The owners of Haraszthy Winery in Etyek, Carlos Coelho and his wife Ingeborg Coelho, opened the WineHub wine centre in December 2022, in the industrial building of the former Goldberger textile factory. Originally from Argentina but living in Hungary for decades, Carlos envisioned a community space that would appeal to both wine lovers and culinary enthusiasts.

Carlos lived in Buenos Aires, but he also feels at home in California – and perhaps it's this spirit of freedom, multiculturalism, and generosity that can be felt throughout the entire complex.

His restaurant, Cut&Barrel in Budapest’s 3rd district, invites guests to discover dishes inspired by both Basque and Latin American culinary traditions.

The concept is reflected not only in the menu but also in the way the food is served. In keeping with Basque gastronomic culture, meals are designed to encourage connection and shared experience – dishes are brought to the table on shared platters, inviting communal enjoyment.

1.  When did you arrive in Hungary and what brought you here?

I first arrived in 1987 with my first wife, Piroska — such a beautiful and very Hungarian name. Her father was a Hungarian gentleman, he was born in Eastern Hungary but emigrated in 1956. They brought me here to Hungary to see their beautiful country, and at that time this felt like a different world.  

I returned again in 1989 to start doing business here, and in 1991 I had a wedding here, in the countryside town of Tiszafüred. Sadly, that marriage ended in divorce in 1996. We had met in the States, and while it was a meaningful relationship, it was complicated — in short, her father was a very strong figure, which made things difficult. However, we had a son together, he was born in 1993. So that’s how I was introduced to this great country and Hungarian culture.

2. Have you ever lived as an expatriate anywhere else apart from Hungary?

Yes, absolutely, I lived as an expat in Los Angeles, and also I was an expat in Geneva, Switzerland. I lived for a total of 12 years in the U.S., I still I still have a residence in L.A., and I fly there quite often since I have a winery in California. As far as Switzerland is concerned, I keep an office there but I no longer wish to live in Geneva, as my memories from there are not so rosy.

3. What surprised you most about Hungary?

To be honest, what surprised me the most was the number of opportunities. I always had the mentality of a pioneer person. So for instance when I went to California in the early 80’s, pioneers were needed. And then when I came here, I saw the same potential. I thought that everything was still possible here in Hungary, and that interested me a lot. Another thing that also captivated my curiosity was that there is a big parallel between the emotions the Hungarians and the Argentinians - there's a lot of things in common.

Also, Argentina is a is a colorful country made out of a lot of cultures, and Hungarians are one of them. Argentina had 48,000 Hungarian families living there from three different sets of immigrations. So Hungary and Argentina really have a lot in common, as the people have a lot in common. I think Argentinians who come here, to Hungary, usually feel very well here. I love Hungary, I have six Hungarian kids here, three are my blood children and three that I have basically adopted because of my third marriage. But they all Hungarians, and they all like to live here, like I do. That's why I love Hungary so much.

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

Well, there's so many things to do in Hungary. You know, I usually entertain guests, I love entertaining people, to be a host. For me, the Buda Castle District is very close to my heart. I have an apartment there 50 m from the Saint Matthias Church. So my business address is in the Castle district, I live there partially, and also in the twelfth district of Budapest.

The cultural offers in Hungary are endless, but I like to take people to see the Castle attractions. From there it all depends of what people would like to do. The city is very colorful, the hospitality is great, I love every aspect of Budapest, and Hungary too. I was a pioneer in the modern Hungarian wine industry, which is why I like to take people out to enjoy Etyek.

5. What is your favourite Hungarian food?

Overall I so like Hungarian cuisine, but if I have to choose one thing, it’s a good gulyás soup - especially how my friend Tamás Széll makes it at Stand, you know the two Michelin star restaurant. He makes something truly amazing, that's one of my all time favorite dishes.

There's been a great evolution of local food while I’ve lived here, you know, Hungarian food in the late 80s, in the late 90s, in the late 2000’s and nowadays has changes a lot.  I would say I have a favourite dish for all those periods.

In the 80’s the most prominent dishes you would eat were the famous paprika dishes, served with galuska, you know most famously Paprikás Csirke. Also the fish soup was something that you couldn't avoid. But a lot of people don't like fish, or paprika, so for some that period was not so good.

In the 90’s, I saw many more great Mangalica dishes on the local menus. Also around this time the disznóvágás and related pork culture became more popular in restaurants - basically the countryside culture started coming into the city, people wanted to have a taste of that in a more sophisticated way.

In the 2000’s, both wines and the distilleries started to pop up with an increasing amount of importance, and that made the Hungarian food scene develop positively as different tastes and styles evolved.

Also in 2000’s, food started evolving more due to the influence of foreign cooks living here. Then Hungary was not only about local tastes but we had a lot of international influence coming in trying to, well, I wouldn't say educate, but to participate in the Hungarain food movement.

