The home cooking class was so much fun. It was the highlight of my trip to Europe. I learned so much more than Hungarian cooking. I learned about the culture as well. I will be taking another class when I am back in Hungary.

We had an amazing time being guests in a local home and cooking authentic Hungarian dishes with Agatha. It was laid back and tons of fun to learn about Hungarian cooking and culture.

This traditional cooking has some interesting advantages, in that the ingredients are widely available and there aren't so many steps that you couldn't make this on a regular basis at home, eating well without taking so much time out of your busy schedule.

The class itself was great. Agnes is warm and inviting, and knows her history and culture as well as the actual aspects of cooking. She's as willing to help with the basics such as knife skills, important steps like tempering, as well as l learning the techniques of the dishes themselves. In addition to the actual food we were preparing, we got to sample local produce, and of course palinka.

Another nice feature is the location. It's actually not far from where my tourists will be staying and touring, but it's still a short walk away from the river on the Buda side. Most people never venture beyond the castle, so we had a nice, short work into the really beautiful neighborhoods at the start of the hilly area.

Agnes was an exceptional guide. We started the day at the Central Market where we explored local foods and treats and then visited many of the stalls to learn about Hungarian crafts and products. We then returned to the first floor to gather ingredients for our cooking class as well as sampling some additional treats - from cherry bon-bons, to cottage cheese candy bars to savory strudels. Agnes also explained about the mushroom examiner at the market which was truly fascinating. We then returned to the flat where Agnes provided us with a wonderful atmosphere to cook. Agnes adjusted the menu to accommodate my sister's vegetarian requirements and still created a tasty and traditional menu. Throughout the afternoon, Agnes provided us with insights into Hungarian traditions from explaining the local liqueurs to names days. It was a fabulous way to spend a day in Budapest! I would highly recommend this tour and would do it again when I return to Hungary.

Our trip to Budapest was an extended weekend spa hotel visit to the Hotel Gellert, not our first visit to this exciting city and on a previous visit we had seen that there was a Hungarian cookery class course, with a visit to the food market
Our spec from from Agnes was that we should meet up at the market at 09:00, where Andrew would meet us and guide us through the market while we bought all the ingredients for our pre-chosen courses, the cookery glass offers a large selection of traditional Hungarian dishes, all which are possible to make on the day course
We know the markert well, but shopping together with Andrew was a whole new market experience, learning about the traditional Hungarian ingredients, buying local and not foreign vegtables, what cuts of meat to get for the dishes that we had chosen, tastings with the stall holders, local cheeses and good advice on where to buy Hungarien salami and sausage, which evolved into a salami hunt through the market until we found Andrew’s recommended salami choice
After our market breakfast (don’t eat any breakfast before you go, the stallholders are very generous) we headed for the kitchen
After a short taxi trip we arrived across town where we would spend the rest of the day preparing our meals, the prepping started with a plum palinka...a good start...
We enjoy cooking and it was hands on from the start, with professional guidance from Andrew on how to prep, how much paprika to add to get the correct flavour and loads of good tips passed on from his grandfathers ‘tried and tested’ recipes
Our choice was, Goulash, chicken paprika, and cottage cheese pancakes, we prepped all the veg and meat and slowly started to prepare the courses, helped along with a glass or two of wine, lots of interesting chat and insider info on Budapest and Hungary
Andrew had check on everything and in no time the first two courses were ready, soft silky Goulash soup, with just the right bite, suculent chicken paprika in a rich sauce, we retired to the table to enjoy the results. For our pancake finish, we cooked crepes, with local cottage cheese, lemon and double cream
Old style cooking with old style flavour, which you can only learn from a professional cooking from the heart
We had an awesome day and returned to our hotel, together with our present of a Speatzie noodle maker, which we will have great use for after our fantastic day learning how to make the real thing, an absolute must for all foodies

Great way to learn about Hungarian food and taste authentic local specialities. We used the knowledge we gained during the rest of our trip to avoid touristy food elsewhere.