He started from Pécs, a small town in southern Hungary. His childhood was not an easy one, and he was by no means a cook. But he did become a chef and started working in the best restaurants in Pécs, where he grew to love the profession. His career took off quickly. He was working at the Green Elephant when he got his first chef position and from then on he became obsessed with his profession.
Chef Péter Kun, who is becoming increasingly known to the national profession, has set the bar high. Top restaurant in the South! This could even become a Michelin star!
- Before we get to GORÉ, tell us about how you got here in the first place?
- It was a long journey that started in Pécs. After my first attempts at winging it, I somehow found my way into this profession. That was when I got my first kitchen. I've always been a perfectionist in what I do, so I wanted to get this right... It was in the kitchen of the Green Elephant that I really realised that cuisine is much more than what I've been taught, and stew, broth, grilled cheese, etc., is not the tip of the iceberg. So I started experimenting with the ingredients, watching how they behaved and what I could get out of them. I ran the kitchen for four years, but I knew I could only improve if I kept going. Of course, I'm not a hypocrite, going abroad to work afterwards was also a financial decision.
-What places have you worked abroad?
Basically, I don't like to brag about having worked in Michelin-starred places. But it certainly opened up the world for me even more. It's with raw materials, I was able to learn about technologies that were not available at home at that time. I was able to work alongside chefs who taught at the highest level of the profession, and until then I could only admire their skills from afar. I started in Austria, worked in Germany, France and Italy. It was a very formative period in my career, because, as they say, there is no sausage without a fence. I worked a lot, 16-18 hours a day, but I also learned a lot.
- I assume there was a good reason for you to return home.
The main reason is that I had my son. Needless to say, while I was working abroad, I didn't get to come home much. I didn't set foot on Hungarian soil at all for six months. There was no way I wanted to be away from my family. Just then, a specific request came from the Kalafarm Restaurant and Pension Restaurant.
- If I remember correctly, that's when you really started to be discovered by the profession.
-Yes, that's exactly right. It came out of nowhere. chef, who you may not have heard of until now. In fact, it was a high quality, let's say gourmet tavern, with a Hungarian twist, with classic dishes, with Hungarian flavours. We put together plates that were completely unknown in this segment, so we quickly got the word out. At that time, there were a lot of articles about Kalafarm and about me. From then on, I had quite a lot of inquiries and started working not only as a chef, but also as a culinary consultant or executive chef. I was involved in several projects and developed the concept of several restaurants.
- You have a „love child” - the KP Burger. How do you build a burger chain with all that work?
This is an interesting question. It's basically a hobby. I just love what I do. At the time, I was quite seriously involved in fine-dining. As a result, my creatives, my „plates” - not for pretentiousness, but for the „world”. Pictures of my work have appeared in many foreign trade magazines, and my social media following has exploded. In the meantime, I even published a book as a chef „Gourmet Tavern - 36 years 36 recipes - Food to honour the past, for the future generation” - of which I am very proud. Somehow the successes came one after the other, which, needless to say, was a lot of work and stress.
So when I was getting a bit tired of it, I told my colleagues to take a food truck and go to a festival and make burgers. Funny enough, how can a chef relax... - more work! In the end, it got such a response that chef Peter Kun was flipping burgers that we could hardly wait to serve the long queues of people. If it's going so well, I thought, we've got to keep going. So first I started my own food truck, then I opened my first burger shop in Komlo. The concept and our burgers worked so well and still do to this day, that we've had enquiries about that as well. Several KP burger shops opened, but as it's really a full-time business and I prefer to be in the kitchen, it eventually became a franchise. Now I have burgers almost all over the country! Business-wise it obviously works well, but luckily it's thanks to the franchise that I've been able to keep it as a hobby.
- You have a gastronomic jewel box, where you in turn provide training. The Miracle Gastronomy Studio. I guess cooking wasn't what you were missing when you set it up.
Yes and no. I created it during the COVID closure. At that time the Long Plate Restaurant as executive chef but there was a long period, as we know, when we were not open. That was one of the reasons. The other was that, as I am also a culinary consultant, a project chef, I thought I could give classes here. It's a really small place, 10-15 people maximum, with a nice kitchen and everything you need for a gourmet kitchen. It's also important for me to be able to pass on my experience and knowledge to younger generations - and here it's perfectly feasible. Sometimes I also organise small dinners, but even here you have to plan months in advance and book a table.
- As you say, you have just reached the peak of your career. Soon you will open the GÓRÉ gourmet restaurant, which will be the top restaurant in Southern Hungary. What goals have you set for yourself?
- Without being immodest, I would say that the goal is the highest level! We want to create not only the top restaurant in Southern Hungary, but one of the best restaurants in our country. Thank God, all the possibilities are there, the restaurant is backed by serious capital and even more serious dedication. I am very grateful to be part of this. We have put together a serious cuisine that rivals even the top restaurants abroad. I feel that here, as a chef, I will be able to show my best!
I can safely say that the aim is to achieve a Michelin star, if we get to the point where they finally visit rural restaurants.
I can tell you that GÓRÉ is a fine-dining restaurant. A parade you will find a sophisticated culinary experience, with spectacular presentation. At this level, it's only natural that we will use the best ingredients, and I'll also be preparing surprises that no one has ever experienced at home. I have a lot of ideas that I will be able to put into practice. I can't tell you everything yet, but I want to take fine-dining to the next level!
- It will not be a problem to do all this „in the countryside” you?
My 90% guests are not the local audience. They come to me from all over the country, from Budapest to Debrecen, and even from abroad. The special gastronomy I represent finds its way to you. But we are prepared for that, too, because for a complete experience you need maximum service. The restaurant has a guesthouse where guests can stay. Basically, it is also a multi-course dinner, a wandering in a world of flavours, a culinary experience rather an event! On the other hand, I think that this is exactly what is needed nowadays. The world of gastronomy and high-end restaurants is not capital-centric. #
Author: Tamás Budafoki
Photo by Péter Kun
