Since the Gundel Restaurant and Café in Városliget reopened seven months ago, the stated aim that „Gundel belongs to everyone” appears to be coming to fruition.

The number of Hungarian guests has also grown, and the 127-year-old restaurant has found its own path. The concept following the reopening does not lean towards fine dining; rather, the aim is to present the traditional Hungarian dishes that were once characteristic of Gundel, in some cases adapted to the modern day. This is the view of András Wolf, corporate chef at Séf Asztala, the New York Café and Gundel Restaurant; we spoke to him.

How do you see Gundel’s position on the Hungarian gastronomic scene at the moment?

The Gundel Restaurant and Café is an institution, our heritage, in which we believe. What we now call Hungarian gastronomy owes a great deal to Gundel. We are following our own path, and fortunately the feedback so far has been positive. Our path is not that of fine dining, but rather that of Hungarian cuisine – not overly sophisticated, but authentic. Whilst we would like to restore it to its former glory, Gundel belongs to everyone. Our team works very well, but our primary aim is not to secure a Michelin star. We work for our guests; it is up to them to decide whether to choose us.

When it opened, the aim was to make Gundel popular again amongst as wide an audience as possible in Hungary. Was this objective achieved?

Eighty per cent of our guests are Hungarian. Gundel has not been able to say this about itself very often in recent times. It was our stated aim to achieve this. Of course, we count on our international guests just as much; we’d love for them to visit, but this requires other elements as well. Hospitality isn’t necessarily just about the food; it’s not just a matter of working on the standard of the kitchen and the quality of the dishes, but also about providing an experience. This includes the music, the interior and the location, which is already a given. The service itself must also be an experience, which depends on the personality of the waiting staff. You have to love the guests and the hospitality business; you can only put your heart into it if you feel comfortable doing so, and the guest senses this too. There are no templates that work 100 per cent of the time. Of course, there are rules for service, but personality is just as important. 

To what extent do rising costs make themselves felt in everyday life?

Everyone is working, each at their own level, to overcome these difficulties. We’ve also made a major investment in energy efficiency, and we’re careful about which ingredients we order. Unfortunately, some ingredients have become so expensive that it’s no longer possible to sell dishes made from them at a reasonable price, so we simply can’t include such dishes on the menu. Goose leg is a very topical and, in any case, popular ingredient at the moment, currently costing 7,000 forints per kilo. This means that if I were to give a guest even just half a kilo of goose leg – raw – to take home and roast, I’d still have to charge 3,500 forints for it, and if I were to serve it on a plate, I’d have to charge 10,000–12,000 forints, which is completely unrealistic. So, this dish is definitely missing from our St Martin’s Day menu. Unfortunately, it’s not just us but a great many restaurants that are struggling with this problem. Of course, there are also restaurants that operate at a price point where they can afford to charge considerably more for a dish, but it’s more likely that there will be more who cannot do so. Not to mention that there will also be more guests who are unwilling or unable to pay that price. 

How can they optimise their costs? 

Operating a business cost-effectively has become a far more demanding task than ever before. There are many factors in a restaurant that influence costs, ranging from the modernity of the heating system and insulation to the restaurant’s other features. This has become a primary consideration not only in the hospitality industry but also at home. I think people are now much more mindful of ensuring their lifestyle is as waste-free as possible. For the time being, we have temporarily stopped serving breakfast at Gundel; by doing so, we have shortened our opening hours and are able to keep costs down. ‘The Chef’s Table’ is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so we don’t have to switch on the two energy-intensive ovens, which take two hours just to heat up. 

Everyone must find their own ways of getting through this very difficult period; at the same time, they must offer services at prices that people can afford, that meet their needs, and that they are willing to pay for. This is a complex task and involves a great deal of work. 

How would you describe the sort of dishes that feature on the Gundel menu?

I don’t like the term ‘reimagined’. We prefer to think through what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and how we’re doing it whilst we’re working. It’s not about finding the absolute best ingredients available on the market, but rather the ingredient that works best for that particular dish. For example, finding the best chicken for chicken paprikash – but that same chicken won’t be suitable for grilled chicken. There’s no such thing as ‘the best’: there’s just what’s best for that particular dish. Nor do you necessarily need to use the flour with the highest protein content for dumplings, but if you’re baking bread, you’ll need to use a different type of flour again. This search also requires a great deal of attention and hard work. When I say we think these dishes through, it also means finding the best ingredients and the best techniques for each particular dish.

Is there a dish on the current menu that’s particularly close to your heart?

Braised beef was my favourite dish as a child. My mum used to make it this way, and I’ve carried on serving it the same way from home. My mum used to serve compote with the braised beef, and that’s how we serve it at Gundel too. 

What makes a dish really good?

When we cook the dishes for the tasting menu, we taste everything. We eat with a spoon: we’re chefs, so we eat everything with a spoon – even toffee floss. When we were cooking the dishes for the current menu, we ate everything we’d prepared. We realised that a dish is ready when we start eating it with a spoon and can’t stop. Until that moment arrives, we still have to work on it, because it isn’t perfect. We have to keep working on it until we reach the point where we don’t want to stop; then the guests will feel it too, and all the hard work will pay off on the plate.