Saturday - must be the day of our cooking class. We were to meet our guide/instructor at 8:30 in the morning at the Burger King across the street from the main market. The plan was to have breakfast and then tour the market.
The Central Market is the largest in Budapest and it is VERY large. The building was completed around the beginning of the 20th century. The distinctive roof is made of Zsolnay tiles which also were used for the roof of the Matyas Church which we saw our first day in Budapest.
We had breakfast at one of the stalls on the second floor. For breakfast we sat at a high top table and had Langos which is a deep fried flat bread. Some people call it Hungarian pizza. You can have your choice of toppings - I chose just cheese. It was good but VERY greasy.
After breakfast, our instructor, Marti, went back across the street to meet another couple who were joining us for the tour of the market. Then it was off on the tour.
You can find anything you would possibly want or need (and a lot more) for cooking a meal. Lots of beautiful, fresh produce. Fish, meat, spices, utensils, pots, pans, and various other cooking equipment.
Look at the lower left corner of the picture on the right and see the tubes of paprika. There are MANY different varieties of paprika.
Not only is there anything you might need but you can get it in almost any language. Click on the picture below and look at the packets for "Hungarian Gulash".
The Chefparade cooking school facilities were excellent. We had 4 cooking stations. Ingredients, utensils, pots, pans and everything needed was set out at each station.
Above you can see Granny preparing herself mentally for this experience. Next we have Marti giving Granny some instruction prior to beginning. Then it's time to roll out the dough for the desert and of course you have to taste what you are preparing.
Look at those chopped veggies ready for the main course. I did some of that chopping! And just to prove that I did more than just the eating, Gary Schine, one of our classmates, provided me with the picture on the right.
Because we were the first to make a reservation, we were able to select the menu. Below left you can see the completed meal ready for consumption. On the left is Gerbeaud cake, in the pots are Sour Cherry Soup and Chicken Paprikash, and in the bowl is spaetzle or noodles. I don't want to brag but it was DELICIOUS!!
We did a pretty good job of finishing off the food but even so there was a bit left. Our instructor, Marti, was left with the job of cleaning up.
It was a short taxi ride from the market to the Chefparade Cooking School facility.
