He was head chef at a Hungarian restaurant for more than eight years – something a relatively large number of his colleagues can say about themselves. Viktor Moldován, however, ran the kitchen at VÍZ Restaurant 8,500 kilometres away from us, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, where Hungarian dishes such as Hortobágy meat pancakes and chicken paprikash were served. He is undoubtedly the only one who can claim this. The enigmatic chef, Viktor Moldován, has (partly) returned home – we interviewed him at the Gundel Restaurant in Városliget.

When I first heard about the VÍZ Restaurant in Japan, I asked several times whether the Hungarian water I wonder what that means. It turned out that a Hungarian chef, a certain Viktor Moldován On the island of Hokkaido, he serves Hungarian cuisine, whilst Japanese gourmets enjoy Mangalica pork, goose liver with Tokaji Aszú red wine, and even paprika potatoes and stuffed peppers at the VÍZ Restaurant, which is also recommended by the French Michelin Guide.

This is impressive in its own right, given the fundamental differences between Hungarian and Japanese culinary philosophies, but VÍZ was unique for more than just that. As early as ten years ago, the farm to table, in other words, they operated under the „from garden to table” motto, anticipating the current trend in this culinary movement. It is worth treating this trendy label with caution, as even restaurants in major cities are keen to brand themselves as ‘farm-to-table’, where there can be no doubt that this is merely a marketing ploy, and the food served is certainly not sourced from a small vegetable patch. Well, VÍZ Restaurant was situated on a vast farm in the beautiful Hokkaido, far from any towns, in a truly green setting – they even kept Mangalica pigs. We spoke about the fate of VÍZ and many other things at Gundel, which has recently been reborn.

Viktor Moldován currently holds the post of executive chef at the legendary restaurant András Wolf, alongside Eventrend’s corporate chef, and, amongst other things, they have revived Gundel’s own classics – iconic Hungarian dishes such as Palóc soup, Újházy chicken soup, Kárpáti fish stew, Somlói galuska and Gundel pancakes.

Although your name is well known within professional circles, there’s still a certain air of mystery about you. Have you never wanted to be as active on social media as our times demand? You visit such beautiful places – why don’t you post about them on Instagram?

Viktor Moldován: I drive – a car, for example. (laughing – editor’s note) I think that a few years ago, the world changed so much that, if you want to keep up with everyone else, maintaining a presence on social media requires posting daily – or even several times a day – and sharing fresh content. I do post when I feel I have something to say or show, but I don’t want to invest a huge amount of energy in my online presence. What’s more, I haven’t separated my private page from my chef’s page, and this raises further questions about how much of myself I want to reveal.

Many truly successful chefs don’t even dare to have children whilst pursuing their careers.

This is also a key aspect of my life. I have the utmost respect for the greats of the profession, but it is very important to me that I am just as much a chef as I am a husband and a father. All of this requires a great deal of time and attention, and I have never wanted to neglect my family because of my work – a job I love and have worked at tirelessly all my life.

Japan is famous, amongst other things, for its work culture in which everything is sacrificed. How did you fit into that picture? I imagine you do fit in, given that you’ve been working in Japan for a decade now.

I’d been working at VÍZ for a year and a half when the restaurant owner told me that, behind my back, they called me ‘the last samurai’. With great humility, I tried to work as hard as I could, and they really appreciated that. They said I was more Japanese than the Japanese themselves. Incidentally, these days even in Japan, the younger generation no longer wants to work as obsessively as the country was once famous for.

What do you mean by ‘all that work’ you mentioned?

My first huge push lasted until my son was born. My first big breath of fresh air at VÍZ came after 168 days of work without a single day off. I’ll never forget that period; I know exactly when it was – it lasted from the end of April to the start of September. I was so keen to bring the Hungarian restaurant concept I’d imagined to life in Hokkaido that I was determined to see it through to the end. Afterwards, I came up with the idea of taking on interns, which gave me a little extra help in the kitchen alongside our permanent staff.

That was a memorable move on your part, a real win-win story. Hungarian chefs were able to go over there to cook, learn and see the world, so you’ve had a bit of Hungarian support in the kitchen too. I’ve heard positive feedback from those who’ve been there.

I’m genuinely delighted about this. I have some very fond memories of that time. On a 27-hectare farm, we produced as much as we possibly could ourselves. We’d get up at dawn, go out into the garden and knead the dough for the bread. Whatever we couldn’t produce ourselves, we sourced from neighbouring farms, where they worked with a similar, nature-friendly approach.

What are the weather conditions like in Hokkaido?

It’s similar to Hungary, except that the summers are cooler, with pleasant temperatures of 22–25 degrees, whilst in winter it’s twenty degrees colder than at home, with huge amounts of snow and frost. A two-metre blanket of snow was perfectly normal there. Personally, I loved it, and nature needs it too.

