WORDS: Kara Chalmers
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Lifelong baker and chef Pavel Hasenohrl has, in many ways, his dream job. Along with his wife Tracy, he owns Cremesh European Restaurant and Cremesh Coffee & Bakery, both in Bradenton.
The restaurant is open for dinner only and offers upscale dining, allowing Pavel to create inventive dishes using ingredients and methods from across Europe. The bakery and coffee shop allows Pavel to bake – his true passion.
This is not to say that Pavel, or Tracy, who serves at the restaurant, works behind the bakery counter, and runs both businesses, has it easy.
“We have Monday nights off, that’s it,” Tracy said, referring to the restaurant’s hours of 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, and the bakery’s hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. We haven’t had a full day off in months,” Tracy said. “We’re very, very hard-working.”
The restaurant, which opened in June 2018, was thriving pre-COVID-19 with a loyal, local customer base. Like many fine dining establishments, Cremesh took a hit last March. But the Hasenohrls offered takeout during quarantine and re-opened as soon as they were allowed. The restaurant has some outdoor seating, and it offers delivery via DoorDash and curbside pickup, all of which help, Tracy said.
“We were doing extremely well until COVID,” she said.
The couple opened the bakery in December – a bold move in the middle of a global pandemic. But business is great, Tracy said, possibly because much of it is takeout. The bakery offers plenty of outdoor seating, too.
The Things You Do for Love
Before opening their restaurant in 2018, both Hasenohrls had secure jobs – Tracy was in sales and marketing for International Dairy Farms, and Pavel was an executive chef of the cafeteria at FCCI Insurance Group in Lakewood Ranch, a company that employs 500 people. But Pavel, who grew up in the Czech Republic and moved to Florida when he was 40, always wanted his own restaurant. A small space opened up at 7232 Manatee Ave. It was a great deal because it was nearly turn-key, Tracy said. She was hesitant but ultimately gave in.
“It’s what you do when you love someone,” Tracy said. While opening a restaurant is risky, she said she didn’t want her husband to regret declining the opportunity.
“You can’t say no to someone who has a dream,” she said.
The same went for the bakery – located a five-minute drive from the restaurant. Tracy said it was a gorgeous space, and the lease included a high-end espresso machine, tables, and chairs.
“He wanted a bakery; he loves baking,” Tracy said of her husband, who owned and ran a huge bakery in the Czech Republic.
“Pavel instantly fell in love with it,” Tracy said of the bakery space, which is now where Pavel starts each day at 4 a.m., baking breads, pastries, and cakes.
“As always, I couldn’t say no,” she said
Breaking Bread
The Hasenohrls call their restaurant “European” because it offers dishes from around the continent.
“It’s basically what our favorite foods are,” Tracy said of the menu. Tracy, originally from the south of England, is responsible for the inclusion of a curry dish – the Curried Pork Tenderloin Medallions, served with a lightly curried apple cream sauce – a nod to her British roots.
“It’s proper food, large portions, and you’re full at the end,” Tracy said. “A lot of people say it brings up memories of their parents or grandparents.”
Two of the top sellers at Cremesh are the Beef Stroganoff, made with filet mignon strips, mushrooms, and onions, cooked in a cream sauce and Beef Goulash. The other is the Weiner (veal) Schnitzel – pounded and breaded cutlets, served with a lemon wedge, as per tradition in the Czech Republic. Customers can also have this dish with Jaeger Sauce, a mushroom gravy, or sauteed onions and brown gravy.
Appetizers at Cremesh include Baked Brie and Burrata Mozzarella – both served with Pavel’s homemade rye bread. There’s also Grilled Smoked Sausage and Bavarian Potato Pancakes, which are served with apple sauce and sour cream.
“Our French onion soup is the best around,” Tracy said. “Our filet mignon is the best anywhere.”
Other entrees include Slow-roasted Half Duck, served with a rich brown gravy; Braised Pork Shank, slow-roasted and served with German mustard and horseradish sauce; and the Chicken and Pork Schnitzel dishes. There are Italian entrees as well, such as Chicken Breast Florentine, topped with spinach, ricotta cheese, and garlic; and Chicken, Veal or Salmon Piccata, sauteed and topped with a lemon, capers and white wine sauce.
Seafood dishes include King Salmon, served with a creamy dill sauce, and the Creamy Fish of the Day, which is sauteed and served with a creamy lemon, wine, and thyme sauce.
Entrees are served with either mashed potatoes, potato salad with bacon, rice, pasta, or spätzle – a type of pasta made with eggs commonly found in German, Austrian, and Eastern European cuisine. Entrees also come with either a seasonal vegetable medley, sauerkraut, or red cabbage.
Drinks include wines from around Europe, particularly from Italy, Spain, and France, and beer from the Czech Republic, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Everything is cooked to order. “We don’t hurry anyone,” Tracy said.
She said customers tend to take their time, preferring a true dining experience over a quick meal.
“I know everyone who comes in the door,” Tracy said. “Everyone knows me. It’s like coming into our home.”
The Icing on the Cake
The restaurant’s signature dessert – and its namesake – is Cremesh, a pastry made with vanilla cream pudding and fresh seasonal fruit sandwiched between layers of puff pastry. The other dessert options are Apple Strudel, served with vanilla ice cream, and the Roulade of the Day, which is a sponge cake spread with a delicate cream filling and then rolled up into a spiral.
The desserts – and breads – are made in-house daily at the bakery and then transported to the restaurant. You can also buy the desserts at the bakery, along with countless other sweet treats, like chocolate croissants, fruit custard tarts, roulades, muffins, chocolate eclairs, poppy seed and cherry strudel, and kolache, a Czech sweet pastry of fruit or jam encircled by puffy dough. There is a gluten-free roulade made with hazelnuts that Pavel grinds into flour.
Everything is baked on-sit
e. The flour is non-GMO, unbleached, and free of preservatives. Pavel also makes custom 8-, 10- and 12-inch round cakes, as well as specialty-shaped or decorated cakes and roulades.
The staple breads, which Pavel bakes from scratch every day, are rye, multigrain, white baguette, and sourdough. You can buy these in the bakery and enjoy them with your dinner at the restaurant. They are also used for all breakfast and lunch sandwiches at the bakery. Pavel also bakes cranberry walnut bread on Thursdays and Saturdays and makes pizza dough and focaccia bread on Fridays.
The bakery offers soups, salads, quiche, and savory pastries like spinach and feta or ham and cheese croissants. There are tons of coffee and tea options. With coffee and espresso from local supplier Banyan Coffee Co. and tea from Local Tea Company, which created the tea blends Selby Select Rooibos Tea, Mote Beach Tea, and Bradentonian Breakfast Blend, Tracy added.