And nowadays we live in a land of sophisticated tastes, I would say. Budapest has an eclectic type of Hungarian cuisine scene. Now basically the the sky is the limit, with the introduction of the Michelin system in Hungary over the last decade or so. I mean, now we live in a different food world.

And obviously the local wine industry shares a big responsibility for the evolution of Hungarian food, because the wine industry here, according to both my taste and to my knowledge, has probably now become one of the most important countries in the world of wines.

Hungary is one of the smallest countries with the most wine regions in the world, with a great diversity of soils and an incredible amount of wine making talents. Since the latest technology is here, I would say that some of the wines that we're making in Hungary simply cannot be made anywhere else. And as you may know, like the DOC that France introduced in 1789, Hungary had already had it in 1737.

For sure Hungary adds an important value to the world of wines, and more, which is something that’s often unrecognised by many. Hungarians add not only their talent, but also their pride, which adds a lot to both wine and gastronomy.

6. What is never missing from your refrigerator?

Something very Hungarian, usually tejföl (sour cream).

Also, since nowadays there are a lot of amazing Hungarian cheeses, especially from Etyek, I have some of those in my fridge at home.

Plus we have a diverse range of of bio products, as my wife and me go every Saturday we go to the bio market in the 12th district, and get Hungarian bio products directly from local producers. We go every single Saturday of the year, when we're in Hungary. 

7. What is your favourite Hungarian word?

A kutyafáját! It’s something I heard from my middle son one time, but it came actually from his grandfather who was the vice president of the parliament at one time, and he said it  all the time!

I love that one because, you know, I think it's much better than saying ’ba..d meg’, but it means basically the same! Definetly it's a lot more polite than saying, ’ba..d meg’, but one of the things I really like about ’ba..d meg’ is that you can say it in a positive way as well as in an aggressive rude way.

8. What do you miss most from from Argentina?

Mainly my mother, and my family, and my brother and his family. The rest I bring here myself.

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

Well, I would love to try retiring, and then painting and doing some arts and crafts. I was good at painting when I was a child.

Also, even though I didn't study architecture, I built a lot of prominent pieces of architecture here in Hungary.

You know what, in fact I even have an honoural architectural degree from the Hungarian Institute. An example of such work is my Cut & Barrel restaurant, but I did many projects here, as I was in real estate for a long time here.

Way back I built a home in Los Angeles. Actually my dream house is in Los Angeles, but I built it in Hungary and transported it there in containers - then and then we assembled it there with 14 Hungarian workers. We took them there, because among the various things we do, we have a construction company, and we also own a facility management company.

By the way, I also built the first Culinaris store for Zoltán Bogáthy, his flagship store, which is still here of course, colse by my restaurant in Buda.

10. What's a job you would definitely never want?

To be a divorced man again! Is that a job? Well, yes! Divorced men have a very tough job, you know, say trying to look out for their children when they are not in charge, divorced men have all the duties, all the responsibilities and no joy.

11. Where did you spend your last vacation?

Istria, in Croatia.

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

By now, I think my wife and me have travelled throughout the whole world. But I would like to have a pied a terre in Barcelona. This is part of our shared dream. So spend our last years there.

Also I still love going to Los Angeles. As a matter of fact, LA has an energy I can never shake from my system. I'm going there with my granddaughter for the first time this year.

13. Apart from temptation, what can't you resist?

Passion. I think in life you can change your city, and say you can change your food, or you can change your wife. You can change just about everything in life, except for your passion. And my passion is food. And wine.

And also Boca Juniors. The best soccer in the world it has to be at Boca Juniors, I went there when I was five with my father. Boca Junior is the only team in the world that defeated Real Madrid twice in international cups. The only one. And in three different continents!

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

Honestly, my hobby when I was a teenager was work. I started working at 12 since I enjoyed having money in my pocket from an early age. I learned a lot back then about commerce and about how to work with people, to understand people, and to read people. That was quite a journey of mine, very significant for my life.

The 70’s was the greatest time for music, and I'm a very musical person. I have a very long list of music that I like, you know if you ask my wife, she’ll say the best DJ in the world is me, because I like music so much. From romantic styles to the Rolling Stones, also and The Pretenders. The list is so long…

Midnight Express is a very important film in my life, it helped me understand the concept of freedom. The book that marked my life is called Survive, by Alex Morel. It’s about the Uruguayan rugby team, and their friends and family who were involved in an airplane crash in the Andes in 1972.

15. Red wine or white?

I make red, I make white, and with them I like to fly.

16. Book or movie?

Movies. For example,  The Physician is a film I enjoyed recently.

17. Morning person or night person?

Morning. I used to get up between 4 and 5 every day. Now I wake up at 7 because I like to do ’slow mornings’.

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

Everything!

19. Buda or Pest side?

Buda for living. Pest for fun.

20. What would you say is your personal motto? 

Work hard, play hard, be good, have a good time!