The gastro festival called Szaft N’ Burger was held for the third time. The burger of the year was again chosen at the event.
Good time, serious interest
The event space next to Békás Lake has already hosted a number of similar events (Gourmet Festival, Wine and Jazz Days, Beer Festivals) in recent years, so those interested gathered at a well-known location. In addition to the professional hamburger grilling competition with prize money, this time there was also a steak grilling competition on site, which the contestants had to do with chuck-eye steak. The main ingredients were offered by one of the hosts of the event, Hortobágy Angus.
This type of meat is a cheaper alternative to the more well-known rib-eye, but with enough care, it can also be used to make tasty dishes. Entrants could compete in several categories, so in addition to the professional teams, even the youngest could grab a shovel. In addition to the individual competitors, several restaurants were also represented, where you could also taste burgers, then wash it down with a small craft beer, and finally drown it all with ice cream or macarons.
It’s a feeling of life!
When I arrived, there were incomparable scents in the air. Just as it usually is during a barbecue or a bacon roast at home. There was a lot of interest in the event, and everyone was represented, from the smallest to the elderly. On the main stage, the experts dissected the secret of a good hamburger-meat patty, to which the simplest answer is that it has the right amount of fat and is well prepared. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to put it together according to some logic so that the flavors harmonize.
The promised Restless concert followed only after a slippage caused by the devil of technology. By the way, the three-time Texas Sounds Country Music Awards-winning band is from Debrecen, and rockabilly and country perfectly matched the atmosphere of the barbecue jamboree. In the end, the concert was such a success that the audience demanded them back and then rewarded the band with a storm of applause. Even the contestants started moving to the rhythm of Johnny Cash covers or “Menni Amerika” by the grill. This whole milieu was completely captivating, in one word: a feeling of life.
The podium was then occupied by the main patron of the event and the president of the jury, Jani Jancsa, whose live food poems were tasted by two lucky people. One was a Mexican-flavored Angus beef burger and the other was a pizza-inspired burger that the master chef used to compete in the World Pizza Championship in Parma, Italy in April.
Simple but great. Szolnok has become the country’s burger
As the closing chord of the event, the first six winners of all categories were announced, among them the members of BBQ Mania in Miskolc were particularly busy, as they achieved positions in almost all categories. In the end, it turned out that the country’s hamburger award and the quarter-million-forint reward went to Ádám Józsa and the Beer&Burgers team in Szolnok, who, according to the reasoning, created a simple but great dish.
The home victory was therefore missed, as the last time there was a victory in Debrecen. Regardless, everyone had a good time on this day, and the organizers of the competition promised to organize the Szaft ‘N Burger competition again next year.
