The Gourmet Festival, held for the 11th time this year, was again held in Millenáris. This year the focus was on feminine energy and budget-friendly dishes, which resulted in fantastic plates and solutions. To our greatest pride, we were again represented by many of our partners, from home cuisine to Morocco and Vietnam.
For years, more and more women have been taking the lead in gastronomy, and this trend is set to be reinforced at this year's Gourmet Festival. The organisers of the event are proud to say that female professionals, chefs and gastronomic innovators are playing an increasingly important role in the professional culinary world. This year's festival will therefore focus on female energy to show the diverse and inspiring impact they have on our profession and the world of flavours. In this context, the three ambassadors are Zsóka Fekete, who raises mangalica on her own farm, Gabriella Ormós, who is fascinated by sourdough, and Zsuzsanna Ötvös, a PhD student in Classics and Philology, who has become a gastroblogger and pastry chef.
As we have become accustomed to, on the main stage they gave presentations on their own areas of expertise at various times, but there were several workshops, a round table discussion and improvisational gastronomy theatre. Several of our sales representatives and managers from Matusz-Vad visited the event, and we were curious to see what dishes were prepared this year using our ingredients.
Balagan
Opened just six months ago Balagan, the well-known Mazel Tov has burst onto the gastronomic map of Budapest as a little brother. Their concept stayed on the Middle Eastern small plate line, with the addition of a very high quality cocktail bar. As a fresh debut, they didn't leave the dishes they brought to chance, so they also prepared 5 different dishes.
“In line with the theme, we have tried to reflect the feminine energy in flavours and colours. Our first Signiture dish is a hummus-based dish made from high quality tahini, with boiled beetroot and with mango, with sumac and homemade minipitas. Their second live dish is a tuna ceviche, a symbol of freshness and refreshment, with a seasonal sprinkling of asparagus, California peppers and month-old radishes marinated in a special blood lemon. For the main course, we had two mini burgers, one of which was a lamb one with sumac onions and rosemary mayo. The other was a liba pleskavica, stylishly topped with ajvar and homemade relish. Their dessert was prepared by a colleague representing the team's feminine energy, and what else could it be but a homemade baklava made with lots of honey and pistachios, mascarpone and raspberry variations.
If you missed the festival, you can also find ceviche and mini burgers on Balagan's permanent menu, with lamb and tuna provided by our company. “The fish used for the ceviche is of the highest quality sashimi cut tuna always of a stable quality, so we really like working with it. From New Zealand lamb and we use it for our mini-meat pies with torn meat in addition to the köfte. This is served with cashew nuts, hummus, cabbage and pine nuts - a favourite of our guests. In addition to the high quality ingredients, we also like working with Matus because their products are constantly available, which is a priority for any restaurant because of the planning possibilities. It's also great that the goods always arrive on time and the monthly meetings are useful, so I know first-hand if a new, better product might arrive.” - highlights the restaurant's executive chef, Áron Kelemen.
Address: 1072 Budapest, Akácfa utca 47.
Texture
Ákos Sárközy and his restaurant Textúra, known nationwide for his popular cooking competition, have been a sure-fire hit with festival-goers since the beginning. The kitchen, which is always innovating, with creative dishes and forgotten or underrated ingredients, has not been lying to its guests. A Thai cappuccino was prepared as a starter, but don't be fooled by the name. In the glass is a coconut milk-based, fresh angus with rump coriander soup with coriander foam was waiting to make you swoon. “The ladies tend to like things with foam and beans, so we wanted to reflect part of the theme of this year's Gourmet Festival in that, but the rest of our dishes reflect their tastes and palatability.” Their main course is a vegetarian, light as foam, truffle gnocchi with Jerusalem artichoke crispy, non-intrusive, harmonious flavours. Their dessert is a tribute to one of the most prominent stars of the Hungarian pastry profession, Anette Béres. This time it's a basil mint-lemon in the shape of a rose.chocolate delighted the visitors with a delicacy that we thought was absolutely outstanding in its category.
Although many were challenged by this year's theme, Ákos took the challenge with confidence. “I knew almost immediately what I was going to make. I'm lucky, really, because my wife and I work very closely together and my daughter helps a lot with events like this, so for me, female energy is part of everyday life.” In general, he believes that there needs to be an increasing emphasis on restaurants catering to the needs of guests with various intolerances and those who follow a plant-based diet. “I don't like to think in terms of trends, but there is definitely room for improvement in this area and more and more people are paying attention to conscious eating. It is no longer enough just to cook well. You have to offer something in an environment, in a service, that is a memory that the guest can associate with the restaurant. And if you have that good connection, it's easier to experiment with bolder flavour pairings and ingredients because there will be feedback.”
Address: 1051 Budapest, Sas utca 6.
Anchoring
The family-run restaurant in Tiszalök is a perfect example of female energy coming to the fore, as the owner is herself a woman. According to Andrea Kecskés, she has never been disadvantaged by her gender, and finds the male-dominated profession increasingly accepting. The proximity of the Tisza makes them very strong in fish dishes, so, true to themselves, they brought them here. One of their iconic dishes is catfish tartare with marinated onions and herb tartare, the perfect festival dish. Easy and simple to eat, even on a walk, it's not too much but not too little, making it one of my favourite dishes. Their cold, dill buttercup soup with leavened courgette is a light, cooling treat on warm summer days, and the Hortobágy carp stuffed cabbage with lestyan sour cream was a real curiosity among the fish dishes at the festival.
