Gourmet Festival is Hungary’s top gastronomic held event every year in the modern, industrial style exhibition area called Millenáris Park. The visitors can sample the signature dishes of the most exclusive restaurants in small portions – thus at reasonable price – and they can enjoy the nice atmosphere, a walk around the lakes of the park. On the stage top chefs hold the floor to each other, like Ana Roš, the world’s best female chef (World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards), Taubenkobel 2 Michelin star chef from Austria or Anna Olson Canadian star confectioner from Food Network channel. The list of exhibitors include the Michelin star Hungarian restaurants, like Onyx, Costes and Borkonyha, and besides them many chefs offer original, creative dishes from their exceptional restaurants, like Kistücsök from Balaton, Anyukám mondta from Tokaj region, Erhardt from Sopron, Sparhelt from Balatonfüred, Bori Mami from Mátra or Viator from Pannonhalma.

Why mangalitza?

Each year there is a chosen theme for the exhibitors (like goulash or paprika chicken in previous years), and this year it’s mangalitza (in Hungarian mangalica, latin name: sus scrofa domesticus) and strawberry. Do not be terrified, it should not necessarily be served together…

Some decades ago mangalitza almost extincted, but thanks to Spanish ham makers, who discovered its quality, mangalitza breeding came to a revival. Its meat tastes better than other pigs’ meat, thus mangalitza is really sought after in Spain, America and Japan. However it costs more, because the animal grows slower than the white pigs. It is also said to be healthier – or rather less unhealthy – than white pigs, because its flesh contains more unsaturated fatty acids.

Here is your ultimate wine tasting guide for Gourmet Festival

Gourmet Festival wine exhibitors are also top quality ones. We suggest you to start with

• Kreinbacher Winery, taste their Furmint based méthod traditionelle sparkling wines, their terroir driven, authentic wines from Somló varieties and their rarity is a must: a Shiraz from the volcanic Somló hill.
• Gilvesy is an excellent idea to continue, still on volcanic soil with complex, long Rhine Rieslings from Badacsony wine region.
• Etyeki Kúria is a good choice to go on, sample their amazing Chardonnay from the limestone soil Etyek and don’t miss their highly elegant Pinot Noir.
• Sauska is perfect to be the next stage, especially if you feel like having a rosé now. Sauska from Villány wine region makes outstanding still and méthode traditionelle sparkling wines, and their red cuvée-s made of Bordeaux varieties are spotless, stunning wines. Besides they make great whites in their Tokaj estate, both dry and sweet.
• Bock Cellar is ideal to end the day with full bodied, matured red wines from Villány. „At the beginning of his career József Bock harvested just over 0.5 hectares. Today he processes 150 hectares, producing 36 types of wine” – so there is plenty to taste!

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