Two celebrity chefs, Attila Bicsár and Lázár Kovács-Siklós, have won this year’s Károly Gundel Prize, which is also regarded as the Kossuth Prize of the Hungarian hospitality industry. The award is announced on 23 September, Károly Gundel’s birthday. The iconic Hungarian restaurateur would have been 141 years old today.

As we have previously reported, Károly Gundel (1883–1956) had already made a name for himself throughout Europe by the 1920s, and in addition to his own it also ran the restaurants at the Gellért.

Traditionally, on 23 September, to mark his birthday, the award established in his memory is presented by the Hungarian Catering Trade Association. The award was established in 2014 and It is awarded annually to a maximum of three people, with the involvement of a wide range of professional organisations. As for who receives it, delegates from 13 professional organisations and 3 institutions, Gundel Restaurant, as well as a representative of the Gundel family decides.