The eleventh edition of the most important event in Hungarian gastronomy was held in the Millenáris. The theme of this year's Gourmet Festival was “the new generation”, so there was no shortage of young, up-and-coming chefs and exciting dishes. Naturally, several of Matusz-Vad's partners were represented, and we asked them what the theme means to them and what kind of season they predict for the hospitality industry.
The almost obligatory rain had the early arrivals in stitches on the first day, but the park was full of visitors within an hour of opening. The smell of heaven was in the air and it was clear that this year again everyone had tried to make the most of the food and drink. It was clear that neither the industry nor the guests had recovered from the damage caused by Covid, and there was no lack of interest. Although, as in the past, the first day was held on a Friday, there were long queues at several stands at lunchtime. It was also noticeable that, in the spirit of environmental and health consciousness, there was an increasing number of vegetarian and vegan dishes, as well as a growing trend to avoid food waste increased attention is being paid to.
In addition to the delicious snacks, all three days were also interspersed with workshops and cooking for pleasure on various topics, with speakers including Rozina Wossala, Krisztián Huszár, János Mizsei and Csaba Puskás. The “new generation” theme was of course not exclusively about chefs, but more broadly about new trends, new technologies and new styles. It is also a reflection of this that 30% of this year's line-up were making their debut at the festival, and we have never seen so many rural restaurants.
Alabardos
Pál Tóth, the head of the kitchen of the fine bistro in Szeged, who is also one of the faces of this year's festival, managed to surprise the audience again, as (in my opinion) probably one of the most original desserts is his. He used a three-dimensional printer to create a negative of the famous Michelin doll and then filled it with different layers. The end result was a yoghurt ice cream-like dessert with mango and citrus, we couldn't get enough! As a starter, a special omelette was served, which guests were treated to a never-before-seen dish, and for the main course, trout cheviche was served. Pali and his team deserved to be included in the Michelin Guide and we hope the star will soon arrive at 13 Oskola Street. One thing is for sure, this is the boy to watch, because I'm sure there are plenty of tricks up its sleeve up his sleeve in his chef's coat...
Bori Mami
Bori Mami, celebrating their 10th birthday this year, are an old hand at the festival, and since their debut in 2016, there has hardly been a year where they haven't won an award. Bori Mami's mission is to promote Hungarian cuisine and to constantly innovate it, and their dishes are created with this in mind. I found it very ingenious that they dressed up their main course in a new guise, reflecting their location in the Mátra mountains. In the serving they wanted to bring the landscape to life, which I think is a brilliant idea. So on the plate were green crumbs, symbolizing the moss and foliage, sour cream caviar, buttermilk and confit garlic cream, with elderberries on top as a garnish. The fatted beef used for this pork chops from Matusz-Vad, and for their a la carte menu, they often order cod and steak. The team has recently been joined by pastry chef Norbert Farkas, with whom they will start the season with lots of ideas. If you are in the Mátra region, the restaurant in Gyöngyös is a must stop, because there is a lot to learn from them!
Yama Budapest
Just a few minutes' walk from the Basilica, the Asian restaurant in this article we sang praises to earlier. When they say that their concept works on all 5 senses, they mean it. In their fusion cuisine, they place great emphasis on constant innovation alongside the classics. What hasn't been cooked before will be cooked, what has been soup will become a main course, what has been known as cold will become hot. Yama Budapest is therefore an exciting playground, inspired by the continent's most diverse cuisines, and the dishes are quite amazing.
For this festival, they prepared a Thai tom yum soup, a sushi selection and a yuzu cheesecake. The soup has been refined for a European palate, but it still brings the familiar feel. A Tiger crabs in addition to zucchini, shitake mushrooms, sugar snap peas and the inevitable coriander. The coconut milk and tiger prawns for this starter are sourced from our company, as are many of the other ingredients. If you want to know how to take Asian cuisine to the next level, head to 6th October Street!
