Etyek Gastronomic Festival

The philosophy and goal of the festival
"Your life is on your table, i.e. the day of copious meals"

24-25th September 2011

Culture has arisen when mankind settled and brought land into cultivation for the first time. Culture ends when mankind detaches itself from the land.

We have to regain the ability of living in the landscape, instead of dominating over or fighting against it. What we have on our table is reserved to our stomach, but it arrives at our head and inflicts our mind. Synthetic dairy products, puffed-up and tasteless vegetables, decorative but indigestible artificial fruits and the plastic-meat of the cattle nurtured on plastic-fodder ... all of them are the wastage of the lifeless soil.

We are searching for the living man in the living landscape, who is longing for the soil, seeking beauty, goodness and delight, and is also able to preserve things of importance. Who is not counting time in pennies. We are searching for the baker whose bread is made of crops, the jam-maker who collects the most beautiful fruit and the cheese-manufacturer who uses full-cream milk. We are searching for the man who tends his environment with the work of his own hands. The chemical basis of dynamite and fertiliser is the same, and they both destruct the soil. The land does not need fertilisers - it needs us.

Fast food, fast death, short life. The path to enjoyable life does not lead through the incredibly overcomplicated meals or shiny luxury restaurants, but through people creating something from the pure soil, enjoying their work. Get to know them to let them get to know you. Try their work and taste the shine of the sun, the flesh of the Earth, the power of the plants, the pleasure of honey, the blood of wine, the body of bread, the fire of distillates, the fat of cheese and feel that the world is created for you and you are created for the world.

This is why we organised this meeting for you.
Participants

Three product or activity branches symbolise the uniqueness on the festival:

Hungaricums, i.e. special and typical products of Hungary

An animal, plant or any product manufactured from them can be considered to be a Hungaricum if they are linked to the Hungarian culture, knowledge, traditions evolved during the life of the generations of Hungary's population (including that of the ethnic minorities that assimilated during the centuries - e. g. Swabian, Slovakian etc.), if they can express the values of our nation with their uniqueness and are accepted as so by the Hungarian nation - or at least the population of a smaller region which is concerned in accordance with a certain product -, and finally, if they are well-known abroad as Hungarian specialities.

The gastronomical products that are exhibited on the festival can basically be classified into 14 groups:

• Know Hungaricums (Pick, Zwack, Herend, Zsolna, Törley, etc.)
• Dairy products, ice cream
• Meat, butchery products and seasoned meat
• Fish
• Sweets, cookies
• Bakery products, pastries
• Fruit and vegetable
• Jam
• Honey
• Spices and auxiliary materials of the food industries
• Non-alcoholic drinks (syrups, mineral waters)
• Alcoholic drinks (distillates, brandies)
• Wine
• Home-made beer

Craftsmanship products

Gastronomical or handicraft products of those craftsmen and manufacturers who are able to withdraw themselves from the constraint of mass production dictated by the "market effectiveness" and are able to produce something unique. They are the ones who can show the true aspect of the region and symbolise the way of live of the people living in the land.

Winegrowers of Etyek

Their work is a symbol. The revival of the wine-growing in Etyek proves that preserving the traditions and the standard way of life is much more important than the short-term interests, that it is better to cultivate and retain the natural, original environment of our dwelling than to change it radically or to ruin it in order to reap a quick profit out of it.

Target group

People who are susceptible to gastronomy, Hungaricums, original and natural flavours, traditions and the values of culture and those, who demand breezy but high-standard entertainment.