S.P.: Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to speak with you. However, before we start asking questions, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations on earning a Michelin star. Huge congratulations to you and the entire team at Giewont. It’s truly a remarkable achievement. To begin, could you tell us a little about yourself? How did you start in the culinary world? When did you realise that cooking was your passion?
P.S.: I come from Bibice, a small town near Kraków, but I spent my childhood in Grabie. Food and cooking have always been close to me, because, like in many homes, daily life revolved around the kitchen. Shared dinners, conversations, and casual gatherings with friends. I think that time contributed to how comfortable I feel in a kitchen setting. To directly answer your question, there were three key moments in my life when I realised how I wanted to cook and at what level. The first was when I worked at Hotel pod Różą in Kraków. I saw high-quality products and how meticulously they were prepared. The second moment that changed my view on cooking was during my time at Industrial with Paulo Airaudo (editor’s note: 2 Michelin stars currently at Amelia in San Sebastian), when he prepared a starter with salmon, tiger milk, and chilli mayonnaise. That’s when I realised that less, but of better quality and with greater intensity, means better. The third moment, which shaped my cooking style and palate, was working with Miłosz Grabowski. His refined cuisine, based on ingredients like truffles, foie gras, and black chanterelles, which were quite uncommon in Poland at the time, really influenced me. The time I spent with Miłosz exposed me to a vast array of new products from around the world, French techniques, and the idea that the artistry in cooking can make meat retain its essence, yet impress guests.
S.P.: Is there any chef whose skills or philosophy you particularly admire?
P.S.: There are many chefs I follow and try to learn as much as I can from when it comes to cooking. In mountain regions, Jean Sulpice, who for a long time was the youngest chef in France to earn a Michelin star, and Norbert Niederkofler, who earned 3 Michelin stars in a small mountain village, stand out. As for cooking styles, I really admire Clare Smyth, the first woman in the UK to earn 3 Michelin stars. I also like Gordon Ramsay’s style. Regarding the philosophy behind running a restaurant, which I learned from Hubert Cygan, I would point to Le Taillevent. And of course, Alain Passard and his vegetable-focused cuisine, which is based on his garden.
S.P.: Thank you for such a detailed response. Let’s move on to the topic that interests us the most. What does it feel like to earn a Michelin star as one of the youngest chefs in Poland? What emotions did you experience the day you found out you had been awarded a star?
P.S.: It was certainly an incredible sense of relief, knowing that my seven years of conscious, dedicated work to achieve this goal had finally paid off. I didn’t earn the star alone – it was with the whole team, with the great involvement of many employees, suppliers, and especially Hubert. Without him, and without Rafał and Wojtek, I wouldn’t have been a Michelin-starred chef for even a year in Poland. As for the feeling of earning the star… (editor’s note: the interviewee pauses to think). I don’t want to sound boastful, but it’s like passing an exam that you’ve been preparing for for years, knowing that you’ve done your homework, you work in a beautiful restaurant, and you have a great team that stands by you during tough times. You know that they would follow you through fire. Even though nobody in Poland officially talked about us in terms of getting a star, we often heard words of encouragement and jokes from guests, saying that they would come back in the summer to drink champagne with us in a Michelin-starred restaurant. Words like that give you a lot of comfort when you have to wake up at 5 a.m. for a delivery from France after finishing work at 11 p.m., and your car is buried under 15 cm of snow, turning a simple task that takes 15 minutes in summer into a half-hour job in winter😉.
S.P.: Can you tell us how Michelin inspectors came to visit Kościelisko? Did you make any special efforts? We have hundreds of restaurants in Poland that dream of being in your position. Could you share how it’s done?
P.S.: I always joke that a little bit of luck and belief in the impossible is needed😉. I assume—because no one has officially confirmed or told us – but privately, I believe that Hubert played a big role by preparing a paper description of the restaurant, our philosophy, and our love for cooking, and then simply taking it to Michelin’s headquarters. Anyone can do that and show that they care about being part of the Michelin family. I also think the large number of reviews sent to Michelin by our guests influenced someone’s decision to visit us.
S.P.: Visiting your restaurant and looking at the menu, it’s impossible not to notice that you focus not only on regional ingredients but also on hyper-local ones. Does that approach work? Do your customers appreciate it?
P.S.: The philosophy at Giewont is to showcase the cuisine of Podhale in a more refined way, breaking the stereotype that Podhale is just about grilled ribs and oscypek (regional smoked cheese) with cranberry – although I’d like to add that oscypek is a really high-quality cheese and requires a lot of work. It’s like making a wagyu sandwich and spreading mustard on it. Sure, you can do it, but do the Japanese, who take such great care of their cattle, eat them without any thought or respect for the effort put into raising them? Similarly, at Giewont, we want to show that Highlanders have high-quality products that can be unique on a global scale, and that the cuisine of Podhale can be one that Poles and foreign tourists rediscover and fall in love with. That’s why our menu includes dishes like kwaśnica (meat and sauerkraut soup), moskol (a traditional potato flatbread), lamb, oscypek, and brusek from Ochotnica (cheese). We receive a lot of appreciation from our guests, who keep coming back, pleased that at Giewont, we’ve chosen flavours that are close to every Pole’s heart.
