In Vilnius, he ordered a homemade kugel to go, and when he opened the package, he was in for a surprise.

I called the phone and asked to make two servings of the kugel myself, and came to pick it up. One with turkey and one with hazelnuts.

I came to a large building in Lazdynėliai, on the outskirts of Vilnius. In the entrance door the inscription “King of the Kugel” was exhibited. I picked up a country man and went home. Just when I got back, I looked at the contents of the packed bag and was pleasantly surprised, because there, in addition to the kugel, there was a package of kefir. I thought: what a wonderful surprise, I just didn’t have it at home. When I returned, the kugel was still warm. I dreamed immediately because it was really incredibly delicious. It was ideal for three selected sauces: sour cream, mushrooms, and blueberries.

The cones were of excellent consistency, not too greasy, well baked, not too dry and not too wet, crispy toasted, full, with a well chosen ratio of meat to hazelnuts. In a word, 10 kugels out of 10.

In these difficult and volatile times, a pandemic for the food industry is a time of opportunity and loss. So after a nice dining experience, I wrote a review for the author of the kugel. It turns out that the Kugel bakery was opened during the pandemic by Vilnius photographer Karolis Bingelis, who spoke candidly about his implemented business idea.

You are a photographer and now you have opened a kugel bakery, what an unexpected turn. How did you decide to undertake such an activity? How did such a thought arise?

Yes, I do portraits, I set up a photo studio in a closed restaurant with a fully equipped kitchen, the plan was to practice in the field of food photography. So it seemed as if all the ideas and possibilities came together, because I also have a lot of practice in the kitchen. Looking at the professional oven, the question arose, what to bake here, and the thought triggered – a kugel! So, taking every opportunity, I said to myself: after all, I can’t do it when everything is there. This is how I opened up.

Perhaps the current situation in Lithuania for such a business is only for the benefit of people who cannot go to restaurants or cafes, so it remains to order food at home. Is this service popular right now?

As it really is, I’ll post in a few months when I get a chance to compare, but I think so. Specifically, the location of my bakery may not be in a convenient location, there is not a large concentration of people around, at least not yet. So home deliveries are the main source of sales.

Do you tour alone in the kitchen or do you have more people on a team?

Today, I bake it myself and manage the entire kitchen for this business alone. I believe that before hiring an employee, each manager must harmonize the processes and create and understand the subtleties of the company’s activities down to the smallest detail – how else can I effectively monitor the person hired and the quality of the products?

You mentioned that the kugel was made according to a historical recipe. What is the origin story of the cone?

There are several variants of the story of the emergence of Kugel, I do not want to expand because I am not a historian. But, according to historical sources, the kugel appeared in Lithuania around the 14th century. There are several recipes for kugel, but the most popular for me personally is the recipe that came from the time of the dukes to the kitchen of Radvili Palace, it is a potato kugel with hazelnuts and mushroom or blueberry sauce. All the spices in this kugel can be found in my favorite Lithuanian forest, so when the season comes, I will offer the notes of delicious forest mushrooms – squirrel sauce.

How many cone servings do you have to bake per day?

Very diverse, I only work for a few weeks, but I’m already starting to notice a trend where people order food mostly on Fridays and Saturdays. Obviously, after a week of work, you want to relax and enjoy your free time in the kitchen.

How much does a serving of kugel cost a person?

It takes a person a few minutes to create an order in the messaging app and wait a few minutes. For all this, I would only spend from 6 euros per serving, and no dirty dishes, potato shaving and other kitchen jobs that consume a lot of time and energy.

Are kugels delivered only in Vilnius or throughout Lithuania?

At the moment, we deliver kugels in Vilnius, although I am afraid to lie, but as if one of the courier companies could bring you a kugel to Lentvaris or some districts of Vilnius county. But you need to check, maybe it’s just a rumor. We will see how the market situation will develop, perhaps there are opportunities to expand and offer a wider circle of Lithuanian consumers. I have several ideas, so far the goal is to coordinate and achieve a required stable level of sales of “Kugelis Karaliaus” in Vilnius.

Perhaps people have special wishes or requirements?

We all expect the same from the services we receive, that they are enjoyable, so I work hard. I want to do everything possible so that the consumer enjoys receiving and eating the kugel. Every compliment or reproach expressed by the client helps me make it happen. Thanks to them for eating, commenting, and helping me achieve my goal of making and serving the tastiest kugel in town.