Dr. Sándor Dénes "Pro Gastronomia" award

In 2018 I established the “Pro Gastronomia” award bearing my name. The motivation for creating the award was that in 2017 the Gundel Károly Award Committee voted to grant me the Gundel Károly Award. However, after the vote, Zoltán Hamvas – who was a member of this Committee – objected to this, referring to the poor quality of hospitality education, and stated to László Kovács, who was the president of MVI and the founder of the Gundel Károly Award, that if I received the award, then he and Lajos Bíró would return their awards, and Balázs Csapody would not accept the award that was due to him at the same time as mine. László Kovács first informed me by phone that I had received the Gundel Károly Award, then called again saying that he wanted to speak with me the next day because technical problems had arisen. At the personal meeting I learned the above details. László Kovács apologized, saying he could not do anything because he had been cornered. I told him that after this it would not be good to be the owner of the same award as the people mentioned. Naturally, the name and work of Károly Gundel remain exemplary to me; this cannot be said about some of the award recipients.

Following this I thought, no matter, I will establish a “Pro Gastronomia” award, in which I was immediately supported by Dr. Andrea Lugasi, dean of BGE KVIK and also head of the Department of Hospitality. Thus the two of us founded the award for those who deliver outstanding performance in gastronomy.

Why did we establish this award?

Because in gastronomy and its daily practice in hospitality, celebrations are rare. There is no time for it. They serve guests 365 days a year, even 24 hours a day. For this reason we thought that once a year we should pause for a moment, for an hour. Let us celebrate those colleagues who provide outstanding performance in gastronomy, who day after day, night after night, on weekdays and holidays alike, pamper their guests with delicious dishes.

The beautiful profession of all of us is gastronomy; within it cooking and baking is a multiple process of giving joy. On the one hand, because it is a joy to prepare dishes, to see how ingredients, using proper kitchen technology, become a mouth-watering dish that we serve beautifully plated to our guests. On the other hand, it is a joy for the guest as well to consume the delicious dish that is aesthetically presented. Thirdly, the person who prepares the food, seeing the satisfied guest, will again rejoice, be happy, and be recharged with new energy.

Dr. Dénes Sándor, retired associate professor of the Department of Hospitality at the Faculty of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism of the Budapest Business University (BGE KVIK), with the support of Dr. Andrea Lugasi, dean of BGE KVIK and also head of the Department of Hospitality, founded the “Pro Gastronomia” award to promote Hungarian gastronomy and to recognize the professional activities of outstanding personalities of the hospitality profession and promising young representatives.

The professional award – according to the intention of its founder – can be received by persons who provide outstanding performance in domestic and international gastronomy, up to a maximum of four persons each year. Parallel to the award – as a youth award – a chef’s jacket worn by Dr. Dénes Sándor is also presented to a former student of BGE KVIK or its predecessor institutions who previously earned a diploma, or to another young talent who provides outstanding performance in the field of gastronomy.

The awards are granted annually; the recipients are selected by the award founder and originator Dr. Dénes Sándor, the head of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality of BGE, as well as by recognized professionals in the field. Between 2018 and 2022, alongside the award founder and originator, Dr. Andrea Lugasi and Prof. Dr. János Gundel, retired college professor of BGE KVIK, professor emeritus, Imre Kiss, retired director of the Museum of Commerce and Hospitality, and chef and gastronomic consultant Viktor Segal selected the individuals worthy of recognition.

In 2023–2024, alongside the award founder and originator, Dr. Andrea Lugasi, dean of BGE KVIK, college professor, Prof. Dr. János Gundel, retired college professor of BGE KVIK, professor emeritus, chef and gastronomic consultant Viktor Segal, and Zoltán Kőrössy, co-owner of Eventrend, selected the individuals worthy of recognition.

We hereby gratefully thank Imre Kiss (1956–2023), retired director of the Hungarian Museum of Commerce and Hospitality, for his conscientious and valuable work on the Pro Gastronomia Award Granting Committee. We will preserve his memory with respect forever.

The award founders also consider it important that the recipients come from different generations, thereby representing the continuous development of gastronomy. Accordingly, in 2018 the first “Pro Gastronomia” awards may be received by master Tamás Lusztig and his student Attila Bicsár. Both mutually respect each other, acknowledge each other’s work, achievements, and human and professional greatness.

The award founders consider gastronomy, beyond the use of local ingredients and preparation of regional dishes, to transcend borders and to be global. Therefore an Austrian specialist, teacher, WorldSkills/EuroSkills expert Alexander Stockl receives the “Pro Gastronomia” award this year.

The award founders also think it important that, if possible, a former BGE KVIK student or another young talent should also receive a gastronomy professional award. This award is a chef’s jacket previously worn by Dr. Dénes Sándor. The youth award is received by Petra Tischler in 2018.

Katalin Pintér, owner of the Onyx restaurant and the Gerbeaud House, offered a special prize – a lunch for two – to Petra and said: “What does a chef’s jacket mean? Nothing. But if we interpret it as a symbol, master and student, then it means very much indeed.”