Just like the name Audi Hungaria, your name and your voice are also almost synonymous with women’s handball here in Győr. What is your relationship with the company?

The relationship between Audi Hungaria and ETO of Győr has just come of age this year, the company has been behind women’s handball as a sponsor for 18 years, and I have been helping the club for 15 years, cultivating its relations and working on its communication. All of our players are impressed to have the biggest powertrain company in the world as a partner, and it also means a lot to have the support of the employees, many of whom are our fans.

I’m sure only a few people know this about me, but my first visit to Audi was as a student worker around 1998–1999. At the time I was already impressed by the scale of the company and, most of all, the organization that I see at today’s event as well. The organizers have indeed thought of everything, with prepared fire pits, sunshades, balloon water for cooking, Audi logo gloves and aprons for the teams, a bouncy castle, face painting and creative activities for the kids, and a concert on the stage later on.

Being a speaker is a really easy job for you, you are very comfortable with it. Have you been to the event before?

I had never been to Cooking Day before, so I was very glad to be invited. It is great to see this area with green grass and trees, generally not used on weekdays, come to life, and to see how conscientiously and enthusiastically the employees have prepared for this event and proudly brought their families to the company. Not every workplace is a weekend destination, and it tells a lot about the company’s priorities that here, along with the Football Championship, this event offers a space for that.

Delicate smells are mingling with the rising smoke, the busy hands in red aprons are already past chopping and slicing onions, and it is slowly revealing what kind of dishes each team prepared for today. The high quality cooking competition is evaluated by a prominent jury, with chefs from Audi Hungaria’s catering service and the region’s renowned restaurants, who already started tasting the dishes. In addition to the four categories, special points will be awarded for the most imaginative team outfit, the best served food and the most cheerful team. So the culinary experts are hard at work, including creative chef Eszter Nagy, former winner of the Hungarian Konyhafőnök (“Master Chef”) television program, who came from the Porta restaurant in Pannonhalma to be among the jury.

How do you feel as a jury, what is your specific task?

I’ve enjoyed being a member of the jury for years, with more and more experience behind me. We will ask the competitors’ what ingredients they used, and their concept before pairing up to taste the dishes to follow the process of creation. Therefore, in addition to flavor, there are several factors that contribute to the overall picture.

Which criteria dominate the judging process?

I think a good dish should have delicious flavors, colors and preferably different textures. Moreover, it should be fresh, it should be acidic, and I’m also happy if there’s a twist, something that surprises me.

Are you satisfied with the cooking skills of your Audi colleagues?

Absolutely, in fact, I’ve even tried to get some of the competitors to come to our restaurant. We tasted delicious food everywhere, including some exceptional creations. Some of the participants have the culinary expertise that would be well suited to a professional kitchen.

Eszter is already running along, as she has plenty to do among the bustling fire pits. The Legendary MX band already started playing on stage. Soon after, exactly at 7 p.m., the lids come down again, just like at the start of the event, to signal the end of the cooking competition. Friendly conversations turn to dancing, and the jury, after tasting all the food, soon makes its decision.

The winner of the stew category this year was the Presztízs (Prestige) team, while the best goulash was prepared by the Pörkölt Pajtások (Stew Buddies). In the best fish dish competition, the fantastic fish soup from the team Jól van az úgy (Just Right As It Is) was the winner. This year’s new category was won by ElektrikQ-Allstars’ complete three-course menu, with a focus on sustainability and local ingredients.

The most cheerful team was Guar Gumi Free, who have been representing the colors of the vehicle development field at every Cooking Day since 2004 with unbroken enthusiasm. The Food Criminal team served food the most beautifully this year, and the best dressed team was ElektrikQ-Allstars, whose members, since they were preparing Spanish food, wore matador hats and red rose hairpieces, and their purple T-shirts were in one of the iconic colors of the soon-to-debut CUPRA Terramar.

In 2024, the ElektrikQ-Allstars team from the automotive quality assurance industry won the Super Winner Wandering Ladle, which will be engraved twice in a row with the name of the team representing the quality assurance field – for the first time in the history of the Cooking Day.

Kata Vincze-Pellissier let us in on the secret of their success and told us that, as last year, they entered the special category to show their creativity, which this year resulted in a delicious Spanish menu made entirely from local ingredients. The vegetables and fruits were brought from the family orchards and raised beds, and the grilled rabbit meat from a breeder in Kisvár. For the starter, they chose a tasty gazpacho, that is, a Spanish vegetable soup, made with raw vegetables, while the main course was garlic rabbit with Spanish potatoes, grilled spring onions, padron peppers, garlic aioli and Catalan flavored romesco sauces. For dessert, they grilled fruits from their gardens, served with honey, cinnamon and homemade ice cream.

But why did they choose Spanish dishes? The team deals with the quality assurance of electrical and electronic components, so they also contribute to the production of the Spanish CUPRA Terramar made in our company here in Győr. Thus, the women’s headdresses were reminiscent of flamenco dancers, while the men were dressed as bullfighters, which they donned with similar enthusiasm as last year’s retro-themed housecoat.