Ambassador András Kocsis, at the opening ceremony.
By Djoeke Altena.
On February 5th the Hungarian community in the Netherlands gathered at the Hungarian Corner in The Hague for its opening.
The Hungarian Ambassador H.E. András Kocsis, opened the restaurant by ribbon-cutting-ceremony where he spoke the following words:
“There are two types of people here with us tonight: Dutch who love Hungary and Hungarians who love The Netherlands. We have one thing in common, we all love Hungarian food. Upon until now, if I wanted a nice Hungarian dish I simply stayed at home, because my wife is a great cook herself as well. But now it is great to see that we have also another opportunity, which is here in the hearth of The Hague.”
“I can honestly tell you, because I have been living here in The Hague since 2012, that we have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Everything looks great, and I have no doubt that you will be successful in your restaurant.
It is a good sign that there are so many people present here tonight. To cut it short, I wish you all the best and I also want to congratulate you because I know how hard you have worked for this. Thank you once again for presenting to The Hague a little Hungary.”
After the ceremonial opening the guests were able to enjoy live Hungarian music, dances and delicious treats. In the words of co-owner Marco van den Boomgaard: “This evening is not only about food, it is about the Hungarian way of living.”
“It is about giving, sharing and loving traditions. This is a great way to not only present to you Hungarian food but also dances and live music.”
The performing musicians were Marcsi Banda Zenekar and The Hague Hungarian choir (Hagai Magyar Enekkar). Csaladi Neptanc Egyuttes performed traditional Hungarian dances.
The chef prepared delicious Hungarian treats, some of which were inspired by the Dutch cuisine. Guests were able to taste “Bitterballen” filled with paprika cream and goulash, canapé with ham from Mangalitsa pork, canapé with Hungarian salami and boulette from Mangalitsa minced meat and battered boulette from fish.
More information about Hungarian Corner can be found here: www.hungariancorner.nl
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