The role of women is becoming more and more visible and decisive in gastronomy, this is emphasized this year by the most popular event of the Hungarian gastro scene, the MBH Bank Gourmet Festival, between May 24-26, at Millenáris in Budapest. This time, the “walking country tasting” draws heavily from the Hungarian culinary offer: excellent restaurants, patisseries, bakeries and a variety of drinks – from specialty coffees to cocktails to champagnes – will be lined up in the offer of about a hundred exhibitors.
The theme of this year’s Gourmet Festival is inspiring women
With the MBH Bank Gourmet Festival, it is already a tradition that the focus is always on a different topic. Previously, the focus was on iconic dishes and then on individual ingredients, later on tradition, the heritage of Hungarian cuisine, and last year the increasing role of the new generation was emphasized.
“The 2024 Gourmet Festival focuses on inspiring female energies, as we are joined by three ambassadors in the person of Zsóka Fekete, Gabriella Ormós and Zsuzsanna Ötvös. Although they are active in different areas of gastronomy, the professional journey and success of all three are very inspiring and exemplary. In addition to our ambassadors, we will of course also try to present many other female actors of Hungarian gastronomy at the festival. The “feminine energies” will be strengthened by Judit Stahl, as well as by the gastro theater show Flódni created by her,” said Richárd Nemes, the main organizer of the Gourmet Festival.
“MBH Bank is very happy to support the Gourmet Festival for the second year now, which is one of the highlights of spring every year and an important meeting occasion where we can host many of our customers. The Gourmet Festival not only showcases the best of the Hungarian gastronomic scene, but this year’s event also gives special attention to excellent female chefs, confectioners, bakers and producers, who take on an increasingly spectacular role in hospitality. Supporting domestic businesses and especially female entrepreneurs is a matter of our hearts, so we hope that this year’s festival will not only be an important opportunity for many to meet, but also provide inspiration, we can get to know new recipes in both gastronomy and business”, emphasized István Kutas, MBH Executive Director of Bank Communications.
The closing day of the stage of the Gourmet Academy, which was established with the support of Samsung, holds a truly special gastro-cultural experience this year. The “basic ingredients” of the performance Flódni are provided by two components: on the one hand, Judit Stahl’s gastronomic expertise, and on the other hand, the improvisational talent of famous actors, and the product is always unique and unrepeatable. “What we can see is an improvisational gastro-theatre, with a lot of laughter, basically a sweet taste and some sour taste,” says Judit Stahl, the creator of the performance. The recipe is very simple: they combine theatrical improvisation, the cultural secrets of gastronomy and the history of former Jewish Budapest. Then four excellent actors of the improvisational genre serve the audience Judit Stahl’s concoction. “It comes out just like a delicious flounder,” says Stahl. The performance – in the situation ideas of which Judit Stahl’s daughter, Hanna Stahl-Bohus, also played a significant role – is brought to life by an excellent team of actors: Jordán Adél, Angéla Stefanovics, Péter Kálloy Molnár and Győző Szabó will perform on the stage of the Gourmet Academy.
The stage of the Gourmet Academy will be occupied by many additional programs this year as well. Maki Stevenson, the founder of Makifood Cookery School and Events, will present Japanese-Hungarian food combinations. At the Kovászlabor workshop, baker Gabriella Ormós, the dreamer of Jenői Pékség, will present the secrets of leavening in practice. Arya Razavi, Arany Kaviár’s international caviar specialist, presents everything you need to know about really good caviar in an exciting tasting. Fans of baked pastries can learn the tricks of making a Nagykunság cake from its uncrowned queen, Éva Kálmán, the hostess of Ferdinánd Bisztró in Kunmadara. Szilárd Tóth – the chef of SALT Budapest – uses the ribs of the Gourmet ambassador, Zsóka Fekete Zsóka, to prepare the fried meat, the tip of our hearts, a little extra than we are used to. Making bibimbap with Kim Taeyeon and Zsófia Mautner also promises to be exciting, where an expert in Korean cuisine will give us an insight into the world of Korean gastronomy and, of course, we can find out what bibimbap is. The chefs of two small restaurants with a special atmosphere will also present themselves on stage: Zaida Kiss, the chef of Zincenco Kitchen in Budapest, and Kriszta Katkó, the chef of the Alkimista Culinary Workshop in Szeged, will come with co-produced delicacies. How is a vegan dessert made? Can a traditional dessert be veganized? The ambassador of this year’s festival, Zsuzsanna Ötvös, pastry chef and co-chef of Laurel Budapest, will answer these questions, and she will also bring a tasting of her vegan cookies. And we can also learn how the real Transylvanian eggplant cream is made, the vineta, with the help of Mama Kati and Réka György (Páva Restaurant).
The Sunday of this year’s MBH Bank Gourmet Festival, being children’s day, also holds surprises for the young age group and families with small children. On this day, those under 18 can enter Gourmet for free, but there will also be free sweets and children’s workshops. Those arriving with families will be welcomed by nine popular confectioneries with mini macaroons with explosive sugar and other free dessert specialties. Children are also expected on the stage of the Gourmet Academy: In the KitchenAid workshop, you can make ice cream, Rozina Wossala will cook pasta and “pikk-pakk” sauces with parent-child pairs, and Lea Lefkovics, the manager of SALT Bakery, will introduce you to the preparation of biscuits and American cookies. Most of the Gourmet Academy’s programs and tastings are free, with a nominal participation fee for the workshops, it is worth registering in advance on the festival’s website.
Last, but not least, Richárd Nemes said that the entire range of the more than 50 restaurants and pastry shops exhibiting at the festival had been assembled. The special feature of this year’s festival menu is that it also includes a number of budget-friendly dishes, which can be purchased by visitors for a maximum price of HUF 2,500.
The exhibitors of this year’s Gourmet can be seen here, and tickets can be purchased in advance here, with a significant discount compared to on-site ticket prices.
(Gourmet Festival)
