Károly Gundel (; 23 September 1883 – 28 November 1956) was a Hungarian restaurateur, business magnate, philanthropist, writer of culinary works and the former owner of the
Gundel Restaurant.
Family
Károly Gundel was born on 23 September 1883 in Budapest, the son of Johann Gundel, a
Bavarian-born
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
restaurateur who emigrated to
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
in 1857. His mother was Anna Kommer. Of the 5 children of János Gundel it was Károly who inherited his father's passion for the catering profession and his gastronomic genius. He married in 1907 with Margit Blasutigh. They had 13 children together.
His grandchildren were
Zoltán Latinovits
Zoltán Latinovits (9 September 1931, in Budapest – 4 June 1976, in Balatonszemes) was a Hungarian actor.
Early life
His mother divorced his father Oszkár Latinovits in 1941 and married István Frenreisz, a medical doctor, with whom she had ...
,
István Bujtor
István Bujtor (5 May 1942 – 25 September 2009), born István Frenreisz, was a Hungarian actor, director, producer and screenplay writer. He starred in the TV mini-series Mathias Sandorf based on the novel Mathias Sandorf by Jules Verne as ...
and
Károly Frenreisz
Károly Frenreisz (born 8 November 1946, Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian rock singer and songwriter.
Life
Frenreisz first studied piano and then learned to play the clarinet, saxophone, and bass. He was from 1965 to 1971 part of the band Me ...
.
Life
After the trade school, he learned the craft in famous restaurants in
Switzerland,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
from 1900. He was secretary in the
Tátralomnic's hotel between 1906 and 1908. In 1908 he became the director. He bought the Wampetich restaurant in 1910. (Later it became the Gundel restaurant). From 1937 Károly Gundel managed the restaurant of the Hotel Gellért as well. Many well-known politicians, artists, and prime exponents of business life were regular guests in his restaurants. His cookbooks were the best and best-known books in Hungarian gastronomy. He wrote in foreign languages, gave cooking demonstrations and exhibitions, and popularized
Hungarian cuisine, boosting tourism. He was also one of the leaders of the Hungarian
restaurateur, hoteliers and industry. ''To host, to be a guest'', a book by Frigyes Karinthy (Budapest, 1933) was made with his advice.
Gundel restaurant
Károly Gundel's restaurant was the official restaurant of the Hungarian Pavilion in the New York World's Fair in 1939. The Gundel Restaurant is a bigger, better publicity from Budapest than a boatload of tourist brochures."'' (New York Times)
In 1949, the Gundel restaurant was nationalized. The Gundel Restaurant is today the most prestigious restaurant in Budapest.
Cuisine
One of Gundel's signature dishes is the Gundel
palacsinta, a crepe with a filling made from rum, raisin, walnuts, and lemon zest, served with a chocolate sauce. Gundel also claims to have created Palóc soup, a soup that aimed to be "like
goulash
Goulash ( hu, gulyás) is a soup or stew of meat and vegetables seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating in Hungary, goulash is a common meal predominantly eaten in Central Europe but also in other parts of Europe. It is one of the n ...
. . . yet not goulash," according to the Gundel web site.
References
External links
Hungarian biographical encyclopediaGundel website
Gundel website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gundel, Karoly
1883 births
1956 deaths
Businesspeople from Budapest
Hungarian restaurateurs