Hungarian Cullinary Association

The Hungarian Cullinary Association (Hungarian: Magyar Gasztronómiai Egyesület, MGE) is a Hungarian civil gastronomy organization founded in 2004 on the initiative of Molnár B. Tamás and Bittera Dóra. Its stated purpose is to reform the country's gastronomic culture and to place chef training on new foundations. The association became widely known through the publication of the "Kulináris Charta" (Culinary Charter) in 2007, a manifesto signed by numerous prominent Hungarian figures that argued that dining culture is one of the most important measures of a country's civilization and general culture, that there is no gastronomy without good raw ingredients, that the revival of chef training and related craft professions had become urgent, and that the deterioration of public health and public taste required teaching future generations — already in kindergarten and school — the importance of valuable food. The association's philosophy holds that a kitchen is more than a collection of recipes and that a real restaurant is more than a business: it is a way of life that carries responsibility, including the responsibility of cultural preservation. It pursues education and further training grounded in tradition, using example-setting, continuing-education courses, competitions, and the promotion of textbooks and professional books. It aims to develop the creativity of those working in gastronomy, arguing that the new Hungarian kitchen is tasteful and creative, and that both taste and creativity must be learned. Its guiding principle is that Hungarian cuisine is not an inherited backpack that each generation must carry on exactly as received: the bag must be opened, spoiled goods removed, and the bag filled with new content. The MGE organizes the Czifray competition course (held every three years), the Tradition and Evolution chef competition (held every two years), the Hungarian national final of the Bocuse d'Or chef competition, gastronomic demonstrations with invited foreign chefs, and it seeks opportunities for chefs to undertake study trips abroad. The association's public-facing portal is the Bűvös Szakács ("Magic Chef") website at buvosszakacs.com, which publishes articles, ingredient and technology guides, recipes, videos, and news about the association's activities, and which also offers books and a shop. The site describes itself as "Konyhauniverzum — A főzés tudománya" (Kitchen Universe — The Science of Cooking) and states that maintaining and developing the site is costly while access remains free, asking readers to support the work so that Bűvös Szakács can continue to operate and develop. As a civil association rather than a commercial company, the MGE operates in the non-profit and professional-advocacy space, but it maintains a strong public brand through its portal, publications, and competitions. Its activities connect chefs, restaurateurs, educators, and the general public, and its competitions serve as talent-development and standard-setting events within Hungarian gastronomy. The association's long-running engagement with the Bocuse d'Or and its own Czifray and Tradition and Evolution competitions place it at the center of Hungary's professional culinary scene.

The Hungarian Cullinary Association (Magyar Gasztronómiai Egyesület) was founded in 2004 on the initiative of Molnár B. Tamás and Bittera Dóra. It was established as a civil organization with the aim of reforming the country's gastronomic culture and placing chef training on new foundations. A turning point came in 2007 with the publication of the "Kulináris Charta" (Culinary Charter), signed by numerous prominent Hungarian figures, which opened a new era in the history of Hungarian gastronomy. The signatories were guided by the recognition that Hungary's hospitality and gastronomy had once been a source of the country's attractiveness, and by several core convictions: that dining culture is one of the most important measures of a country's civilization and general culture; that there is no gastronomy without good raw ingredients; that the revival of chef training and related craft professions had become unavoidable; and that the deterioration of the population's health and public taste required teaching future generations — already in kindergarten and school — the importance of valuable food. The association's goals include spreading its philosophy, establishing education and further training on the basis of tradition, developing the creativity of those involved in gastronomy, and gaining acceptance for the principle of gastronomic evolution. Its philosophy holds that just as a kitchen is more than a recipe collection, a real restaurant is more than a business: it is a way of life that carries responsibility, including the responsibility of cultural preservation. It argues that a baker who bakes bad bread betrays bread and his own profession; a restaurateur who offers such bread betrays the guest and his own restaurant; and a guest who accepts all this betrays himself, whether he knows it or not. On education, the association seeks to preserve tradition while creating the basis for evolution through example-setting, continuing-education courses, competitions, and the promotion of textbooks and professional books, and it uses its portal to present foreign and Hungarian examples and to demonstrate the need to reorganize education for the renewal of Hungarian cuisine. On creativity, it holds that the new Hungarian kitchen is tasteful and creative, that taste is the ability to discriminate, and that creativity is the product of consistent work and polished taste — neither of which a chef receives ready-made, both must be learned. Its guiding principle of gastronomic evolution is that Hungarian cuisine is not an inherited backpack that every generation is obliged to carry on exactly as received: the bag must be opened, spoiled goods removed, and the bag filled with new content. The association organizes a range of events: the Czifray competition course (held every three years), the Tradition and Evolution chef competition (held every two years), the Hungarian national final of the Bocuse d'Or chef competition, gastronomic demonstrations with invited foreign chefs, and it seeks opportunities for chefs to undertake study trips abroad. Its public-facing portal, Bűvös Szakács ("Magic Chef") at buvosszakacs.com, publishes articles, ingredient and technology guides, recipes, videos, and news, and offers books and a shop; the site describes itself as "Konyhauniverzum — A főzés tudománya" (Kitchen Universe — The Science of Cooking) and asks readers to support its free-access work. Recent activity includes the sixth Czifray competition course, whose final round took place in 2026, with results announced in September 2026.

• 2026

  The sixth Czifray competition course concludes with its final round; results are announced in September 2026.

• 2010

  The February edition of the Tradition and Evolution chef competition is held, with a jury documented online.

• 2008

  The founding document (Alapító okirat) and "The 7 + 2 points of the new Hungarian kitchen" are published on the Bűvös Szakács blog.

• 2007

  Publication of the "Kulináris Charta" (Culinary Charter), signed by numerous prominent Hungarian figures, opening a new era in Hungarian gastronomy.

• 2004

  The Hungarian Cullinary Association (Magyar Gasztronómiai Egyesület) is founded on the initiative of Molnár B. Tamás and Bittera Dóra.

A civil gastronomy association and professional advocacy body dedicated to reforming Hungarian culinary culture and chef training, operating the Bűvös Szakács knowledge portal and major chef competitions.

• Czifray competition course

  A chef competition course held every three years by the association.

• Tradition and Evolution chef competition

  A chef competition held every two years by the association.

• Bocuse d'Or Hungarian national final

  The Hungarian national final of the Bocuse d'Or chef competition, organized by the association.

• Bűvös Szakács portal

  The association's public website publishing articles, ingredient and technology guides, recipes, videos, and news, with a shop.

• Cookbooks and professional publications

  The association promotes the publication of textbooks and professional books; the portal offers book bundles at a discount.

1. 1Bűvös Szakács – Címlapbuvosszakacs.com
2. 2Hungarian Cullinary Association – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Magyar Gasztronómiai Egyesület – Wikipedia (Hungarian)hu.wikipedia.org