Butcher Restobar
We were excited to see what this year's niche restaurant, which primarily serves vegan bistro fare, would have in store for us in more ways than one. One was that (for me) one of the most memorable dishes last year was theirs, and another was that Zsanett Barna, who runs the kitchen, has recently been replaced as restaurant manager. In both national and international hospitality there are a minuscule number of female chefs, Zsanett and her team could be the face of the festival, as they are all unashamedly young, full of new ideas and drive.
As the dishes often have an Asian twist, their main course is a bao stuffed with malaccas, with homemade kimchi, a reimagined pumpkin stew of sourdough butter pumpkin topped with green apples, and finally a raspberry-pistachio dessert. While we couldn't complain about any dish we had tasted before or since, the butternut velouté again remains a lasting memory, and the bao couldn't have been softer. The meat used for this dish is also is a product of our company, for which we had previously brought us different thicknesses of meat from different farms, so that they could choose the most suitable for them. This was then covered with a thick crust of spices and first crusted at 200 degrees and then cooked at 90 degrees for 3 hours until tender. In their Nagymező Street unit, they reinforce the “small plate” concept, which caters mainly to guests who like to enjoy as many flavours as possible in one meal, and also pay special attention to lactose and gluten-free options.
Kreinbacher Birtok
Although the name Kreinbacher first comes to most people's minds when they think of white wines and exceptionally fine sparkling wines, the gastronomic line is also getting stronger every year, thanks to executive chef Gábor Langer. Gábor took over the kitchen 4 years ago, with the primary aim of keeping the fine dining dishes in line with the estate's standards, yet still accessible. An excellent example of this is their main course, which is a super crispy scrambled egg of onglet with mashed potatoes, cucumber salad and chive mayonnaise. While at first glance it sounds more like a Sunday lunch at our grandparents', Gábor's talent lies in taking this simple dish to unprecedented heights. The main things he highlights about working with our company are reliability, flexibility, late ordering and consistently high quality. Last year, their work also earned them a Michelin plate, so if you haven't put them on the map before, do so!
Old press
One of the most spectacular debuts of the new restaurants is definitely Old Press, who have installed a huge container kitchen. The restaurant in Moravia is headed by István Volenter, whose work was also awarded a Michelin recommendation last year. Although no longer a newcomer to the business, István's youthful energy hasn't waned. With a lot of competition and experience abroad behind him, he is determined to make the restaurant a success. They also treated the festival audience to 5 dishes.
The apple and onion fat board and the strawberry and ordas dumplings, which are classics in their house, were a resounding success. But we had the summer roll with Swabian kimchi, one of the fantastic vegan dishes of the festival. Like the traditional kimchi, it was made with fermented cabbage, but with flavours such as mustard seeds, dill, cucumber and green apple, which gave it a whole new side. As an experience, I could compare it to biting into summer. The end result was a dish that was infinitely fresh and bursting with flavour, I would order it again any time. Most of the ingredients are sourced from within a 15 km radius, the bread is made by a local baker, the cheesecakeand syrups are also made for them by local producers. If you want to see how a truly conscious, sustainable restaurant works, go to Mór!
Rókusfalvy Inn
The recently rebranded and rebranded restaurant To Rókusfalvy restaurant we've had the pleasure of visiting before, so we were curious to see what they had in store for us. In February, Dávid Csonka from KisBíró took over the kitchen. Their concept now focuses more on home cooking and Hungarian dishes, and as Dávid says, this is what he enjoys and loves doing, which is shown by the 30% increase in turnover. They made an Austrian mangalica platter and served it with sour chicory and vanilla pumpkin velouté, and for dessert they brought a poppy seed noodle with honeydew. The theme of the festival was seen as a fusion of old and new technologies.
All respondents agreed that despite the economic challenges we are facing a very strong season, but it was interesting to hear how different trends are expected to emerge in the next 1-2 years. There were some who thought that farm-to-table concept is gaining momentum, some say traditional flavours and recipes are the future, others say very clean plates. We have no doubts about a strong summer, so we are looking forward to working together. We certainly hope to see twice as many of our partners out there next year, with dishes made with better and better ingredients.
Next year, with you, same place!
