On 27 October, the Károly Gundel Awards Gala was held for the fourth time at the most fitting venue of all, the Gundel Restaurant. At the invitation of the Hungarian Catering Trade Association (MVI), the cream of the catering profession once again celebrated the award winners during a gala lunch. This year, Attila Bicsár and Lázár Kovács Siklósi received the commemorative plaque and certificate that accompany the award. 

The names of this year’s prize-winners have already been had previously made public the trade association, which in 2014 László Kovács Based on an idea put forward by the President of the MVI, the Gundel Prize was launched with the aim of recognising those in the Hungarian hospitality sector who are exemplary followers of Károly Gundel’s life and gastronomic legacy. 

László Kovács, welcoming the guests at Sunday’s gala lunch, recounted the history of the Gundel Prize, listing all those who have received „the Kossuth Prize of the Hungarian hospitality industry” over the past 11 years. Each year, the winners are selected by a jury comprising representatives of Hungarian hospitality industry organisations, educational institutions and the Gundel family, following a broad consensus; this traditionally takes place at the end of September, in the days leading up to Károly Gundel’s birthday. This year, the selection was made from a shortlist of 11 nominees. 

The awards ceremony is also a celebration of Hungarian gastronomy. The Lajos Bíró bearing the name of the executive chef gala lunch Last year’s winners also played a part in preparing the meal; the six-course menu was created by the chefs at Gundel Restaurant, Aranykaviár Restaurant and Gerbeaud Café and Confectionery, with each course Mihály Fabók A sommelier selected the wines. Between courses, the chefs were also invited onto the stage to explain what they had prepared for the guests.

László Kovács highlighted that around 50 trainee waiters are assisting with the service; they have come from various vocational colleges across the country to take part in this celebration of the profession, and a further 15–20 students are working in the kitchen under the chefs’ supervision.

The founder and owner of the Eventrend Group, which operates the Gundel Restaurant, Gábor Nagy As host, he welcomed the distinguished guests and spoke, amongst other things, about their commitment to making Gundel accessible to everyone once again, in keeping with the original aim and legacy of the man after whom it is named. 

The friendly atmosphere of the event was further enhanced by the presence of two descendants of the Gundel family, János Gundel, a well-known figure in hospitality education, recalled the memory of his famous restaurateur grandfather in a more personal-toned welcome speech; the presenter Gábor Gundel-Takács A great-grandchild was also present. He recalled his great-great-grandfather, János Gundel (father of Károly Gundel – Ed.) , who served as president of the Hoteliers’ and Restaurateurs’ Trade Association for 35 years, drawing a parallel with László Kovács, who has now held the post of president of the Hungarian Caterers’ Trade Association for 14 years.  

After the main course, the gala reached its climax when they paid tribute to and 

The two new Gundel Prize winners, Attila Bicsár and Lázár Kovács-Siklósi, were called onto the stage to be formally presented with their commemorative plaques and certificates. What this year’s recipients have in common is that they both regard the Alabárdos restaurant as having been pivotal to their professional development in their early careers, and they both worked there under the mentorship of László Jakabffy.