In their desserts, I could also understand the theme of the festival, as his mother has been making horn cakes for a long time, so it was only natural that they should offer it here, combined with one of the best Hungarian inventions, bird's milk. On their regular menu, we offer the salmon, a trout, steaks, as well as several dairy products. “We chose Matuz primarily for its professionalism. We can always call the our sales representative, always very helpful. We are also very happy with the ordering interface.” - says Andrea.
Address: 4450 Tiszalök, Tiszavirág utca 13.
Majorell
Also making a new debut is one of our newest partners, the Moroccan flavour conqueror Majorell. It is named after a garden in Marrakesh, formerly owned by the world-famous fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. But after his death, he made it open to the public, so now anyone can admire it a uniquely beautiful botanical garden. Saad, the owner and chef, wanted to see the diversity and colourful world of this garden on the plates. Their kitchens prepare traditional Moroccan dishes with the best spices and ingredients, many of which come directly from their home country. “Lots of turmeric, with ginger, with saffron and fresh herbs, and the dishes are often sweet and savoury at the same time, a real flavour cavalcade.
They have brought 5 dishes to the festival, the real curiosity of which is the authentic lemon chicken in earthenware jars, where the fruit is salted and stored in the dark for 3 months, which allows the chicken to ripen in a different way and takes it to a whole new dimension. Also worth trying at their Moon Street restaurant is their slow-cooked beef dish, cooked until butter tender, which gets an exciting twist from the prunes and almonds. They also have high hopes for their debut dish in June, for which our company's salesman found them the key ingredient. “Baby chicken dishes are very popular in Morocco, but I couldn't find a good quality one here. I complained about this to the regional representative, who called me after just two weeks to say that he had found it, and that it was halal certified, which is very important for us, so we were very pleased.”
As women typically prepare the food in Morocco, the theme of the festival is present in every bite. “Mothers and grandmothers are highly respected because they feed the whole family. And the recipes are handed down from generation to generation, which leaves its mark on all Moroccan cuisine, from street food to fine dining.” - Saad says proudly.
1054 Budapest, Hold utca 23.
Pasarét Bistro
A second district restaurant is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, so for them the gastronomic feast takes place all year round. The restaurant is housed in an old bus terminal built in 1936 in the Bauhaus style, so it's a must for architecture lovers. As the owner grew up in the area and the restaurant is a dream come true, he literally lives and breathes the place every day, and the atmosphere is just as good.
He's very proud of it, 95% of their guests are regulars, and their menu changes every 10-15 days with fresh, seasonal dishes that are mainly Hungarian classics in a bistro guise. This was no different here, with one of their best-selling dishes being lecsó, served with sausage breadcrumbs, perfectly poached eggs and home-baked bread baked at dawn. Also a summer favourite - and a perennial return of the festival - was the dill and pumpkin stew, enjoyed by vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. For the latter, we have prepared a pork cheeks made a ‘spring roll’, which added an exciting twist to the nostalgic grandma dish. For those who wanted something even more serious, there was a taste of the veal liver, with confit onions, buttered mashed potatoes and pork crackling.
With these dishes, they focused on another theme of the festival, that of saving money. “In our day-to-day operations, we also believe it is important not to import ingredients from the other side of the world, because it is not only bad for the environment, but also not economically viable. We are lucky with our location and our clientele, but with that comes a general sense of decline.” They are trying to remedy this with their event and catering services, with an increasing focus on family and corporate gatherings. Working with us, they highlight the 6-day delivery, user-friendly app and on-time delivery.
Address: 1026 Budapest, Pasaréti út 100.
Opium Budapest
Anyone with a taste for Asian cuisine will have come across one of the owner-operated restaurants, each of which takes you to a different part of the continent to experiment. Now ten years old, SAO offers a taste of Vietnamese cuisine, KHAN Chinese and Mongolian, and QUÍ traditional Thai cuisine. This prominent team is joined by the Opium Restaurant & Bar on Arany János Street, which evokes the flavours of Indochina. In this light, their menu is as much influenced by French gastronomy as it is by Vietnamese.
They have prepared mainly grilled dishes for the festival, as their á la carte offer is also a strong feature. You could also taste holy yak scallops, crab, squid and skewers. Alongside these were authentic dishes such as bánh mi, beef wrapped in peppermint leaves, and oysters with a variety of toppings. The soon-to-open Japanese unit will serve the highest quality sushi in its cold kitchen section, while the hot kitchen offerings are still being experimented with, but there will be no shortage of premium wagyu, which will be provided by our company.
Address: 1051 Budapest, Arany János utca 13.
Costes
As always, Jenő Rácz and the Costes team was also represented and the food was created by female colleagues. Their starter was an Indian potato curry pani puri, topped with Hungarian mangalica sauce and paprika cream. Their main course is an impeccable quality duck liver laid over beetroot chutney, with an unexpected twist from Ugandan vanilla. Although Jenő believes that the restaurateurs can expect a successful year of business compared to last year, the impact of inflation on Hungarian wallets has not gone unnoticed, so maintaining value for money is a huge challenge. He also stressed that it remains very difficult to find good professionals, which has been a constant problem in the hospitality industry for years.
Address: 1092 Budapest Ráday utca 4.
