One hundred and eighty years ago, on 3 March 1844, János Gundel, the founder of one of Hungary’s most renowned hotel and restaurant dynasties, was born. Mór Jókai, János Kemény and Kálmán Mikszáth all dined at his establishment – it was in honour of the latter that he created the now-famous Palóc soup.

He was born in Ansbach, Bavaria, as the son of a master baker, under the name Johann Gundel. After his father’s death, his mother could not afford to send him to school, so at the age of 13, with thirty forints in his pocket, she sent him to Pest to work in the restaurant run by his stepfather’s brother-in-law. He served beer in mugs as a waiter at the pub called ‘To the Last Filler’, and as he was skilful and hard-working, and could speak five languages, he quickly rose through the ranks.

He was first employed on the glass-enclosed veranda of the Téli Sörház, and later at the Arany Sas inn in the city centre. By the age of eighteen, he was already head waiter; his position was further strengthened when, in 1869, he married the owner’s niece, Anna Kommer. After the marriage, he set up on his own and opened his first restaurant on Király Street. The Vienna Beer House – the setting for Gyula Krúdy’s In my carefree youth his short story – featuring Viennese Tafelspitz (beef brisket cooked until tender, served with vegetables, soup, potatoes and gravy), Viennese schnitzel, braised tripe and the Austrian beer served alongside them. Two years later, he took over and revitalised the Virágbokor restaurant on József Nádor Square, where traders from the nearby grain exchange came to find relief from their stress. Several celebrities frequented the place; the painter Károly Lotz even presented him with a painting, which was hung in the private dining room.

To the great surprise of the profession, Gundel retired at the age of just 35 and threw himself into public life. As chairman of the Hoteliers’ and Restaurateurs’ Trade Association, and as a member of the Budapest City Council, he made significant efforts to organise vocational education; in 1885, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph.

Having amassed a tidy fortune in the hospitality industry, he returned as the father of five children when he took over the István Főherceg Hotel on the corner of Akadémia Street and Vigyázó Ferenc Street. He ran the hotel until 1904; in 2016, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in his honour on the wall of the building facing Akadémia Street.

The hotel, renowned for its cuisine, enjoyed its heyday under her management; it was here that members of the neighbouring Academy would meet, and the Kisfaludy Society also held its banquets here. Kálmán Tisza, Mór Jókai and Baron János Kemény all dined at Gundel’s; they loved this „distinguished, quiet, cosy retreat”. For one of his most cherished guests, Kálmán Mikszáth, he had a private suite fitted out and went out of his way to cater to the writer’s every whim. He even created a special menu in his honour: Mikszáth’s works inspired the Lohina herb-crusted fish, the Tót brothers„ fish dumplings, and the Brézo geese à la Mikszáth. When Mikszáth mentioned that he would like to eat a soup that ”encompasses all the flavours of Hungarian cuisine„, Gundel created the ”Palóc soup„ – still popular today – in honour of the ”great Palóc’, using onions, paprika, minced meat, vegetables, potatoes, green beans and sour cream. At the grand opening of the Mikszáth Room in 1894, ‘Palóc soup’ was already on the menu; it began its gastronomic conquest in 1935 as a dish served by his son, Károly Gundel, at a dinner competition for restaurateurs. The younger Gundel, who carried on the family tradition, had the hospitality trade running through his veins, but unlike his father, he never picked up a wooden spoon; instead, he composed the harmony of flavours in his mind. In 1910, he bought the Wampetics restaurant in Városliget and renamed it Gundel.

The elder Gundel retired once again in 1904, devoting his time and energy to promoting professional organisation and training. He held countless positions, including that of member of the Permanent Committee of Wine Tasting Experts, honorary president of the National Restaurant Association, member of the Budapest Coffeehouse Trade Association, elder of the Evangelical Church, and a member of the Lipótváros Savings Bank; he was also a member of the ‘Régi Hívek’ Masonic Lodge for forty years. He is credited with introducing compulsory qualifications for the catering profession and establishing international links. In 1886, he established a scholarship to support the sommelier who produced the best menu.

His knowledge and precision were legendary in restaurant circles. He personally checked the menu, the portion sizes and the composition of the dishes; not even the contents of the slop bucket escaped his attention. He created several dishes; it was he who introduced the Viennese schnitzel to Budapest dining. He was the first to temper Hungarian cuisine – previously regarded as barbaric and over-seasoned – with the milder, more piquant flavours of international cuisine. He wrote numerous specialist articles in Hungarian and German. In his spare time, he turned wood on a lathe, crafted ivory objects and pottered about in his garden in Budafok.

When his son Károly went to the front during the First World War, she, aged seventy, took charge of the procurement on his behalf. He died a year later, on 28 December 1915, in Budapest. The new gastronomic culture he had established was carried on by his son, whose name had already become a household name during his lifetime. The Gundel legacy, which subsequent generations also managed skilfully, was designated a ‘Hungaricum’ in 2014.