I couldn’t find any information about VÍZ Restaurant being open when I searched online. Is it closed temporarily or permanently?

As far as I know, it’s closed for good. It didn’t survive the Covid pandemic. As it was situated in a remote, natural setting, far from civilisation, the restaurant couldn’t rely on a local regular clientele. Travellers came here specifically because it was a unique restaurant recommended by the Michelin Guide. However, it did not survive the period of lockdowns and restrictions. They had to maintain an entire farm, including its staff and livestock, whilst being unable to open for business. Naturally, a restaurant of this calibre could not even consider offering a takeaway service. I’m very sorry that they had to close down.

I heard through the grapevine that you hadn’t moved back home permanently. How have things turned out for you after more than ten years in Japan?

I moved to Tokyo before the pandemic, taking up an opportunity presented by Japanese chef Yosuke Suga that offered a major professional challenge. I became the head chef at one of his restaurants in Tokyo. I spent a year and a half in Daikanyama, then we decided that after nearly fifteen years in Japan, we’d had enough and would move back home. There was nothing waiting for me back home; I just wanted to rest and recharge my batteries. Two weeks after I got home, András Wolf got in touch, and we came to an agreement.
I was really keen to bring Hungarian cuisine to my home. On the one hand, I wanted to try my hand at what we did at VÍZ, but using only local ingredients. On the other hand, 

I’m a great believer in Hungarian cuisine and Hungarian dishes, so I was also curious to see how the industry and the general public would receive it: does it really have no future, as many people think?

So, for me, Gundel is the ideal choice – because of its traditions, its history stretching back over 100 years, and the challenge it presents.
My wife, however, received a fantastic job offer in Japan shortly afterwards, so we had to move back to Tokyo together. Andris Wolf and his family, along with the landlords, were extremely flexible, for which I am very grateful, and we eventually agreed to give this dual-residence lifestyle a go. I spend half my time in Budapest and the other half in Japan.

Am I right in thinking that your work is also linked to Tokyo?

Yes. I have my own little brand over there; I make and sell Hungarian food and products.

How can we picture this?

I make packaged Hungarian gourmet foods, such as sausages, hurka, goose liver terrine, linzer biscuits and biscuits, which are considered specialities abroad. Even whilst I’m abroad, I carry on working for the restaurant back home, as I have three excellent sous-chefs there who are more than capable of handling things. We’re able to keep in touch perfectly well in today’s world; I’ve set myself a sleep schedule to cope with the time difference, but apart from that, I’m involved in the restaurant’s day-to-day running online whilst I’m in Tokyo. It’s both interesting and instructive to see, on a larger scale, how the kitchen operates and how the restaurant is performing. Being part of the daily routine is completely different from viewing the restaurant’s operations from a slightly different perspective as an executive chef.

Gundel’s menu speaks for itself. After the sometimes desperate attempts of recent decades, we can finally enjoy authentic, flavourful and delightful Hungarian dishes. And when you see a large plate of palóc soup or Óvár pork shoulder, the restaurant can’t be accused of serving „what on earth are these bits on the plate?”.

We wanted to preserve the traditions of the restaurant, whilst maintaining Gundel’s elegance, yet in a way that is accessible and endearing, just as you put it. And given today’s restaurant prices, we’ve set our prices specifically with Hungarian guests in mind, because we want to draw as many local guests back as possible.

Weren’t you tempted by the prospect of self-fulfilment – of creating fine-dining dishes with András Wolf at Gundel?

This was a conceptual issue on which Andris Wolf and I were very much in agreement. We take the view that 

We don’t need to rethink the dishes, but to think them through.

Over the past 10–13 years, I have been carrying out my work at VÍZ in line with this concept. This example is right before our eyes. We have also returned to traditional techniques, even if it means that preparing a dish now requires much more attention and working hours.

Could you give an illustrative example of this?

We do not use the sous-vide method for Mangalica pork chops, for example, even though this technique offers much greater reliability – you simply need to set the correct parameters. We roast the pork in the oven, slowly, at a low temperature. This is much more labour-intensive and leaves more room for error, but the end result is far more flavourful and has a more interesting texture. It is interesting to note that certain traditional methods are more cost-effective and environmentally friendly than working with modern equipment and ordering all the necessary tools for it.

What is your vision as head chef at Gundel, which has been in business for over 110 years?

We have no ambition to be the country’s top restaurant; those kitchens and that kind of hospitality are about something else entirely.

When Gundel became legendary at the turn of the century, it was the middle classes who frequented it. It was regarded as neither pretentious nor luxurious,

People used to enjoy good food and drink within the restaurant’s walls; they had a wonderful time, and in the summer the Gundel garden would be filled with families. We would like to bring this legend back to the people.