus – “Valour is the greatest glory”, says the sign above the entrance.

Az egykori Szemere-lövölde, a mai Zila KávéházThe story of the coffee house is intertwined with that of the host building. Count Miklós Szemere raised the building in 1903. It functioned as a rifle range. The count wanted the Hungarian youth to learn to defend their country, hence the sign. Members of the noble Széchenyi, Eszterházy and Festetics families frequented the place. Later, famous Hungarian writer Gyula Krúdy was a guest at a shooting competition here. It hosted the changing rooms at the water park of Pestszemtlőrinc from the mid-1940s. The building was in desperate condition by 1998, when the Zila family bought it. Complete reconstruction lasted for almost three years. The coffee house and confectionery of romantic pre-war atmosphere opened in 2003. Today, it incorporates a first class restaurant as well.

 

From the small confectionery in the corner of the water park, it developed into a coffee house of more than 700 square metres. It can seat more than 320 guests. There are 80 employees, including 30 students of the confectionery, cooking and waiting professions. According to László Zila, it is extremely important to teach the professionals of the future.

 

Philosophy of the Coffee House

"Honouring traditional craftsmanship and continuous renewal"

Confectionery and cooking masters of Zila Coffee House have achieved excellent results at national and international competitions. In 2009, the confectioner team lead by László Zila created the Birthday Cake of the Nation for the third time in a row. They won with a Floating Islands Cake in 2007, with a Szatmár Plum Cake in 2008, and with a Pánd Sour Cherry Cake in 2009. All three cakes are available at the coffee house. They have been very popular since being first introduced.

László Zila, the inventor

 "The goal is to create softer, lighter, more natural, more fruity and last but not least, healthier cakes."

"I spent some time thinking about creating a cake that resembles both bonbons and plated desserts. Both include liquid sauces.” (László Zila)

The unique Zila Cake Mould product line is presented to the public after 3 years of experimenting. Zila Cake Mould is a registered trademark. László Zila is granted a patent for the moulds.

 

The mould consists of a special silicone mould and a stainless steel ring. With these, you can make a cake and then fill it with liquid sauce.

Due to its special substance and form, the mould can be baked and frozen. It can be used for various products in confectionery. Moreover, it is an indispensable tool for creating high quality products of gastronomy in hot and cold kitchen as well.

The invention's importance in gastronomy is underlined by the fact that there is a whole chapter dedicated to Zila Cake Mould and the technology in the new “Venesz-book”, edited by András Tusor, published at Christmas 2009.

The goal of László Zila is to create lasting value for the profession and, importantly, to his country.