Mangalica Festival in Budapest
A whole festival dedicated to a type of pig that is born and raised in Hungary, an animal which has been a fundamental part of Hungarian cuisine and that today is protected with supervised breeding of the highest quality: the Mangalica. It´s a pig of considerable size and of a unique appearance that also has long curly hair, almost like a ´funk´ pig. Of course, this is just the appearance because the important thing is the flavour, which is loved by all the people who attend this festival dedicated to this animal year after year.
Hungarian cooking tradition owes a lot to the Mangalica, something which has always been acknowledged, although it was in 2007 that a group of breeding enthusiasts and gastronomical entrepreneurs, as well as the local council, decided to organize a gastronomical festival about the products, sub-products, typical dishes, history, breeding techniques and everything about this type of pig. The result became one of the most popular festivals in Budapest.
The even consists in a large national exhibition of breeders of this type of pig as well as restaurants, chefs, wine stands, regional spirits, sub-products of the Mangalica and producers of honey, cheeses, chocolates and jams. As well as the gastronomical side, there are many activities for children and live music, the latter being a section that grows year after year, focusing on folk, medieval and traditional genres. On the other hand, there´s the cooking competition that can be individual or in group.
To participate in the cooking competition, you will have had to have sent a form well in advance, since nothing goes unplanned with the event organization board. The main thing is to have a large quantity of Mangalica meat, both for cooking in the food stands and in the competition, and this is never a letdown, since there might be too much of it but never too little. Regarding the food that is consumed at the festival, especially the roast food, it´s strictly controlled by the Mangalica National Association so that they don´t come across breeders that do not comply with the rigorous quality controls.
The festival has been taking place for six years in different locations in Hungary, being the biggest festival of the capital, Budapest. In this 2013 edition, it will be moving to Liberty Square due to the commodity of access to the place with public transport and also the commodity of having a large green area there. Also, there will be sheds for the exhibition of the different types of Mangalicas, the most popular ones in the country.
The festival will take place from the 8th to the 10th of February and entry is free, yet another reason to seriously consider visiting Budapest on these dates and enjoy the country´s most typical gastronomy and products. All of this will accompanied by an excellent selection of bands that will liven up one of the most popular winter festivals and, of course, with the best atmosphere, service and warmth on behalf of the people of Budapest.
Luz Obscura
For your commodity, we have apartments in Budapest of many different characteristics and prices. As you can see, we have thought about everything so that you don´t have to miss out on this entertaining and delicious event and so that you can enjoy it just like if you were at home.
