Premium gastronomy does not necessarily require a big staff – two people paying attention not only to flavors, but also to the guests are perfectly enough. A festive grill party can be done without having your own garden, but it’s important that some passion also be added to the grill in addition to the high quality meat. You don’t have to fight your way through the city with a cake box before family celebrations and birthdays, it’s enough if you click on the “order” button (and you don’t even have to worry about candles or champagne). And did you know that salads are not (just) side dishes anymore? The joint campaign of Piqniq Budapest and Mastercard.
Kristóf Szigeti – restaurant manager, ICON Buda
Kristóf has always had restaurant management in the center of his interest: this has been his life for a long time, he even went to Switzerland to learn all there is to know about managing restaurants. Having returned to Budapest, he worked both as a manager and a communication coordinator in several catering establishments. He originally imagined a creative agency operating based on a co-working concept into the house in Budaörs owned by his family, but the plans changed and he decided to realize himself in the catering industry. He transformed the building originally completely unfit for functioning as a restaurant, this is how ICON Buda was born.
“We wanted to become one of the icons of suburban gastronomy.”
Tamás Botos – chef, ICON Buda
Tamás Botos played a central role in Kristóf’s decision. The 28-year-old chef decided to dedicate his life to culinary art in the course of a student job in Tihany. He worked in a lot of places to learn and gain experience, and in his early twenties he already worked as head cook in restaurants like KNRDY or Tanti. He met Kristóf and ICON in the course of another phase of development.
“The dishes are made by the person who came up with them, and are served by the person who treats this restaurant as his child.”
With ICON Buda, Kristóf and Tamás wanted to realize their dream of giving a place to Budaörs that makes locals proud. The young owners prepared for the launch of the restaurant in December with such thoroughness that they have been able to keep up the quality imagined at the time to this day. They keep steering ICON Buda in a manner to fulfil the goal also manifested in their choice of name.
Sebestyén Ölveczki – owner, Briquette
Sebestyén Ölveczki opened the grill terrace he built for himself in Budakeszi to the audience at the request of his friends, after lengthy research and planning. Today, Briquette is a name known by many in Hungarian gastronomy: a place that doesn’t function under a regular restaurant framework, and reaches way beyond the apartment restaurant concept, too. Sebi refers to Briquette as a grill-BBQ workshop, characterized by easiness, expertise, precise service and unique guest experience. He has a team of 15-20 people working in the background, but Sebi takes part in every segment of the work. He takes care of bookings and purchases, and he is the first person guests meet at dinners.
Sebi says there hasn’t been a single evening that he hasn’t been in Briquette, at least at the beginning of the dinner. Sebi also worked in e-commerce before, but his passion has become his profession today. He learnt in an autodidact manner, he observed the work of experts and of course he grilled a lot of meat on his special equipment.
“I think what most apartment restaurants and catering establishments in general miss in Hungary the most is passion.”
Édes Város
Founders: Gergő Bakonyi, Viktor Kassai, Gábor Molnár, Eszter Dobrosi
“The online commerce of the experience of celebration is about the moments money can’t buy.”
“Preparing for a celebration or a memorable moment could be a good experience already in itself” – thought Gergő Bakonyi, who founded Édes Város with his two good friends Viktor Kassai and Gábor Molnár, with Eszter Dobrosi, who has also been a member of their group of friends for almost two decades, joining a little later. The goal was to make everything that may be necessary for a celebration available with only a few clicks in the online space, but they did not stop here. As they offer premium goods, they also positioned the service to this level, and so they launched their refrigerated truck delivery service, which is unprecedented in the country.
In 2020, the year of isolation and changes, it is special moments that keep us going. And this is what Édes Város provides.
Zoltán Gazsi – executive director, Eisberg Hungary
“Making people believe authenticity is an incredible work, but it’s worth it.”
Eisberg communicates in a very authentic and professionally substantiated manner, to which Zoltán Gazsi acting as the executive director of the company also contributes actively. The director has set up a special team, the members of which not only think in classic forms of appearance, meaning online, print and radio appearances and advertisements, but also place a great emphasis on education, with tasting as a main tool. Zoltán Gazsi is a firm believer that a change in a country’s dining culture will be brought by individual experiences. Obviously they would like consumers to choose Eisberg products, but their primary goal is to promote the consumption of salads: to make healthy salads appear on people’s plates next to the rice and potato in greater portions.
Photography | Dávid Horpáczi
Video | Gergő Sepsi
Piqniq Budapest | Web | Facebook | Instagram
Where future meets history | Building renovation in Prague
Harmony of nature and lighting | Plydesign X Nieto Light
