From Farm to Table: Artisans Across the Country

What exactly will it be about?

Father and son, a family business

Paprikas, cheeses, and fruits

High-quality Hungarian ingredients: the VarjúGazda Program

Captain Gubi’s special syrups

Tradition and túrógombóc

Additive-free processing, responsible animal husbandry, and high-quality Hungarian feed

A father and son’s shared passion for wine and nature led to the foundation of an artisanal cider brewery in 2017, marking the birth of BudaPrés Cider. The ciders here are made from 100 percent fresh Hungarian apples. These exceptionally sparkling ciders can even hold their own against Western competitors. The family’s estate in Etyek is constantly expanding. Although cider consumption is still in its infancy in Hungary, BudaPrés’s innovative approach, refined flavours, and commitment to quality can help Hungarian cider culture flourish.

Fajszi Paprika Manufaktúra is also a family-run farm that has been producing paprika powder since 1990 using traditional, handmade methods. Their multi-award-winning paprikas represent the very best the Hungarian market has to offer: in 2020, they achieved an extraordinary result at the Great Taste Awards, winning the “Oscar of spices.”

Fruits thrive particularly well in the southern corner of Hungary: the sun-drenched countryside and the expertise of the Homokhátság region’s farmers result in truly flavourful and first-rate produce. The Heart of Homokhátság Vegetable and Fruit Processing Start Social Cooperative is located in Bordány, in the heart of Homokhátság. What makes this manufactory unique is that it is based on a social cooperative dedicated to reducing local unemployment and promoting locally sourced ingredients. Legjava processes locally grown fruits and vegetables, which are then used to make sauces, jams, and spreads, as well as unique specialties such as zserbó (Gerbeaud) jam, champagne peach jam, and rosé–strawberry barbecue sauce.

The Tekeresvölgyi Family Estate is a true multigenerational family business and one of the market’s most unique artisan producers, thanks to its outstanding, distinctive style and quality. For more than a decade now, week after week, irresistible artisanal cheeses have been produced at the farm with the help of fifty Hungarian Simmental cows. One of the Tekeresvölgyi family’s key goals is to make the world of artisanal products more popular and to demonstrate just how important it is to consume high-quality food. In addition to livestock farming, milk processing, and cheese-making, the farm also offers cheese tastings and other unique farm-based activities.

In Bekölce, near Eger, two young people, Anna Juhász and Dávid Goldmann, built their chemical-free farm from scratch under the slogan “Farming is Cool!” Their sustainable model employs agricultural systems based on natural ecological processes: for example, every living creature on the farm is provided with adequate, free-range space and is raised with love. By purchasing free-range chickens from here, we’ve already taken a step toward protecting our planet and our own health.

The goal of the VakVarjú restaurant family’s VarjúGazda Program is to bring high-quality Hungarian ingredients to the table, while simultaneously providing smaller domestic farms with opportunities for growth. In the program, winemakers, mushroom growers, beekeepers, microgreen growers, cheesemakers, and other local farmers work together with the VakVarjú team. The collaboration always begins with face-to-face meetings, brainstorming, and plenty of tastings, so that all participants can grow together.

Captain Gubi – aka József Biró – and his family grow various fruits on 10 hectares in Aldebrő. From a young age, he roamed the forests and fields with his parents, gathering various berries and fruits – which is where his nickname comes from: his classmates nicknamed him “Gubi” while he was still in school. The homemade raspberry syrup available at VakVarjú restaurants, the equally famous raspberry rosé spritzer, and the homemade iced fruit tea are also made from Captain Gubi’s products.

“It’s a great pleasure for me that my raspberry and nettle syrups were selected for the VakVarjú restaurants’ new, permanent beverage menu, as these are our two most unique products. As a VarjúGazda, I’m delighted to be among the restaurant chain’s partners, since previously customers could mainly find us at farmers’ markets and smaller shops,” – says József Biró.

For more than a decade, Zsuzsanna Dobrádi and her family have been making a variety of dairy products from whole milk using traditional methods at the Csengőtej Manufaktúra in Pusztazámor. As one of the proud partners of the VakVarjú restaurants, their award-winning, full-fat, lumpy cottage cheese is used to make the cottage cheese dumplings that have been a crowd favourite for years.

At the Bio-Goods farm in Gesztely, Dávid Hajdu and his wife, Kata, closely oversee every step of Mangalica breeding and processing. In recent years, they have earned numerous professional awards, and their premium products are well-known nationwide among Mangalica enthusiasts. The recipe for their success is simple: additive-free processing, careful animal husbandry, and high-quality Hungarian feed. They process “only” thirty Mangalica pigs per week – no more, because for them, every single part of each pig counts. Even the “tomahawk” cut is shaped by hand to resemble the legendary weapon of North American indigenous peoples. Several dishes at VakVarjú restaurants are made from their own Mangalica pork, which they process at their own slaughterhouse.