From street food to fine dining

Thomas von Matt together with his wife Kirtanya and his brother manages the restaurant Yardbird in Zurich. They also manage another four establishments in the city. All of which have one thing in common: the idea is to offer guests high-quality products in a relaxed atmosphere. Gourmet burgers can be found at The Bite, authentic southern state BBQs are served at Brisket, La Brea offers South California tacos and Hôtel Bourbon specialises in contemporary fine dining.

‘What does fried chicken have to taste like to earn the title of the best in Europe?’ That was more or less the question posed by the three restaurateurs. They found the answer on a six-month trip through the US. ‘We travelled from Atlanta through Tennessee and on to St. Louis until we finally reached New York. During our trip we ate tons of fried chicken’, recalls Thomas with a broad grin.

With the best recipes in their luggage, they returned home and opened the Yardbird Southern Fried Chicken in Zurich. We wanted to serve our guests something they couldn’t make at home. The meat is marinated at least 24 hours and then pre-fried in buttermilk and finally fried ‘to order’ for a second time. All of this takes place in American high pressure fryers; they are responsible for the crispy breadcrumb coating and juicy flesh. It goes without saying that outstanding quality of meat is essential for a good taste.

The savings are so huge, I don’t know why everybody doesn’t use this system’

At the restaurants every effort is made to use as few raw materials as possible.

All takeaway packages were switched over to biodegradable products; most products are obtained regionally. In a restaurant where virtually everything is fried, there is an obvious candidate where savings can be made – the frying oil.

This is why Solfina filter pads are used at all five restaurants. The amount of oil used is drastically reduced and the frying quality remains at a consistently high level. ‘It’s not as if you have to invest a large amount of money, in fact you don’t have to spend a single cent. The savings are so huge, I don’t know why everybody doesn’t use this system’, says Thomas von Matt convincingly.

A further advantage is that thanks to Solfina, there is no need to buy separate oil for frying or grilling. ‘We have been using the oil regenerated from our fryers for the past four years. It has an excellent quality and taste, which means we also make further savings.’

We wish Thomas von Matt and his partners all the best!

Yardbird Zürich

Interview partner
Thomas von Matt,
Manager Yardbird, The Brisket,
La Brea, The Bite Zürich