The ice cream season has officially begun at Lake Balaton

According to their information, last year’s winning flavor of the Balaton ice cream competition – the walnut-fig ice cream called Balatoni mámor – is available again this year, of which more than twenty thousand scoops were sold last year.

The winner of last year’s competition is Jenő Vadócz, the pastry chef at the Promenád café in Balatongyörök, who is also preparing for the season with cardamom plum sorbet, cottage cheese ice cream and sour cherry yogurt ice cream. According to him, the ice cream season not only brings joy to ice cream lovers, but also contributes to the economic development of the Balaton region.

The statement quoted the organization’s president, Tamás Fekete, as saying that the turnover of individual pastry shops participating in last year’s competition increased by an average of 15 percent. He emphasized that the Balaton Ice Cream Competition is not only a gastronomic event, but also a real tourist attraction that also has a positive impact on the economic life of the Balaton region.

Péter Princzinger, CEO of VisitBalaton365, emphasized that the high-quality culinary festivals and competitions organized in the region have significantly contributed to the tourism results.

According to him, Balaton welcomed 3.2 million guests in 2024, which represented a 6.7 percent increase compared to the previous year. 75 percent of the visitors came from Hungary and 25 percent from abroad.