Keresés: kristof
Keresés: kristof
Taste of Hungary dinner
On Monday, 2nd September 2019, the Embassy of Hungary in London was proud to host a fine dining evening as a tribute to award winning Hungarian agricultural products, which have proved their excellence at this year’s Great Taste Award (GTA), often described as the ‘Oscars’ of the food world.
The Central and Eastern European region performed exceptionally well in terms of the 2019’s awards. What’s more, our Hungarikums, such as the acacia honey, szegedi paprika and Hungarian grey cattle were also among the winners. There are only four countries around the globe, where the three most exclusive and luxurious delicacies (goose liver, caviar and black truffle) are produced in natural conditions and have been so for a long time. The four countries: Italy, Spain, France and, you guessed it, Hungary. If we pair these truly unique gourmet treats with the world-famous naturally sweet wine, Tokaji Aszú, we already have a clue, why Ambassador Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, invited the best of fine food writers and retailers to proudly present them the gastronomy of Hungary.
The Dinner was one of a kind, as it was built around Best of Hungary's GTA winning products, highlighting the ingredients and their wide range of usage. Further unique moments of the night were the Hungarian wines and champagne specialities served between the courses, made from indigenous Hungarian vine varieties. The wine pairs were arranged by three recognized sommeliers, who were WSET wine academics and leading winery owners. The menu was compiled by the chefs of Turul Project London, a fine dining pop-up initiative, creating an evening of Hungarian fine food and wine feast, in one of Europe's multicultural and gastronomically fascinating capitals.
Throughout the dishes of the evening, 11 ingredients of GTA winning products that won 25 stars combined in 2018-19 were used. The wines served, provided by Happy Hungarian Wines, were international competition proven, representing Hungarian varieties (Furmint, Kadarka).
All of this would not have been possible without a superbly broad endeavour of manufacturers, wineries, importers and distributors, the Hungarian chefs of London and last but not least the Hungarian Embassy and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Dorottya Kalocsai exhibition
Ambassador Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky opened Hungarian painter Dorottya Kalocsai’s ’Handle With Care’ exhibition at the Embassy of Hungary.
The exhibition is the third part of the series organised by the Embassy to provide opportunity for young Hungarian artists to showcase their works in the UK. The paintings will stay at the Embassy for a few months and guests, representatives of the British political, business and cultural scene visiting the Embassy will witness the artist’s remarkable talent. The exhibition documents the momentary state of objects and the environment, observing and interpreting the various daily common tools in the series of drawings.
Open House London at the Embassy of Hungary
The Embassy opened its reception rooms to the public and filled them with many smaller exhibitions to give a comprehensive picture about Hungary. In the library, our volunteer introduced Hungarian literature and history and showcased some valuable and well-known books from Hungarian authors or about Hungary. The Zsolnay Manufacture opened its ‘Exhibition around the world’ here is London and displayed some of the handcrafted and painted masterpieces of Zsolnay ceramics while also presenting its rich history. In the drawing room, people could appreciate the talent of young Hungarian artists, Dorottya Kalocsai and Dávid Merényi, through their paintings. Thanks to the help of the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, guests learned about the Hungarikums. The Hungarian National Film Fund provided material for us to present the successes of the Hungarian film industry. The Ministry of Defence provided a roll-up exhibition for the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Hungary joining the NATO. The Hungarian Tourism Agency and Visit Debrecen offered information for those interested in travelling to Hungary.
On Saturday, Ambassador Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky gave a tour for the guests, talking about the building’s architecture, the work of the Embassy and Hungary. Later in the afternoon visitors commemorated the anniversary of the Hungarian regime change with the pianco concert of Mihály Berecz and the exhibition provided by the ‘30 Years of Freedom’ commemorative year initiative.
On Sunday, those up for a challenge took a cookin8g class with our chef, Krisztián Ortmann and learned about Hungarian gastronomy. With the help of our volunteer interpreter, we could offer a guided tour for hearing-impaired guests. In the afternoon visitors could participate in the Hungarikum Show, provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and the dancers of the Hunique Dance Ensemble.
Commemoration of 1956 and 1989
The Embassy of Hungary held its annual reception to commemorate the anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight.
This year the event was held at the prestigious Travellers Club, which, in recognition or the significance of the evening, for the first time in its history flied the Hungarian flag on the building, thanks to its good relationship with the Hungarian Embassy. The event was attended by over 250 guests, with representatives from the British political, business, cultural and scientific elite, Hungarian organizations, and members of the Diplomatic Corps.
