The 2024 Pro Gastronomia Awards have been presented

The Pro Gastronomia Award was founded in 2018 by Dr. Dénes Sándor, retired associate professor of the Department of Hospitality at the Faculty of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism of the Budapest University of Economics and Business (BGE KVIK), to promote Hungarian gastronomy and to recognize the professional activities of outstanding personalities and promising young representatives of the hospitality profession.

About the Award

The professional award can be awarded to a maximum of four people per year. In parallel with the award, a chef’s jacket worn by Dr. Dénes Sándor will also be presented as a youth award to a young professional with outstanding performance in the field of gastronomy and/or to a student who has previously graduated from the Faculty of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism of the Budapest University of Economics and Business or its predecessor institutions.

The awardees this year were selected by the idea creator, Dr. Andrea Lugasi, professor emeritus at the Department of Hospitality at BGE KVIK, Dr. János Gundel, professor emeritus, Eventrend co-owner Zoltán Kőrössy, and chef Viktor Segal, gastronomic consultant.

The awardees in 2024:

• György László, legendary chef of the Forum Hotel between 1990-2001, head chef of the Danubius Hotels Group between 2003-2018. Honorary culinary consultant of the Chaine des Rôtisseurs young chef competitions.
• Zoltán Hamvas – Tamás Széll – Szabina Szulló – Ibolya Csahók, shared owners of the two Michelin-starred Stand restaurant and the Michelin-recommended Stand25 Bistro.
• Zoltán Hamvas, a key figure in Hungarian gastronomy, is the coach of the first Hungarian Bocuse d’Or team to participate in the world final in Lyon. He has been the president of the Hungarian Bocuse d’Or Academy since 2013. Under his leadership, Budapest successfully won the role of host of the 2016 and 2022 European finals.
• Tamás Széll, the first Hungarian chef to compete in the Bocuse d’Or final in Lyon in 2011. In 2016, he came first in the European selection held in Budapest. In 2017, he came fourth in Lyon.
• Chef Szabina Szulló was the president of the Hungarian team that won the Bocuse d’Or Europe in 2016. She also led the team that won the silver medal at the Bocuse d’Or Europe in 2022.
• Ibolya Csahók graduated from the Faculty of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism of the Budapest University of Economics. She worked as the restaurant manager of Onyx for nearly nine years.

Since 2017, she has been the manager and owner of the Michelin-starred Stand25 Bistro, and since 2018, the now two-Michelin-starred Stand restaurant.

Alain Ducasse, French chef legend. His 33 restaurants in 9 countries boast 21 Michelin stars, which is a world record.

Youth award winner:

Bence Dalnoki and Dorottya Dalnoki-Peteli shared. Bence Dalnoki came second in the Bocuse d’Or Europe competition in Budapest in 2022, while in 2023 he received a bronze statuette in the final of the competition in Lyon. Bence is the sous-chef of the Stand restaurant. Dorottya Dalnoki-Peteli is a former student of the Faculty of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism of the Budapest University of Economics. She completed her internship in Switzerland, began her professional career at the Onyx restaurant, and was then a member of the opening team of the Stand restaurant. Since 2019, she has been working as the restaurant manager of the Stand25 Bisztró. She is a permanent assistant at the Chaine des Rôtisseurs chef competitions.