Taste Balaton 2025 is already well under planning

First of all, we set the date of the 2nd Taste Balaton: 7-16 March, 2025. We managed to make the country move, filling up many restaurants here on the shores of Lake Balaton at the beginning of spring. This is a big deal! I live next to Lake Balaton, and I am sufficiently biased. I know that the lake and its surroundings show a different face in every season, and there is beauty in all of them. As a host and professional, I can say that it is worth exploring it in spring, autumn and winter as well, because the stereotypes that Lake Balaton is synonymous with summer, scone and beach season are not true. This area is fantastic all year round. As Károly Eötvös put it in rhyme: "Balaton is a dream and poetry, history and tradition, a collection of sweet and sour tales, an ancient nest of strange Hungarian people, pride from the past and bright hope for the future."

Yes, we managed to introduce the brand itself, that was the first goal.

Perhaps it says a lot that almost everyone who was involved on the organiser-host side will be part of it again. The members also filled out a questionnaire before we sat down to discuss the experiences. I list the buzzwords that came in this way: good initiative, gap-filling event, a great buzz, attention-generating, imaginative, with youthful vigour, well-organized, immeasurably colourful, free-spirited, where nature and culture met high-level local gastronomy.

We broke the all-time record for the number of guests in March. We had activities every day, and they were very good, sometimes with elation - we felt that way ourselves, but the feedback from our guests also confirms it. Perhaps also because the milieu was direct and relaxed, the chefs, servers, performers and myself became one in a story. Anyone was free to ask questions, a debate was conducted in an unplanned way, thus it was improvisational and thought-provoking. And from the side of the organisers, we could see and hear what people are interested in and what they are receptive to. In addition to the culinary experiences, we were all culturally enriched, it can be seen that this multi-sensory "show", where the emphasis is on "storytelling", works.

Yes, but, if possible, even better. Of course, we have drawn lessons, each participating member in their own range. We are constantly working on background collaborations, we are trying to involve many more winemakers than last time, and we would like to build a system in which the participants of the programme series can travel from one location to another for a fixed rate, involving local carriers and taxi drivers. We will definitely strengthen the bike line. BalatonBike365 was our cooperating partner again in 2024, and guests could travel between locations with electric bicycles.

With the exception of two days, it was easy to cycle, the weather was suitable for it - we hope the weather will be the same or even better in 2025. But even if the sun is not shining yet, hiking is still a great experience: not to go far - in this case literally - there is a breathtakingly beautiful hiking trail from Balatonszemes, which only few people know about, and we will definitely offer it. Continuing on the active line: we would also like to include sports events among the programme elements, for example even organizing a tennis cup. I emphasize that the gastronomic and cultural programmes are actually independent of the weather. If it rains (or snows) on a particular day, then we will arouse mood for wellness - there are great opportunities for this at many wonderful accommodations. We would like the series of events to generate many more overnight stays than this year. At the same time, I must state that we do not want to turn this into a mass event. There is a limit beyond which a single location and programme can no longer be lived - so we should rather work to provide a very rich and colourful programme offer in many venues at the same time, and to ensure that there is a good spread of visitors everywhere. We must not forget that Taste Balaton is for those who prefer small, exclusive programmes to mass events. It is also important to mention that the amounts available on the SZÉP card can also be used at Taste Balaton.

Not secretly because we would like to attract not only Hungarians but also foreigners. From the very beginning, the international opening was the goal: Graz, Maribor, Ljubljana, Zagreb - not a long distance from Lake Balaton, and people from neighbouring countries can get a taste of the whole destination at a time when it is not typical for one festival to be followed by another in their own country. We would like to see more and more of them planning with it, and for those who plan with it to mark it in their diaries for a longer interval. We decided to find some quality restaurants abroad for the sake of which even the locals who denote them as regular guests would travel - this is, by the way, a common practice among foreign gastro-tourists.

I sincerely hope that other regions will be encouraged to create a similar unusual series of events.

It is requirement for the members to create a Taste Balaton menu or menus for this occasion, which is special and conveys the essence of Balaton - this will be the case next year as well. We, the originators, have no say in who organises what programme. Gastro tour, fashion show, cooking workshop - anything can work. The point is that it has to be self-identical and convey the values and mission of the given place. I can't wait for the whole programme to come together!