Now in its ninth year, Hungary’s best-known gastronomic festival takes place at the Millenáris between 16-19 May. This year, the theme is the holy trinity of Paprika, Beer & Crust. In addition to pavilions and tastings, dinners and cooking demonstrations feature chefs of world renown.
Russian twins Ivan and Sergei Berezutsky have been obsessed with cooking since childhood. At the end of 2017, they opened their first restaurant in Moscow, Twins Garden, and before long it was ranking 72nd in the world’s top 100. They promise to present the full range of domestic cuisine while avoiding stereotypes and patterns.
“We really love Russian ingredients. Many nationalities in many different climates love their produce and know how to prepare them. It’s an inspiring journey, and one that touches us very deeply.” For the festival, dinner will include the best elements of any classic stew: Kamchatka crab with cabbage and horseradish, and young goat with dried carrots, all complemented with matching wines, of course.
Graz-born Konstantin Filippou also absorbed Mediterranean flavours thanks to his Greek father. He worked at Vienna’s Steirereck, Gordon Ramsay's London restaurant and Arzak in San Sebastián. At the two Michelin-star one in Vienna, a relaxed atmosphere prevails, where you don’t sense the wealth or the age of any diner. Dishes are a blend of Central European and seafood. This spirit is complemented by the acclaimed natural wines of sommelier Timo Muliar, which also appear on the menu here in Budapest, alongside grass-carp fish pâté, salmon, trout and veal tongue – alongside Chilean seaweed.
The creative, Michelin-starred Seoul cuisine of Korea-based Lee Yong Kuk is dominated by sauces, a spicy one, a 50-year-old soy sauce, a 30-year-old paprika paste and a five-year-old vinegar, all being brought to Budapest. The exclusive dinner for Gourmet will be a mushroom stew, seafood pasta with salted oyster sauce, and steamed and grilled beef, with soy sauce and traditional mini-desserts.
Star Hungarian chef duo Tamás Széll and Szabó Szulló are creating a extraordinary lunch menu for Italian champagne house Ferrari. On stage, Albanian Bledar Kola has been inspired by Copenhagen’s legendary Noma to showcase his reinterpretations of Balkan and Mediterranean culinary traditions, while Max Stiegl reinvents the cuisine of Burgenland with the offal dishes prepared at his alongside Lake Fertő.
All tolled, some 50 exhibitors will be making more than 200 dishes at the Millenáris. idea of the Paprika Pop Up venue is already proving a popular concept, where the cauldron will bring together the likes of Lajos Bíró to cook pork-knuckle stew, Michelin star-winning Ádám Mészáros and his father pork knuckle, and Gábor Tinusz from the Rév Csarda at Révkomárom Danubian fish soup, prepared over a roaring flame.
Gourmet Festival 16-19 May Millenáris Park District II. Kis Rókus utca 16-20 Day tickets (4,600 HUF) and event passes (9,300 HUF) here
