Best of Budapest & Hungary

Chef Roland Kelemen, commis Noel Fodor, coach László Szabó and team leader Bence Dalnoki will represent Hungary at the European finals of the Bocuse d'Or international cooking competition in Trondheim, Norway, on March 19-20.

     At the Hungarian team's press conference in Budapest on Wednesday, Bence Dalnoki recalled that the Hungarian success streak at the Bocuse d'Or started in 2016. That was when Tamás Széll won the continental final, and last year, it was Bence Dalnoki who made it to the podium of the world final for the first time.   

    Compared to the most successful nations, “Hungary is still in its infancy, but we are doing our best to catch up with the leaders," he said.

    He said the Hungarian team's preparations were now in their final phase. It's all about "robotizing" the techniques and timing, so there's little room for change, he pointed out.

    The Hungarian team is headed by the winner of the Hungarian final, Roland Kelemen, assistant chef of the Hunguest Sóstó hotel in Nyíregyháza, and the commis is Noel Fodor from Siófok, who graduated from the culinary school the year before last and works in his family's restaurant in his hometown.

    The position of coach has been taken by László Szabó, a Hungast employee who has twice competed in the Bocuse d'Or finals and has also been a member of the national team.

   Bence Dalnoki also said that two real Bocuse d'Or veterans, Tamás Széll and Frigyes Vomberg, are also involved in the team's training, so that they can share the knowledge they have acquired in recent years with the current Hungarian team.

   Christian Andre Pettersen, who has twice won bronze medals at the Bocuse d'Or finals in Lyon in 2019 and 2021, will also be involved in coaching the Hungarian team. The Norwegian chef will mainly pass on his knowledge of ingredients and his competitive experience to the team.