Hand-made mini dessert wonders were served at Gundel’s table

One of the most prestigious events in Hungarian hospitality is the Gundel Károly Award ceremony, which is held every year at the Gundel Restaurant in Budapest to mark the legendary restaurateur’s birthday. Here, the best in the profession – chefs, restaurant owners, confectioners – gather to recognize the outstanding achievements of the year. In 2025, one of the most memorable moments of the gala belongs to Dávid Jakabfi from Nagykanizsa, who conquered the hospitality elite with his special mini desserts. The professional invitation itself is a rare honor, as only a few are given the opportunity to be included on the Gundel menu.

“Many chefs and confectioners dream of one day being mentioned in the same sentence as Gundel. For me, this has now come true. It is a great feeling that my desserts could be there at such a prestigious event, at the end of the Gundel menu”

– said Dávid Jakabfi, who started out as a dishwasher abroad, trained himself self-taught, and is now an internationally recognized dessert chef who writes books and successfully participates in competitions.

Classics in a new guise

At the end of the gala lunch, the guests were able to taste four mini desserts, each of which evoked the traditions of Hungarian confectionery in a modern form. The first dessert was a macaron with poppy seed and peach Charlot filling, which combined French technique and Hungarian flavors. “Poppy seeds and peaches are a classic pair for us, but I wanted to show in a new way how elegant this combination can be,” said Dávid.

The second course was the Eszterházy bonbon, an icon of Hungarian dessert culture, which is covered in white chocolate, built on a walnut base, with the well-known marble pattern on top. The third dessert was developed together with confectioner Judit Magyar, and the peach pálinka was added based on her idea. , aThe Drum Cake bonbon thus contained caramel crisp, creamy filling and a hint of peach pálinka. Its taste had already brought the master a gold medal in the “Candy of the Year” competition. The line was closed by the modern version of the Rigó Jancsi, which renewed the classic in both chocolate and texture.

700 hand-decorated bites

Behind the sight and taste was heroic work. For the gala, 700 mini desserts were made, which Dávid and his team worked almost non-stop for nearly 24 hours. Each piece was decorated by hand on site.

“We experimented because we wanted to bring out the best flavors. We worked on it for almost 24 hours to make each piece beautiful, uniform and perfect. We applied the decorative elements by hand in the Gundel cold kitchen, and I think that shows how much work goes into it,” Dávid recalled.

The precision and dedication did not go unnoticed. Several of the participating chefs and restaurant owners congratulated him personally, and professional discourse around the desserts continued almost the entire afternoon.

“It really piqued the interest of the guests. Some said they could imagine these flavors appearing at their restaurants too. I hope this will be an inspiration for larger restaurants as well,” said the pastry chef.

This was not the first meeting between the Nagykanizsa master and the Gundel Restaurant. Dávid had been providing professional training to Gundel’s confectioners for years and has remained in constant contact with the restaurant ever since.

We have good news for those who would like to sample the world of desserts presented at the gala. In Dávid Jakabfi’s Nagykanizsa pastry shop, JD, you can find the creations that were also a huge success at Gundel. The offer is now dominated by the new products of the autumn season, including realistic, trompe-l’œil mousse desserts that look deceptively like real fruit.