‘Our gastronomy is one of the defining elements of our culture, and the practitioners of Hungarian cuisine continuously reaffirm the enduring value of our domestic products,’ the Deputy State Secretary for Public Education at the Ministry of Interior Affairs emphasized on Saturday in Szolnok during the announcement of the results of the semi-finals of the Food of Hungary 2024 chef competition.

The competition is organized by the Hungarian Chef Club and the University of Debrecen with the assistance of the State Secretariat for National Policy of the Prime Minister’s Office. At the event held at the Szolnok Trade and Catering Technical School and Vocational Training School, Katalin Balatoni said that the use of high-quality local products not only enriches the gastronomic experience but also

contributes to supporting local economy and promoting the adoption of healthy eating habits.

According to her, the saying ‘so many houses, so many customs’ also reflects that ‘our tradition is an art with endless variations, which is our everyday necessity.’ It is also necessary for future generations to familiarize themselves with these values so that they do not forget about the traditions of the Carpathian Basin and the excellent products of local small-scale producers in the multicultural world of gastronomy, she added. The noble aim of the competition is to promote the diversity and richness of our gastronomy through culinary wonders and at the same time strengthen our national cohesion, the deputy state secretary expressed.

Katalin Balatoni noted that through promotional work, these dishes will not only appear on the menus of special restaurants but also in the everyday life, including school canteens. As she opined, the practitioners of Hungarian cuisine continuously prove the enduring value of our domestic products, whether it be in the international arena or in the intimate hospitality of a quiet village inn. When asked why our excellent chefs’ cooking competitions might be the most suitable forum for this purpose, she quoted the words of Károly Gundel: ‘Excellence is not hereditary. Quality is not born with you. You can only be the best when you compete with the best.’

President of the Hungarian Chef Club István Asztalos said that they are organizing the chef competition for the seventh time. When they started the competition,

their goal was to finally create new Hungarian dishes after 60 years.

‘Hungarian cuisine can be renewed, it has a future,’ he emphasized. He explained that in the semi-finals, according to the competition rules, the teams prepared their competition dishes at home, which they had to serve on-site after completing the finishing touches. From the twenty teams participating in the semi-finals, twelve (+2 reserves) advanced to the final, which will be held on 27 April at the Szolnok Campus of the University of Debrecen.

Szolnok Mayor Ferenc Szalay welcomed the fact that the competition is being held in the city. He added that Szolnok also hosts two major gastronomic events: the Goulash Festival, which brings communities and families together, and the Tisza Fish Day, due to the proximity of the river.

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Sources: Hungarian Conservative/MTI