Ambassador Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky in his welcoming speech highlighted that 2019 is a special year, as Hungary not only celebrates the heroes of 1956 but also the 30th anniversary of the regime change in 1989. He also emphasized that freedom did not end in 1989, it started there. It is our job now to decide what to do with that freedom, and Hungary decided to build a democracy, in its own way. A Christian democracy, protecting sovereignty, independence, national identity and family.
In his speech the guest of honour, Mr John O’Sullivan CBE, President of the Danube Institute, gave an overview of the “cruel and hard” 20th century Hungarian history. He highlighted that the heroes of 1956 claimed the recognition and admiration of the world. However, further 30 “confusing” years were needed for the promises of 1956 to come to realization.
To further demonstrate the significance of the anniversary, the Embassy presented an exhibition of press photos from 1989-1990, showing moments of the important changes
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Travellers Club for hosting us and for flying the Hungarian flag the whole day to salute the heroes of 1956 and 1989.
Welcome reception for Hungarian students in the UK
H.E. Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky gave a welcome reception for Hungarian freshman students studying in UK institutions on 29 October 2019. Senior and PhD students from Oxford, Cambridge, Goldsmith Universities and UCL gave inspirational presentations about their scientific and community organizing extracurricular activities.
Participation at the Judaism Alive Series
Rabbi Yoni Golker hosted Hungarian Ambassador Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky and renowned author Douglas Murray for an engaging conversation as part of the Judaism Alive Series, on 13 November 2019, at the St John’s Woods Synagogue in Central London.
During his opening remarks, Douglas Murray noted that his personal experience seemed to contradict some of the “incredibly easy and very lazy analyses” published by mainstream media. He pointed to an “extraordinary breakdown of understanding” between Eastern and Western Europe, with some Western European leaders treating the former in a rather condescending manner, often perceiving them as “junior partners”. Murray warned against a malicious stereotype concerning the Hungarian Government and Hungarian people, which claims that “seemingly, they could do absolutely nothing right”. Murray cited the family support policy efforts, the help to persecuted Christians and the safety the Jewish community enjoys in Budapest compared to other capital cities of Europe as important areas for reflection.
Ambassador Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky used his opening remark to emphasize the importance of engagement and outreach in the work of an ambassador, and expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome he received from the Synagogue’s community. Referring to Hungary’s change of system in 1989, the Ambassador accentuated, that the successful transformation lead to today’s Hungary, which is stable, safe, democratic and prosperous. The Jewish community is embraced as part of the Hungarian character and while things can always be improved upon, today our Jewish population is supported in various different ways, and enjoys a vibrant life both in Budapest and in the countryside. Their security is seen as an absolute priority by the government, which as a result, adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, and introduced zero tolerance against anti-Semitic actions, instilled in national legislation. Consequently, the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Hungary is one of the lowest in Europe and continues to decrease year by year. The Hungarian government is working to rebuild trust with the Jewish community by accepting responsibility for the crimes of the Holocaust (the Ambassador quoted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in this instance).
Douglas Murray went for difficult and tricky questions, tackling topics from the stigmatisation of the Hungarian government as anti-democratic, the meaning of the often-quoted ‘illiberal democracy’, the existence of far-right political movements in Hungary and the adversity with George Soros. The Hungarian Ambassador explained the underlining view of the Hungarian government, that following a series of democratic elections (and the Hungarian government is now in its third consecutive term with two-third majority in Parliament) it should be able to utilise its mandate to govern. Its goal is to introduce changes that will support its vision for Hungary, a Central European way of life based on the Judeo-Christian tradition, patriotism, the nation state and families, and to fight those who fundamentally challenge this at a political level, such as George Soros.
In closing, Douglas Murray thanked the Ambassador for the “frankness and equanimity” he showed when tackling some exceptionally difficult issues raised. He also urged members of the audience to visit Central Europe and Budapest to see for themselves, as he did, how excellent the exhibitions on aforementioned topics are. Rabbi Yoni Golker praised the initiative of the Hungarian Embassy to reach out to the Jewish community, a sentiment expressed by audience members as well.
Deputy State Secretary Ferenc Kumin in London
Mr Ferenc Kumin Deputy State Secretary for the Development of European Relations met Sir Simon McDonald, Permanent Under Secretary of the FCO and Head of the Diplomatic Service in London today to discuss the continuation of UK-HU relations after Brexit, strategic themes for cooperation and the V4-UK partnership. The meeting also served as the farewell visit of the current Ambassador, HE Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.