From local ingredients to the family table – Fazékba! on video

Ingredients from local producers, ready-to-cook packages and a significantly shorter preparation time: Levente Gyulay presents the operation of Fazékba! in Tordas and the background of the service that makes cooking at home easier in the BIOPRO Regions video series.

In many families, the greatest difficulty isn't the cooking itself, but the process that precedes it: sourcing, cleaning, chopping and portioning the right ingredients. Fazékba! offers a solution to this everyday problem by simultaneously building on local produce, convenient usage and direct relationships established with producers.

The service idea was inspired by Levente Gyulay's mother's experiences. Despite her busy job, she wanted to put fresh, locally sourced ingredients on the family table, but sourcing and preparing them took a lot of time. The family first began experimenting at home with kits containing pre-prepared ingredients, and later developed the operational and logistical background for the service.

The location of the operational agricultural logistics centre in Tordas is favourable: the proximity of Budapest and the M7 motorway enables the business to reach other settlements, such as Székesfehérvár, alongside the capital.

One of the special features of the processing plant is that it has to ensure the proper and segregated processing of meat, dairy, vegetable and dry goods ingredients in a relatively small area. The preparation and vacuum packaging of meats, the handling of dairy products, and the cleaning, slicing and portioning of vegetables take place in separate workflows. The prepared ingredients are ultimately put into precisely measured unit packages, and then reach customers under refrigerated conditions.

In 2019, A Fazékba! established a short supply chain involving ten local producers. The aim of the cooperation is for ingredients to come from as close to home as possible, while the business also assists producers with logistical and sales tasks.

Families can order the meal kits via the internet. Based on the incoming orders, Fazékba! procures the necessary ingredients from producers, carries out the preparation, and then delivers the kits along with the recipe instructions. Thanks to the precise portioning, less waste is generated, and the preparation time is significantly reduced. Thus, customers have more time for the creative and social part of cooking.

The Fazékba! model simultaneously connects local producers, processing and logistics capacities, online ordering and family meal preparation. This fits particularly well with the objectives of the BIOPRO Regions – Bio & Proximity Products Regions project, which supports the spread of sustainable local food chains, shorter transport routes and resource-efficient solutions.

The Hungarian partner of the project is the Central Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency Nonprofit Ltd.

Further information:

• Into the pot! https://fazekba.hu/
• BIOPRO Regions: https://www.interregeurope.eu/biopro-regions/

The project is implemented within the Interreg Europe programme, co-financed by the European Union.