1. Where did you grow up?

In Buda, I was born in the 12^th district, then later we lived in the 2^nd. I went to Virányos Public School, then to Móricz Zsigmond Gimnázium. After that, I followed fashion design studies in Vienna for five years.  

2. If you could be an expat anywhere in the world, where would you choose?

New York, since it is a very open, cultural and colourful city. Or Paris maybe, they are both very fresh and vibrant places, full of culture which is very important to me. I am always impressed when walking around the streets there, it is always so very colourful.
 
3. What would you miss most if you moved to New York?

The European culture. In Hungary you can get invited to somebody’s home and family’s environment quite easily, or shall I say quite early in a relationship, since Hungarians have open doors to friends and are ready to share their private lives.  Abroad, for example from experience in in Vienna, is very different, you might be on very good terms with somebody but they may never invite you into their home.

4. Friends from abroad are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do?

Flea markets! Nowadays it is quite sad that they are smaller than before, and currently mostly closed since there are not too many visitors. It seems in general people are not that interested anymore in antics.

Overall I’d take them on a walk around the city, to see the Synagogue area, the visit any places open around there. Would definitely take them to Ellátó, which is one of my favourites, it’s a very artistic place and foreigners like it. I also very much like going for a walk in the forest around the 2nd district. 

Gellért bath is a bit touristy, the Turkish bath at FRANK here is nice though since I am a woman it is not easy to visit as usually it’s just men allowed in.

5. What is your favourite food?

Shrimps with chili. Seafood in general has always been my favourite, like Oysters - I love them. 

6. What is your favourite sport / form of exercise?

Fencing. My son was a fencer, was in the National Team, he is at the university now, they stopped training now, so he doesn't do any sports after 12 years because of the pandemic. He was a national team member and I followed him to competitions over the weekends around the country. 

7. What is your favourite place in Hungary?

Eger, because my mother and father come from the north of the country and I have relatives around there. When I was a child I spent the summers there, so it feels very familiar. 

8. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?

Psychologist.

9. What’s a job you would definitely never want?

A job at a post office, say, or at an insurance company. Doing the same thing every day for years is something that personally I could not do.

10. Where did you spend your last vacation?

I took a road trip through Europe to London, with my children. As a single mother I did all the driving and enjoyed the freedom of stopping along the way where ever we wanted. We visited France, Belgium, Holland, and France.

We planned to go to the south of Spain, but because of the pandemic it was not possible to make such a long trip. The holiday was really nice, since I did not want to fly we took our car and were able to stop whenever we wanted to. We had some fixed points in Dusseldorf and in Amsterdam to visit friends, the rest was booked on the spot which is so easy these days. 

11. Where do you hope to spend your next holiday?

I would really love to go to Japan. I have three children and each child on their 18th birthday can choose a city for us all to visit. Isabelle my oldest daughter chose New York and we all went there, Patrik has chosen Tokyo so that is where we will go next. 

12. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?

Music: Queen. Film: The streets of San Francisco. Hobby: sewing dresses for myself. 

13. Apart of temptation what can't you resist?

Taking a bite of the birthday cakes of my children, especially at night, Eszterházy is the best!

14. Red wine or white?

Both, it really depends on the situation. 

15. Book or movie?

Watching films, nowadays. Recently I saw The Barbarians, which was released last October, just because I made it 😊 My ultimate favourites are Scandinavian art movies.

16. Morning person or night person?

Morning. 

17. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about?

Discrimination. It’s sad to see in Hungary that if someone has an issue, say with their gender, people often discriminate. It would be great if they were more open to each other, more tolerant, and more open in accepting ‘difference’. Everybody has the right to live their lives as they choose to, no one should judge others in this regard.

18. Buda or Pest side?

Buda. I have a dog as well as children, we like going into the forest, and we enjoy the fresh air. It is also good that most people in Buda are not located so close to each other as they are in Pest. Personally, I would not like to have to go along a house corridor to get to my flat.

19. Which achievement in your life are you most pleased about?

I have two, the first is my children because they are really excellent people.  Secondly, that I had the possibility to follow my father's footsteps in this restaurant. Since my son studies gastronomy, it would be great for him to also join the family business after he has completed his travels around the world. 

20. What would you say is your personal motto?

"Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level. Then beat you with experience" - Woody Allen