Learn from the best in the industry
Maki Stevenson
The international teaching staff is led by Chef Maki Stevenson, who has twelve years of teaching experience. She qualified as a chef at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in New York, and after moving to Hungary in 2007, she started her own cooking school, Makifood.
Working chefs and pastry chefs
Csaba Ádám
Csaba has a career of more than 25 years in the hospitality industry, or more narrowly, in the kitchen. He ran Olimpia Restaurant for 8 and a half years. His current professional objectives are to refine and promote meat-free cuisine/meals and to strengthen the Four Seasons Budapest unit by 2024.
Szabolcs Barhó
Szabolcs Barhó has worked in the kitchen since he was 16. He graduated in tourism and catering from the Kodolányi János University. He has been working at the Michelin-starred Borkonyha for 8 years. He has staged several times in London, including in two Michelin-starred restaurants of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.
Levente Koppány
As a child, Levente Koppány spent much of his time in the kitchen alongside his mother and grandmother, which naturally led him to the Gundel Catering and Hospitality School. While studying, he gained valuable experience as an intern at Costes. His international career began in 2021, when he reached the final of the San Pellegrino Young Chef competition. In his free time, he loves fishing and foraging for mushrooms and various wild plants. Until 2024, he worked as Head Chef at the Michelin-starred Costes, before taking on the role of Executive Chef at 42 Restaurant, where he worked from 2024 to 2026.
Árpád Babusa
Árpád realized a lifelong childhood ambition when, at the age of 36, he made a career change and enrolled at the Culinary Institute of Europe. He refined his craft through hands-on training in five-star hotels, completed a stage at Borkonyha, and went on to work as a chef at UMO Restaurant and Onyx Műhely. Under the mentorship of Chef Maki, he honed the art of sushi craftsmanship. As of this year, he is a chef at Dani García’s BiBo Budapest.
Dávid Geszler
Dávid Geszler baked his first pancake at the age of 4 – and ever since then, baking and creating have been an important part of his life. He has more than 25 years of professional experience, most of which he gained as a pastry chef in restaurants and 5-star hotels abroad. He is an enthusiastic traveller who enjoys discovering new cultures and gathering inspiration from the flavours of the world. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge, as he believes that love for the profession can be taught. His goal is to pass on his experience and approach to those who want to gain a deeper understanding of the world of baking and cooking.
Dávid Ruff
Dávid Ruff began his culinary career at the age of fourteen in a pastry shop. Over the years, he worked at several of Budapest’s leading restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Costes, as well as Zona, Konyha, Beszálló, and Fáma. He later gained international experience in Southeast Asia as Sous Chef at Qui Cuisine Mixology in Vietnam. After returning to Hungary, he co-founded Ensō and BarBizarre. Today, he is the co-founder and director of Compact Cocktail and also serves as the culinary lead of the international Oceaya project.
Nándor Nagy
Nándor Nagy has always strived to gain the most diverse experience possible in the world of pastry, which has led him to develop extensive expertise across several areas of the profession. His experience includes working as a baker at Vaj and Salt Bakery, as a pastry chef in restaurants such as Laurel Budapest, and as a pastry chef in renowned pastry shops including Chez Dodo, Desszert.Neked, Egy csipet torta, and Süti nem süti.
What he enjoys most about pastry is creating truly exciting and well-balanced desserts from fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced directly from the market. Since 2024, he has been a practical instructor at the Culinary Institute of Europe.
Martin Nádudvari
Martin Nádudvari gained experience in several Budapest restaurants, including Vörös Homár, Four Seasons Kollázs, and Ensō, where he worked as a chef. In 2025, he opened his own restaurant, Yüme. His cuisine focuses on Japanese-French-inspired dishes and homemade ingredients.
Dóra Tallián
Dóra Tallián is a WSET-certified sake sommelier and Regional Manager at World Sake Imports. She has been organizing sake tastings and gastronomy events for over 10 years, with a focus on food and drink pairings and introducing Japanese sake culture. She teaches the “Fundamentals of Tasting” course.
Rezső Hortig
Rezső Hortig is a farmer and cheesemaker from Lajosmizse. Twenty years ago, for the sake of his family’s health, he decided to produce chemical-free food for his family himself. Since then, he has successfully shaped his life and farming around this principle. He believes that cheesemaking is an art, because every wheel of cheese is a masterpiece.
Marianna Pinczés
Marianna Pinczés is a qualified economist and food engineer, and the visionary behind the Grapoila brand. She founded her oil-pressing business at the age of 19. From the very beginning, her work has been driven by waste-free production and creating value. Today, the company offers a wide range of cold-pressed oils, seed flours, seed butters, and natural cosmetics. Her passion for gastronomy remains a defining part of her work to this day. She enjoys experimenting with new ingredients and flavor combinations and is committed to promoting a conscious approach to the use of oils and fats.
István Pénzes
István Pénzes has been working in the hospitality industry for more than 15 years, spending a significant part of his professional career in England, where he gained international experience managing 1- and 2-Michelin-starred restaurants.
His presentations focus on professional service, the importance of attention to detail, and delivering a high-quality guest experience. He believes that excellent service is one of the most important parts of the gastronomic experience.