Gaining Experience in More Developed Countries 2005-2018 and PhD studies 2006-2012

I have already reported on my visits to the Bocuse d’Or in 2003 and 2005, where as the president of the Étrend Hungarian Executive Chefs Association I lobbied for the development of Hungarian gastronomy regarding the possibilities of participating in the competition and inviting winning competitors to Hungary in Lyon.
It is worth mentioning that I visited the Bocuse Institute in Lyon, which I also viewed again later in 2017. On the latter occasion, we discussed cooperation opportunities between the Bocuse Institute and BGE KVIK with my hosts.

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In 2005, through the connection with BGF, I conducted theoretical training in gastronomy and food preparation in Sepsiszentgyörgy (Romania, former Hungarian area) for local and surrounding hospitality workers. I could not miss asking if they knew the dish called “brassói.” The answer was almost unanimously yes. To the question of how they prepare or know the method, I received different recipes. Each was similar to what we know in Hungary, but the ingredients often differed. This is interesting because in our country, as a basic case, chefs and hospitality workers say that in Brassó they do not even know brassói. However, at the Sepsiszentgyörgy course, 70-80 Hungarian-speaking hospitality workers participated, some of whom came from Brassó or its surroundings.

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In 2005, I was invited to a two-week American chef training in Louisiana, USA. I quote from the article I wrote, which was published under the title “Chef Training in Louisiana and the Local Gastronomy” in VENDÉGLÁTÁS: VENDÉGLÁTÓIPARI ÉS TURISZTIKAI SZAKLAP, 48:(7-8) pp. 34-36. (2005).

“During the two-week training, which was funded by SUSTA (Southern United States Trade Association) and took place at Nicholls State University, an overview of the gastro-culture of 15 southern states and Puerto Rico was provided. The effort was very successful, as the 11 chefs (five Russian, three Czech, and one each Slovenian, Croatian, and Hungarian) spent professionally useful days in Louisiana. The program covered the following areas through kitchen practices: South Louisiana, Latin American, Cuban, Caribbean, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Tex-Mex, and local seafood cuisine.”

They welcomed us by saying that everyone would gain 5 kg during the two weeks because they eat such abundant dishes made from excellent quality, local ingredients. I don’t know how much weight everyone gained, but it is a fact that restaurants serve enormous amounts of food. On one occasion, we entered a bistro where we smiled at one guest’s meal because a tray similar to the old round beer tray was full of cooked crabs, which the gentleman was eating. Our smiles froze on our faces when we also received our ordered food. For example, I ordered fried oysters and shrimp and got a Swiss plate heaped high.

Here is another quote from the aforementioned article, in which I describe the preparation of one of the most characteristic Louisiana dishes. “On a separate occasion, we practiced the secrets of making gumbo. The six different gumbos are made either with brown roux or by adding okra. Then finely chopped onions, celery stalks, and bell peppers (California peppers) are sautéed into the roux. The ingredients that give it its character, such as andouille (smoked sausage), various meats (beef, duck, etc.), seafood (oysters, crab, shrimp, etc.) are added, and then the dish is simmered with the appropriate broth, seasoned well with various spices and flavorings such as thyme, basil, garlic, Tabasco, bay leaf, pepper, parsley, etc. Before serving, ‘filé powder’ is added to the gumbo made with roux, which slightly binds and thickens the dish. The thick one-pot dish served in a cast-iron, thick-walled pot—similar to a cauldron—is ladled over cooked rice and eaten this way.” The “filé powder” is a powder made from the dried and ground aromatic leaves of the sassafras bay tree.

On one occasion, we were guests of John Folse, a famous American chef who then had ten restaurants worldwide. His country guesthouse had an organic garden with vegetables and herbs. He demonstrated the preparation of jambalaya (a rice one-pot dish) and gumbo as well. It was a pleasure to sit at the set table where freshly cooked, red-shelled freshwater crayfish were piled on silver stands as decoration and a tasty delicacy.

