Recently there have been whispers followed by stronger rumours about a confectioner’s shop in Vác where the Dobos cake is round-shaped, edible ‘pebble’ cakes are available, and you can buy slices of cakes inspired by the operettas of Imre Kálmán.
How does one become a master pastry chef?
I would not define myself as a master pastry chef, but would rather say expert. First, there are the childhood experiences and later, other external influences that shape a person. Afterwards all you have to do is dream big or dream big a lot. And if you have what it takes, you can make your dreams come true. All this starts with the learning process followed by work, and in the meantime you have to remain open to new professional and quality-related information. Needless to say, the basics must be strong. At the very beginning the terms quality and hospitality must be defined clearly. What does it mean when we have a guest? Openness is key since hospitality differs continent by continent, country by country; it is usually different in various regions. However, if we have a clear notion and understanding about these phenomena – it is already something to rely on – we can get down to work.
Is this what happened to you?
I became a trainee in a confectionery’s in the 1980s and immediately after the practical training I realized that this is not enough for me, that I had had completely different ideas about being a confectioner. I though I would have a look around and see what else one can do in this trade. Naturally, that time it was rather difficult; we did not have all this information available, there was no Internet, and you could not travel abroad freely. I started to work at the Fórum Hotel in Budapest where the famous Bécsi Kávéház (Viennese Coffee House) was operating. This was considered the number one place professionally in Hungary. I was working there for years among real experts. We went on many foreign business trips organized by the Hotel and Malév, the Hungarian airlines, to promote Hungarian cuisine in the so-called “Hungarian Days” held all over the world. After the hotel was privatised, I felt the conditions were deteriorating and had another idea: I went abroad to work on river and ocean cruisers.
I guess you can gather considerable experience in such a workplace.
True. I was travelling throughout the world for years and years and learnt about loads of different culture and gastronomy, too. I was working with Indians, Jamaicans, Polish and Romanian as well as German, Italian, Spanish and French professionals including some acknowledged, Michelin-starred chefs. When I got bored with cruising, I took some breaks working in hotels as a confectioner in Morocco, Lebanon, Shanghai and New York so I did have a chance to learn the tricks of my trade. In Paris I studied at the Ecole Lenôtre where I attended more advanced courses and there I could also work in a restaurant with three Michelin stars. All these experiences were significant because the subtlety, nuances, sophistication and intuitions are indispensible in the process of becoming an expert.
After the cruising years did you get to Vác immediately?
When I came home I started working at the Gresham Palace as the Four Seasons Hotel as a Pastry Sous Chef and later at the Sofitel Hotel as a Pastry Chef. Finally, the whole process, i.e. becoming a master confectioner, was crowned by making probably my oldest dream come true when in 2008 I opened my own workshop in Vác and almost simultaneously I was the first Hungarian (at least I do not know about anyone else) who got into the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie which is the final of the most prestigious confectioner’s contest in the world.
Why Vác?
I love this city. I was raised in Sződliget and went to school in Vác that I not only love but also know a little. What is more, while travelling the world, especially when in France and Spain, I saw that people living in the country have the same needs as city residents. Unfortunately, this is not yet clear in Hungary but abroad the idea of a livable small town is something like a fairy tale. This is exactly what I dream here in Vác. I love standing at the door of my cake shop early morning greeting people who go to work. Many times it is only this greeting that connects us; still it is something that warms my heart. Something that used to work well in the past but disappeared later without a trace. Obviously, there were also financial reasons for choosing Vác, too because starting such a business in the capital would have cost much more.
How are these incredible desserts born?
These cakes are my own experiences, the things I have lived through all around the world. I think my life will be too short to create a dessert from all the impressions I had but I hope I can teach my sons what I know so that there would be someone to continue this work. And of course, I am still searching for new flavours, colours, shapes so the learning process has not stopped. I keep in touch with other confectioners living and working in other parts of the world and thinking in a similar manner, and sometimes we even create a dessert together. I change the assortment every six months, which means that I change all the desserts and welcome the new ideas.
This is somewhere around the level of Michelin-starred chefs, is it not?
Well, I am flattered when praised and it is not unfounded, I might say. Similarly to haute cuisine, we also use innovative solutions in the kitchen, the achievements of molecular gastronomy, and we pay the same attention to the quality of raw materials. I do not use synthetic ingredients; we do not mix something out of buckets, powders and bags and sell our products from there. Naturally, this is a widespread phenomenon all over the world; the point is to shape the public taste so that people would demand and prefer natural raw materials and high quality. This is a huge responsibility, and I often talk about it to anyone interested even in the terrace of the patisserie if I happen to be here.
What are your plans for the future?
Besides implementing my ideas, I would like to pass on and share the knowledge I have accumulated. Unfortunately, I do not see much chance to do it within the confines of today’s educational system. Confectioners’ training in Hungary is decades behind the rest of the world both in terms of technique and regarding the course books; neither the theoretical nor the practical training meets market requirements. My philosophy cannot be fit into this concept. The establishment of an own pastry chef school might be the appropriate framework. Moreover, active pastry chefs should get together, leaving envy behind, and discuss relevant professional issues. You do not have to think big necessarily at first, it would be enough for those six or seven confectioners to meet once a month here in Vác so that we could learn from each other in terms of the trade and business, as well. Do not misunderstand me; I do not expect everyone to follow me in every respect; there would be little point in that since all of us have our own clientele. Anyway, an initiative has already been launched and the first meeting is planned to take place in the autumn. I can hardly wait. We, in the Mihályi Patisserie follow the path we marked at the very beginning: we would like and have to work to show an example, and every day we can do that, we can go to bed with a clear conscience knowing we are on the right track.
Mihályi Patisserie
Address: Köztársaság út 21. (Fő tér), H-2600 Vác, Hungary
Phone: +36 20 390 3367
Email: chef@mihalyipatisserie.com
Web: www.mihalyipatisserie.com
