Renowned Magyar chef Tamás Bereznay took first prize in the Desserts category for his English-language “Hungarian Dessert Book” at the 2017 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, an annual international competition for gastronomy publications. This year, nearly 1,000 cookbooks from 100 countries joined the tasteful competition, with Hungary gaining multiple awards in various categories, including in World Cuisine, in Diets, and in the Vegan segments. The jury of the competition praised Bereznay’s flower-patterned paperback for its mouthwatering content and visual appearance.
Presenting 75 delightfully illustrated Magyar recipes on 176 pages, sweet-toothed readers might overlook the Hungarian Dessert Book at first sight, as the cover of this delicate publication presents intricate Kalocsai flower-pattern embroidery instead of a creatively shot scrumptious treat. However, with the winning of this year’s Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, this one-of-a-kind gastronomy guide will certainly steal the international spotlight for sweets. The handy publication contains recipes of such local favorites as the Csöröge Fánk (“Sweet Twisted Fritters” in English), or Puncstorta (“Punch Cake”), presented alongside detailed descriptions and artful food photos. The book is available for purchase at the official website of BOOOK Publishing Ltd, where the publication is currently offered at a discounted rate.
Besides this epicurean edition for traditional Hungarian desserts, two other Magyar-made publications won prizes during the contest, including Magok (“Seeds”) by Hungarian gastronomy blogger Ildikó Bezselics (which is now Eastern Europe’s runner up in the World Cuisine category), while a cookbook titled Mindenmentes (“Free of Everything”) by Dr. Nóra Andrási received bronze in the “Diets” and “Vegan” subjects. Unfortunately, Seeds and Free of Everything are available only in the Hungarian language, but we hope that English translations of these high-quality cookbooks will hit the market in the future.