The participating chefs in the training also had the opportunity to present some dishes from their own kitchens. By popular demand, I prepared goulash soup, chicken paprikash, and also included a “máglyarakás” (a Hungarian layered dessert, Hungarian Bread and Butter Pudding) in the menu. A total of twenty dishes were prepared. Toward the end of the cooking, the kitchen quieted down, practically only I was inside. I went out to the service yard where I saw the Russian chefs sitting on the stairs, each eating goulash soup from a bowl. They had improvised and served themselves. Cheers to their health!

I will end my Louisiana report with another quote: “In summary, the Louisiana chef training was very useful because it provided a taste of the local culture, a significant part of which is gastronomy. Fresh, high-quality raw materials such as oysters, freshwater crayfish, fish, meats, vegetables, and spices are abundantly available. The portion sizes are quite large, for example, six to seven crabs or 20-25 oysters per person. Traditional cooking methods, such as the use of roux in making gumbo, are natural and not modernized. Perhaps knowledge of this latter practice can have a beneficial effect on preserving traditional Hungarian cuisine.”

It is important that the roux is only a small part of the gumbo and does not dominate it, but it is part of the dish. This is the key to its use in Hungarian cooking as well. By the way, roux is not originally a Hungarian thickening agent; it is a component of some French basic sauces, for example, béchamel or velouté.

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In 2005, I participated as vice president of MNGSZ (Hungarian Gastronomic Federation) and president of the Étrend Hungarian Executive Chefs Association in the WACS European presidential conference in Malta. I gave a presentation, similar to the WACS 2004 world congress, on the topic “Gastronomic Museums of Nations.”

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In 2005, I visited the “Le Salon Culinaire Mondial” chef world competition in Basel, Switzerland. At this competition, chefs compete in several categories, including cold platters, hot dishes served cold, artistic presentations, and hot kitchen. In a broader sense, all segments of the food industry and hospitality are present at the event. Beyond the professional lessons, a lasting experience was the excellent quality of horseradish fig jam.

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In 2006, representing MNGSZ with President István Pető, and as president of the Étrend Association, I participated in the WACS world congress in New Zealand. Similar to previous WACS events (conferences, congresses), I gave a presentation on the topic “Gastronomic Museums of Nations” and reported on the current status of the project.

Among the professional programs, the most interesting was the preparation of a traditional Maori dish called hāngī during a gala party. The essence of the ceremony is that large pieces of seasoned meat are wrapped in multiple layers of thick aluminum foil, a pit is filled with embers, the meat is placed on it, then covered with embers and finally buried with soil. While the roasts are cooking, they celebrate with chants, music, and dance. Finally, the roasts are carefully dug up and unwrapped, and their excellent quality—perfect texture, a kaleidoscope of flavors—cannot be described in words. 

The preparation of Hāngī can be seen here.

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In 2006, I participated as vice president of MNGSZ and president of the Étrend Association in the WACS European presidential conference, which was jointly organized by two countries in Helsinki (Finland) and Tallinn (Estonia). At the conference, I reported on current developments related to Hungarian gastronomy and upcoming events in the near future.
In 2007, I participated in the WACS European presidential conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. At the conference, I reported on current developments related to Hungarian gastronomy and upcoming events in the near future. 

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In October 2008, within the framework of the Erasmus program, I was in Tampere, Finland, at the Pirkanmaa Polytechnic – University of Applied Sciences, where I gave a presentation about Hungarian gastronomy and together with Finnish university students, we prepared Hungarian dishes.
The hosts showed us the Finnish countryside farther from the city, and we visited local producers of berry jam and wine made from it. We also had the opportunity to taste local flavors in several restaurants. In one small family restaurant, which belonged to the Chaine des Rotisseurs chain, a chef working alone in the kitchen prepared perfect poached salmon fillet using traditional techniques.

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In 2009, together with a college team and several nationalities, we participated in a gastronomic event in Florence, which was followed by many similar events over the years. The event, “Saperi e Sapori in Cattedra,” is an international cultural event that places a high emphasis on gastronomy, held in Florence from December 6 to 13, 2009. The Italian organizer’s basic idea was that the Visegrád countries and Italy should nurture and build their own cultures, then share the existing knowledge with the other involved nations.

At this event, alongside the hosts, a Czech hospitality vocational school and BGF KVIK also participated. During the program, besides various professional visits such as visiting a winery in the Chianti wine region, each nation had to prepare a dish at two dinners. Among the guests at these events were the Hungarian and Czech honorary consul Ferenc Ungár, Giovanna Dani, the president of the chefs of the Florence region Angelo Mazzo, and guests of the local Rotary Club.

