Umami, fermentation, and a zero-waste approach: the three pillars of KRO since day one.
Fermentation, because it’s one of the best ways to unlock the fullest flavour from great ingredients. It’s a fascinating process that can take weeks—or even months—and it adds something truly special to food, whether it’s used in cooking, preserving, or further processing. The result is a naturally rich umami flavour that creates that satisfying “wow, that’s delicious” moment with every bite—and keeps guests coming back to KRO. As a bonus, fermented foods are often easier to digest, support gut health, and are better for your microbiome. A true win-win.
Zero waste, because when you work with exceptional ingredients, you want to use every part of them and give them the longest possible life. At our KRO Vršovice fermentation lab, led by our head fermenter Matěj Výboch, we’ve spent years producing our signature kimchi, tempeh, marinades, kombucha, and dozens of other fermented ingredients that form the foundation of both KRO’s kitchens and Alma Prague.
Among them are our unique bread miso and bread shoyu (a delicate soy-style sauce), made from unsold sourdough bread. Instead of traditional ingredients such as soybeans or other legumes, we use premium sourdough bread as the base. The result is a flavour that’s even deeper and more complex than classic miso, with an extra layer of natural umami. That’s why bread fermentation is currently the area we’re exploring and developing most intensively.
KRO x Rohlik.cz: even more goodness
Thanks to our partnership with Rohlik.cz, a company that shares our commitment to reducing food waste, our fermentation lab also gives unsold sourdough bread from premium artisan bakeries such as Eska and Arctic a second life.
Bread made with exceptional ingredients, time, energy, and true craftsmanship deserves more than being thrown away. Using years of KRO fermentation expertise and a process that takes several months, we transform it into deeply flavourful ingredients packed with natural umami.
Try our KRO miso, bread shoyu, or BBQ marinades on meat, fish, vegetables, eggs, in sauces, or in dressings. After all, there aren’t many dishes that don’t benefit from a little KRO umami. Take a look behind the scenes of our fermentation process in this video.
From Scratch, honestly.
At KRO, we cook from scratch. Everything you find on your plate or in your glass comes from carefully sourced ingredients and trusted producers. Many of the things we serve are made in-house — from sourdough bread and pastries to ferments, syrups, kombucha, spice blends, and sauces.
Backstage in our Vršovice bistro, where our bakery once operated, you’ll now find KRO Ferments — the place that gives our food its unmistakable flavour and character. This is where our kimchi, tempeh, miso, bread shoyu, and other umami-packed sauces such as tamari and garum are born — ingredients relied upon by some of the world’s best chefs.
This fermentation kitchen supplies all KRO locations. Every week, we produce more than 300 kilograms of our signature kimchi, alongside our own spice blends, fermented sauces, chilli oils, kombucha, and dozens of other ferments and pantry essentials that make KRO taste like KRO.
In line with our zero-waste philosophy, anything not used directly by our kitchens or bar teams is given a second life through fermentation. Making the most of every ingredient is not an afterthought for us — it’s part of the process from the very beginning.
We devote the same care to drinks as we do to food. Our natural wines are selected by our sister company, Alma Wines, while our lemonades, kombuchas, and other beverages are fermented, blended, and developed in-house. Take a look behind the scenes and discover the world of KRO Ferments in the video below.
Our Kimchi
Our take on the traditional Korean fermented salad, made without fish sauce or soy sauce. A combination of classic and seasonal vegetables, chilli peppers, ginger, and garlic. VEGAN, rich in vitamins and packed with natural probiotics.
Bread Shoyu
A fermented sauce inspired by traditional soy sauce, made from barley and sourdough bread. We use our shoyu in dressings, sauces, and to season salads and other dishes.
Bread Miso
Matěj Výboch and his team have been producing bread miso for years, and it has become a staple ingredient across KRO kitchens. We use it to enrich soups, broths, sauces, and countless other dishes with deeper, fuller, unmistakably umami flavour.
More recently, we connected its production with our partnership with Rohlík. This collaboration brings us closer to customers who regularly shop online while helping us make better use of the capacity of our new KRO Bakery in Libeň.
The partnership also has another dimension. Unsold premium sourdough loaves from Rohlík are given a second life at KRO. The same delivery vehicles that bring our bread from KRO Bakery collect unsold loaves on the return journey. Back at the ferment kitchen, the bread is fermented for three months and transformed into our bread miso, affectionately known in-house as “breadso”.
Thanks to the quality of the sourdough and flour, the resulting miso develops a rich and complex flavour. At the same time, it represents our natural approach to zero waste and demonstrates how we think about ingredients throughout their entire lifecycle.
Tempeh
One of the bestsellers of KRO Ferments. Our tempeh is made from lentils and chickpeas. Fermentation gives it a distinctive flavour, a high protein content, and remarkable versatility in both hot and cold dishes.
Umami Popcorn
Our favourite umami popcorn is made with brown butter and seasoned with our own signature umami spice blend. One of its secrets is dried bread miso and dried fermented vegetables. That is exactly why it is so addictive.
Live Kombucha
A sparkling, unpasteurised fermented tea drink with natural probiotic benefits. It supports gut microbiota and the body’s natural balance.
Our live kombucha is brewed in the heart of our fermentation kitchen, where everything is made from scratch with a focus on fermentation, circularity, and making the most of every ingredient.
Chilli Oil
A crunchy, spicy chilli oil made from dried fermented chillies, spices, and seeds.
Sweet Chilli Piccalilli
A sweet chilli relish with pieces of vegetables.
BBQ Spice Blend
The secret behind KRO’s famous rotisserie chicken. Our signature seasoning blend is built on fermented red onions and fermented chilli peppers. Once dried, they are blended with other ingredients to create a versatile seasoning that works beautifully on both meat and vegetables.
Enjoy KRO Ferments products in your own kitchen. They are available at all KRO locations, through Wolt, and for restaurants, cafés, retailers, and other businesses via our B2B shop.