S.P.: What challenges come with creating fine dining based on regional ingredients from Podhale?
P.S.: There’s definitely a lot of work involved in selecting a product that can be delivered over a long period in the quantities we need and at the quality we demand. We also don’t have an unlimited number of dishes and products to choose from, so it requires creativity and skill to present a menu each winter based on mushrooms and not hear that “we ate this last year.” Luckily, we have a few producers, like Jarek and Małgorzata Buczek and Maciej Sitarz and his father, who try to understand our needs and meet them.
S.P.: Is there a dish on your menu that best represents the spirit of Highland cuisine?
P.S.: Definitely kwaśnica, moskol with foie gras, egg from Lipowe Wzgórze, which is based on cheese and mushrooms, lamb with a minced cutlet and cucumber salad. I would also add the bread served with honey and truffle butter, inspired by a Christmas tradition that friends told me about, where a traditional Polish wafer shared by family on Christmas Eve is dipped in honey, wishing “good luck” for the coming year. In this way, we want to convey the spirit of Highland hospitality to our guests at Giewont – even if the entire dish isn’t inspired by Highland cuisine, every dish must have a Highland element in our philosophy.
S.P.: What is your concept for the menu at Giewont? Do you change it seasonally, or is the menu similar throughout the year, with only some items changing?
P.S.: About two years ago, after discussions with guests, we decided to make a few changes to our menu. We replaced our five- and seven-course tasting menus with two different ones: seasonal and classic. I often say that the six-course classic menu is meant to capture the spirit of Podhale and guide guests through the products that are deeply tied to the region. We divided the à la carte menu in the same way, so guests can return for our classics or come every three to four months for a completely different seasonal menu. To sum up, eight dishes remain with us all year round, and another eight change completely or with the seasonal product.
S.P.: After receiving the Michelin star, did you notice a significant increase in the number of guests? How has your professional life changed after receiving such an honour?
P.S.: More knowledgeable guests started visiting the restaurant, and Giewont has become more recognisable in Poland. It’s no longer just a mountain we see from the restaurant windows. I always joke when someone asks me what has changed after the star, that before I had little free time, and now I have practically none 😊.
S.P.: Do you have many guests from abroad? If so, which countries do they mainly come from? Do you get visitors from the Middle East, who are increasingly drawn to Zakopane?
P.S.: Most of our foreign guests are from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. We also have many guests from Hungary, and some from England and France. As for guests from the Middle East, unfortunately, our cuisine contains many elements that, due to religious reasons, they cannot eat.
S.P.: What advice would you give to young chefs who dream of one day earning a Michelin star?
P.S.: I think that in pursuing any goal, whatever it may be, perseverance, being demanding of yourself, not taking shortcuts, and hard work based on constantly acquiring knowledge on practically every topic related to gastronomy is essential. I was recently asked this by the parents of a 14-year-old who had to choose a secondary school and wanted to know what he should do if he chooses a culinary school. I told them he should pick five or six high-profile places in Poland, each with a different speciality, so that within eight years after finishing his education, he develops the ability to work quickly and precisely, becomes resilient to stressful situations, gains knowledge about premium products, and acquires team management skills, which are rarely mentioned but are one of the key aspects of being a head chef.
S.P.: Since our readers also include recent culinary school graduates, we’d like to ask: is there a chance to get an internship at your restaurant? If so, what requirements do you set as head chef?
P.S.: Yes, Giewont is always open to those who want to join our team, no matter for how long. Some people stayed on as employees a few months after their internship. Since Giewont is a team of people, not individuals, it’s important to be able to work in a team and help one another. We expect interns not to just focus on the task assigned to them but to think about how to do it efficiently and then help their colleagues. Passion for the profession and a desire to grow are also essential.
S.P.: What are your professional goals for the coming years? Is the Michelin star the peak, or do you have even higher goals?
P.S.: Today I feel like I’ve climbed K2, and in the same way that Sherpas did it – together as a team. So, as a team, we’re looking from the top and wondering how to show that what we’ve done wasn’t a fluke. In the near future, we need to strengthen the team with a few more people and maintain the star. Looking a few years ahead, I’d love to compete for the Green Star, because I come from a farming family, where great importance was placed on the proper cultivation of vegetables and livestock.
S.P.: Thank you for your candid response. We have one last question to ask. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
P.S.: I hope that on Mondays and Tuesdays, I’ll still be in Kraków, and from Wednesday to Sunday, at Giewont with my friends 😊. Though, perhaps more accurately, with my second family. I try not to look too far into the future, as out of the three goals I set for myself before turning thirty, I only managed to achieve one. Although, considering what I’ve accomplished in gastronomy at this age, you could say that I’ve achieved two of the three. Now it’s time to focus on the third, which, for now, will remain my secret.
S.P.: Thank you for your time. We asked for a short interview, and it turned into an in-depth conversation 😊. We wish you continued success and have our fingers crossed for that Green Star.