The family, the team and me

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/4

– What is your biggest professional accolade so far?

One learns something new every day

– The “Restaurateur of the Year” award. I got it because I have been recognised not only in my immediate environment, but also in the wider profession for the past 20 years of being part of the Hungarian hospitality industry.

– What inspires you?

– The guests: the immediate and, for me, the most important feedback is the plates coming back from them. Plus my travels that end up as gastronomic tours even if I originally set out for a few days of rest.

– What are you proud of?

– My family, my colleagues and our regulars. We have created Erhardt together.

A captain always needs a good team, and I always take responsibility for them in a difficult situation.

– What trends influence your thinking and your work?

– I like to be a pioneer. Respecting traditions and roots may seem obsolete, but I am reluctant to jump on another bandwagon. I have tried to do modern gastronomy, to shape the guests a little bit, but it was a side-track.

– How do you invent new dishes?

– My partner and I read a lot – books, magazines, and novels on gastronomy. New dishes are created in the restaurant kitchen. We experiment with the boys, each of us adding our own flavours and ingredients. We taste together.

– Who do you respect in the profession?

– Tibor and Robi Rosenstein – the absolute first place goes to them, Dani Szó the sourdough friend, our in-house winemaker Franz Weninger, Lajos Bíró (chef Lali) and last but not least Karl Harrer, owner of the Harrer Chocolate Manufactory in Sopron. //