Cabbage rétes (pronounced “ray-TESH”) is a favorite Hungarian flavor we discovered during our time in Budapest. The strudel’s filling has just a few ingredients—cabbage, goose fat, salt, and pepper—but lots of flavor. Why goose fat? Geese are a favorite protein in Hungary, and it’s possible to find all things goose in the meat markets. Goose fat is understandably a commonly used fat. It adds a distinctive roasted poultry flavor to this savory treat.
The Origins of Strudel
The cabbage and goose fat is in the middle! Photo credit: Antonis Achilleos
In Hungary, what most Americans call strudel is known as “rétes.” Over the last few centuries, there’s been quite an argument going on between Austrian and Hungarian historians as to who should get the culinary credit for the invention of strudel. Quite clearly whoever came up with this amazingly wonderful so-thin-you-can-read-the-paper-through-it pastry filled with most anything you can imagine—deserves appreciation from both sweet and savory lovers. Writer George Lang said that the strudel was actually a legacy of the Turkish influence on the region.
While strudel’s delicacy might reasonably be taken as a mark of something that started in high society, Lang let us know that, “In Hungary, strudel is a village specialty. Even in luxury restaurants, it’s always a farmer girl from the provinces who’s hired to make it.” Others have called it “the pride of Hungarian cooks.” Tina Wasserman, author of Entrée to Judaism for Families, suggests that the cabbage rétes was a big part of Hungarian Jewish eating. The use of goose fat in this recipe in place of pork speaks to Wasserman’s write-up.
The Bakehouse’s Rétes
Speaking personally, the Bakehouse’s Cabbage Rétes is a longtime favorite of mine! Amy Emberling, co-managing partner at the Bakehouse said of the strudel-making process: “The dough is one of those wonders of the baking world that is rewarding to make. It’s like a magic trick!”
A slice of rétes makes an easy meal, accompanied by a salad and/or soft scrambled eggs. (As I did this week with a bit of fresh goat cheese from the Creamery and sprinkled with some Hungarian paprika.) When she first moved here from San Francisco, many years ago, my girlfriend-farmer-life partner Tammie Gilfoyle told me that “the rétes are like God’s gift to the Bakehouse!”
Cabbage and Goose Fat Rétes will be available May 5 – 7th.
In 1982, Ari Weinzweig, along with his partner Paul Saginaw, founded Zingerman’s Delicatessen with a $20,000 bank loan, a Russian History degree from the University of Michigan, 4 years of experience washing dishes, cooking and managing in restaurant kitchens and chutzpah from his hometown of Chicago. They opened the doors with 2 employees and a small selection of specialty foods and exceptional sandwiches.
Today, Zingerman’s Delicatessen is a nationally renowned food icon and the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses has grown to 10 businesses with over 750 employees and over $55 million in annual revenue. Aside from the Delicatessen, these businesses include Zingerman’s Bakehouse, Coffee Company, Creamery, Roadhouse, Mail Order, ZingTrain, Candy Manufactory, Cornman Farms and a Korean restaurant that is scheduled to open in 2016. No two businesses in the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses are alike but they all share the same Vision and Guiding Principles and deliver “The Zingerman’s Experience” with passion and commitment.
Besides being the Co-Founding Partner and being actively engaged in some aspect of the day-to-day operations and governance of nearly every business in the Zingerman’s Community, Ari Weinzweig is also a prolific writer. His most recent publications are the first 4 of his 6 book series Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading Series: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business (Part 1), Being a Better Leader (Part 2), Managing Ourselves (Part 3) and the newly-released Part 4, The Power of Beliefs in Business. Earlier books include the Zingerman’s Guides to Giving Great Service, Better Bacon, Good Eating, Good Olive Oil, Good Vinegar and Good Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Ari regularly travels across the country (and world) on behalf of ZingTrain, teaching organizations and businesses about Zingerman’s approach to business. He is a sought-after Keynote speaker, having delivered keynotes for Inc. 500, Microsoft Expo Spring Conference, Great Game of Business Gathering of Games, Positive Business Conference at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, American Society for Quality (ASQ), and the American Cheese Society. Most recently, Ari and Paul Saginaw were invited to address an audience of 50,000 for the University of Michigan 2015 Spring Commencement.
One of Zingerman’s Guiding Principles is being an active part of the community and in 1988, Zingerman’s was instrumental in the founding of Food Gatherers, a food rescue program that delivers over 5 million pounds of food each year to the hungry residents of Washtenaw county. Every year Zingerman’s donates 10% of its previous years profits to local community organizations and non-profits. Ari has served on the board of The Ark, the longest continuously operating folk music venue in America.
Over the decades, the Zingerman’s founding partners have consistently been the recipients of public recognition from a variety of diverse organizations. In April 1995, Ari and Paul were awarded the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County’s first Humanitarian Award. In 2006, Ari was recognized as one of the “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America” by the James Beard Foundation. In 2007, Ari and Paul were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Bon Appetit magazine for their work in the food industry. Ari was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Cheese Society in 2014. And Ari’s book, Building a Great Business was on Inc. magazine’s list of Best Books for Business Leaders.
Notwithstanding the awards, being engaged on a daily basis in the work of 10 businesses and 21 partners, writing books on business and in-depth articles on food for the Zingerman’s newsletter, Ari finds time to be a voracious reader. He acquires and reads more books than he can find room for. Ari might soon find himself the owner of the largest collection of Anarchist books in Ann Arbor outside the Labadie collection at the University of Michigan library!
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