We were pleased to note that the guests received with complete satisfaction the students’ English-language presentation “Development of Hungarian Cuisine,” which was complemented by melodies played on the tárogató corresponding to historical eras, as well as our delicious dishes with compositions appropriate to the modern era.

The students who participated in the event were: Orsolya Kakócz, Eszter Kohár, Andrea Tempfli, János Debreceni, Roland Ducharme, Dániel Nagy, Csaba Pavlicsek, Tibor Szalai, Alex Tóth.

The team leader was Dénes Sándor.

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In 2010, I was a guest at the Hanoi Tourism College in Vietnam along with my language teacher colleague Gyula Hegedűs. I gave a presentation about Hungarian gastronomy, then together with the local students we prepared Hungarian dishes. For the desserts, I demonstrated how to make rice soufflé, curious to see how they would react to the sweet rice dish. They liked it. It is worth mentioning that during one session the local students carved vegetables. This is how gastronomy should be imagined—it has many segments.

The hosts took us to eat at several places. At one of the locally considered best restaurants, there was minimal space for guests—tight tables, chairs, and floor area. However, the Pho soup served with Vietnamese mint was very rich and tasty. Of course, this restaurant was considered a luxury place compared to the street food stalls, where guests were greeted with child-sized tables and chairs. The local crowd threw leftovers, such as bones, onto the ground, so the nearby animals eventually benefited. On the recommendation of college colleagues, we ate at such places mainly because the dishes were freshly cooked in a wok over huge flames, so we hoped there would be no major problems.

At another traditional restaurant, before the appetizers, they offered vodka, accompanied by a crate of cold beer, followed by numerous appetizers and main courses. The dishes were tasty. Since the Vietnamese colleagues had already given a presentation at BGF KVIK earlier, the local dishes were partially familiar to us.

For the farewell dinner, we were hosted in a high-quality Chinese restaurant. Here, the service was done in the way we know, except for the traditional Chinese round table with a revolving center.  

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In 2010, at the EuroSkills competition in Lisbon, Portugal, I represented our country as a chef expert together with competitor Péter Molnár. I will report on this competition series in a separate chapter.

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In 2011, my journey led me again to Florence, as after 2009 we once more participated in the “Saperi e Sapori in Cattedra” event. The article prepared at that time can be read below.

Gastro week in Florence

The Italian nonprofit organization Life Beyond Tourism contacted KVIK for the second time to have it represented at the international gastro-cultural meeting of the Visegrád countries alongside Poland, the Czech Republic, and Italy, in the latter’s homeland, Florence. The most important result of the project was that at the gala dinner, the Italian main organizer announced that the preparation of the next event had begun. The professional benefit of the project was that our students could work in Florence restaurants, which was basically due to the local organization. Another positive aspect was that international teams – Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Polish – could work in the kitchens. The professional success of the college students at the gala dinner was recognized and praised, among others, by the Hungarian ambassador to Italy and the honorary Hungarian consul in Florence.

Beyond cultural programs and gastronomic acquaintance at the event, a gala dinner organized with the participation of illustrious guests was also emphasized. At the gala dinner, everyone had to prepare a four-course menu, with cold and hot appetizers, main course, and dessert. The success of the Hungarian menu was partly due to its composition, which, based on the ideas of Csaba Pavlicsek, included an authentic Hungarian sausage and cheese tasting, along with milk-aged chicken thigh on a bed of zucchini with baked beetroot, duck breast served on a potato disc with red wine pears, dried plums, roasted leeks, and for dessert, homemade apricot jam poppy seed cake flambéed with forest fruits.
The KVIK team members were: students Anna Nóra Boér, Kata Rudolf, Anna Vidovich, Kata Bús, Dóra Heilmann, Csaba Pavlicsek, Csaba Reitli, László Erdélyi, Bertalan Nagy, and Dénes Sándor, Head of the Teaching Cabinet, who assisted the preparation as a mentor to the students, visited all nine restaurants where the students worked, and contributed greatly to the success of the gala dinner.