Kálmán Kalla
He began his culinary career in 1961, at the age of 15, studying under Oscar-winning master chef Egon Eigen at the old Duna Hotel. At the newly built Duna Intercontinental Hotel, he worked as the deputy to his master.
In 1973-74, he was the head chef of the Hungarian Csárda restaurant in Tokyo.
After returning home, he led the kitchen of the Intercontinental Bellevue restaurant for five years. In 1981 the Hotel Forum opened in Budapest, where he participated in the planning and organization of the kitchen, and then led its kitchen for ten years.
In 1990, he prepared elegant dinners and receptions at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington for one year. In 1991 György Láng offered him the position of kitchen director at the Gundel restaurant, which had come under new ownership, a position he served with honor for fifteen years.
For ten years he planned and cooked the Opera Ball menus together with his kitchen team.
They had many famous guests:
- They prepared wedding dinners for Walburga Habsburg and György Habsburg.
- A formal lunch was held at Gundel in honor of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Edinburgh, hosted by Prime Minister József Antal.
- They prepared lunch and dinner for Pope John Paul II at Pannonhalma.
- They cooked for the famous French chef Paul Bocuse.
He also worked for shorter periods in many places around the world: Berlin, Jena, Dubai, Switzerland, Milan, Jerusalem, Karachi, Amman, Kuala Lumpur, New York, Vienna, Finland, Spain, etc.
In 1988 he passed his master’s exam and won the Gold Hat award. In 1993 he received the József Venesz Award. In 1993 he was also awarded the Europe Prize in Zurich.
For many years he served as the chairman of the master chef committee.
In 2006 he received the Hungarian National Gastronomic Association Ambassador award.
He was chosen as a member of the Saint Ladislaus Truffle Knights and received the László Holló Memorial Medal.
In 2007 he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic.
He is the author of:
- Forum Gastronomique cookbook
- New Hungarian cookbook of Gundel
- Gundel’s large foie gras cookbook
- Gundel’s large asparagus cookbook
- Kálmán Kalla: I Break My Life into Flavors
In October 2006, at the age of 60, he retired. Leaving their previous life in Budapest, they moved to the countryside to be near their sons and their families.
They built a family house, a “Guest House,” in Sümegprága in the Balaton Uplands. His days are not spent idly. He has three grandsons and one great-grandson, Mátyás.
His wife Erzsébet passed away in 2019.
He has a large garden full of herbs. Many friends and acquaintances from the hospitality industry visit him.
If a guest staying with them orders dinner, he is happy to prepare it. It had long been his dream to have a table for twelve where he could host guests at his family dining table.
Here he can bake and cook as he wishes using the freshest and best local ingredients (fruits, vegetables, fresh herbs from the garden, home eggs, home milk, yogurt, butter, cottage cheese, sausage, ham, cheese, fish from Lake Balaton, etc.).
As a retiree, he only takes on as much work as feels good and brings him joy. After dinner, over a good wine, he enjoys conversing with his guests in the garden or in front of the fireplace.