We have walked the steps of the history of Hungarian gastronomy to a genre that can move everyone. This is the show, which now brings gastronomy to us through the media. One of the most prominent examples of this is Chefs Chefs a gastro-talent show, hosted by TV2, which shows us what kitchen challenges can be like. No doubt it takes knowledge, will and of course luck. Here are the winners Ákos Alföldy history.
Photo: TV2
Did you start out as an amateur or „professional” chef?
- I graduated as a cook in 2001 in Szombathely. I was the one who applied for the show, but basically I was brooding about it for quite a long time. I was watching the final of the second season when I saw the opportunity for myself and I liked it. I decided then to give it a go, but it took a long time for the plans in my head to become reality. One day after work, a window popped up on my computer showing the competition announcement - and I sent in my application.
So basically it all came spontaneously for you?
- Even though it was nagging at me, I just jumped into the Chefs Chef show on a whim. Then came the casting, to see if I could do more than a few sausages. And I was finally chosen.
Photo: TV2
What motivated you to apply?
- Not really the TV and not the acting, but the professional part. For me, it was very important to work with authoritative, highly professional chefs who define gastronomy in Hungary.
An important question is, where are you from?
- After finishing school I started working in Szombathely, then, considering the financial possibilities at home, I finally started working in Germany. The point is - as usual - I've been to quite a few places. What is important for me professionally is that the last two places I worked in were both Michelin-starred restaurants. Where I work now, I'm already in a sous-chef position.
Photo: TV2
When you spend your day in these places and in these positions, you have a slightly higher view of cooking.
- In fact, I'm just doing my job. I learn what I can and where I can in the profession, because there is no other way to get ahead. The fact is that you can soak up some serious knowledge in Michelin-starred places.
What was it like to cook with the cameras all around you? Did that cause you any difficulties?
- I'm quite nervous, but when I had to concentrate on the task at hand, I didn't worry about the outside world or the cameras, just the food. I had sixty minutes for a task, which I knew then what it was going to be. It was quite a challenge.
What was going through your mind when you got the assignment?
- It's quite strange. Stress until you know what the task is and then very hard concentration. There was one time when Nóri Ördög lifted the cloche and then I saw what kind of material was available. At that time I was told something and I immediately started to work and think, but in the meantime I got some information that made me rethink what I was going to do. Is this really human, or even more so a challenge for the chef. You have the ingredients, the information and sixty minutes. Very tough! There was a time when the task was sturgeon, which is not a common ingredient, and I started combining it at that moment, while Nóri was already telling me that the skin is not edible and that it should be made into a Mediterranean dish. So I had to rethink and see what other ingredients were there, zucchini and eggplant, anchovies, capers, etc. So I had to put it together very quickly in my head because the clock was ticking.
Photo: TV2
Were teamwork easier? Because they are closer to real kitchen work.
- Everyone had to work as a team. But I would say that the chefs had the hardest time. In my case, it was Frigyes Vomberg, because he was not allowed to touch or taste the food according to the rules. He had to put it all together in his head and tell us whose job it was, what flavour and texture he imagined. And he could only give us tasks or instructions verbally.
Was there a task that was out of your comfort zone?
- Of course, there was always one. Especially when it came to baking cakes. Cooking and baking are completely different. Of course, that's not to say that chefs can't do it, it's a different skill set. I also tried to put it together and do what I know how to do. I assembled a sheet of cocoa noodles, but I had trouble cutting it in three halves like a pastry chef, because it would be like a circus fence. Then I thought I'd cut it in half, but then what kind of cream to mix with it, and then it was peaches and raspberries. So it really wasn't easy as a chef.
Photo: TV2
What was the one food that you would say was easier?
- When using Hungarian food were. It was only fitting when I was given, for example, a Bakony pork loin - I had to create a new dish from it. I - as a kid from Vas County - made a dödöllé to go with it. Only Nóri came again, twenty minutes before the end, and brought the obligatory ingredients. Pineapple, avocado, Aloe vera... - for a Hungarian dish? It was a challenge to put it together, but in the end I chose aloe.
Photo: TV2
What are your plans after winning the cooking show?
- I don't really have any expectations that I'll be approached with offers the day after tomorrow. I think I've tried myself, I've got on this boat - and I've worked hard for it. I'll see what comes, but I'm not looking forward to the big opportunities, so to speak. After I've rested up, I'll get back to work and do my thing in the kitchen. Of course professional my career is important and I would be disingenuous if I said that I don't expect success from it, but not at any price. If it brings me an opportunity, I am very happy and ready for it, and if it has been an adventure, I look to the future and the profession I believe in with pride.
Source: TV2, Airchef
Photo: TV2
„I made a lot of game dishes: hunting and gathering in the woods for the side dishes”
