Cooking school and event venue — a labour of love in the Buda Hills.

Ildikó Gyaraki

Gastronomy, quality ingredients and good food shaped my life from childhood. My father spent his military service as a cook and became very skilled at cooking, which he then put to good use at home. Alongside this – or perhaps precisely because of it – very early on, even before the change of regime, he started supplying vegetables and fruit to restaurants and hotels, and opened a shop in the Great Market Hall (Nagyvásárcsarnok) on Fővám tér. So day after day I could watch the world of professional gastronomy take shape, and at home I always ate delicious food made from excellent ingredients.

As a young adult I was lucky: I travelled a lot, and on these trips I was always very curious about the local food and customs. We often went to restaurants, I learned about the local cuisine, and more than once I met the famous chefs and food professionals of the region. From 2004, as a family business representing a Benelux company, we supplied professional kitchen equipment to restaurants and hotels in Hungary and the neighbouring countries. This later grew into the cooking school. At first I was involved mostly as an owner, but over time I took more and more part in the preparation, and then in the cooking as well. In the end this led me to earn my own cook's qualification in 2021, and since then Ági and I have been cooking together at Kitchen Factory.

I love all the world's cuisines, Hungarian included, and I believe in variety – in the choice of dishes just as much as in ingredients and spices. I feel at home in every kitchen, but I especially love Spanish cooking – tapas and paella –, the Asian cuisines (Japanese, Thai, Korean), Creole and Mexican food, Italian pasta, fish and seafood, and Middle Eastern, Lebanese and Arab dishes. I try to cook food that respects tradition yet always has a little twist, something new – and, last but not least, is delicious and full of flavour. Perfect ingredients, high-quality tools and flawless technique matter a great deal to me. Once these are in place, the result is up to us.

Ildikó on Facebook

Ági

For as long as I can remember, the kitchen and the wonderful things that happen in it have been at the centre of my everyday life. On my travels, too, I look for and taste the world's new flavours. As a trained cook, I know that cooking is not only about eating but also about loving and enjoying life. It matters to me to spark curiosity about new ingredients, techniques and cuisines. At the cooking school my aim is for everyone to find joy in cooking, overcome any fears they may have, and go home with a sense of achievement.