1. ”There’s no way guys that we’re coming home from there without a medal!”
The sentence above was not actually said. One person, however, was convinced about the
truth of it: Norbert Herbst, the teacher of János Xantus Vocational Secondary School for
Tourism, who is smiling gloriously at the world in the photo made at the announcement of the
results of the 2012 Hungarian National Grill Competition organized by the Hungarian
Gastronomic Association. And he has the right to do so as his students really took the –
shiniest – medal. The Xantus-eisberg student team, the ”hard core” of which were Gitidis
Nikos Paskalis and Bálint Zsubory has achieved first place among well-prepared, adult
competitors and the jury emphasized in their evaluation: ”We have never seen work like this
from a school!”
The ones we can race with
The teacher preparing the chemistry team winning an international prize is proudly posing
with the certificate received together, the trainer of the gold medallist water polo champions
jumps into the water after the winning goal with his clothes on…
We are now in a place – in the training kitchen of the school - that might not be the typical
scene for a talk about motivation, pedagogical success and team spirit. However, the
ingredients are not different here from those in a classroom or in swimming pool and the
recipe is also the same: talent must be discovered – for a teacher of Gastronomy actually
behind the counter of the training kitchen even while slicing vegetables – and has to be kept.
According to Norbert Herbst talent can be recognized in being interested and motivated –
moreover, self-motivated. ”At first, I only see that the student is extremely interested in what
we are learning about. The only breakthrough experience they have is that they don’t cut their
fingers while learning the knife technique, but we can see that they think further about what
we are learning. They remember the third, the fourth or the tenth step of the task by
themselves. Then they ask questions. They stay after the class to talk about the techniques and
the recipe ideas. They are the pearls and we can feel that we can go far with them. Or even
race far.”
Motivation can come from a lot of sources. ”I have brought my love for cooking from home, I
was interested in cooking already at a young age” – Nikos says. ”I got carried away by my
stomach. And also the friendship with Nikos – Bálint adds. The other outside impulses fit
very well onto the foundations: experiences like cooking together occasionally with the
friends of the family, a teacher with a strongly inspirational character and of course success –
and sometimes failure.
Cabbage ”reloaded”
”There are certain courses which – I am sorry – I don’t like making. For example I hate
making meals with cabbage from the bottom of my heart” – Nikos admits. ”Maybe, that’s
why they don’t work out well for me.” ”I still did not let him get out of the task” – Norbert
Herbst adds (”Actually he threw the cabbage into the garbage and I had to cook it all over
again” – the boys grin.) ”Ok, ok, but later on who will ask if he likes the baking technique he
has to use to prepare the meal requested by the guest? No one will - I have to let him to be
matured by his failures.” Youngsters like them who are really talented stand out from the
average students by keeping an open mind to endure pitfalls and they are determined enough
to rise above themselves at those times. ”Not to mention that we have carried with ourselves

2. half of the library, interviewed family members and finally the best ideas came from our own
mistakes. The large crepes were torn so we figured we’d fry smaller ones and pile them on top
of one another. Our creation made with Pálinka, which was a smash hit, had also been
preceded by several failed attempts, when suddenly one of us had a flash of wit: foam! Why
don’t we make Pálinka foam?”
We enjoyed creating together
Individual talent is not enough for mutual success. The outside support originating from trust
is also needed, which was provided for the team by eisberg Hungary Ltd. after having been
convinced about the competence and dedication of one of the boys during an incidental joint
cooking session. Besides, of course no matter how talented the team members may be
individually if the value added by the cooperative work is missing. In a cooking competition
the improvisation born from the spark of a moment (”We have invented things even on the
spot!”) and the thorough preparation play an equally important role and due to the heightened
pace such coherence is needed that to quote the words of their teacher – ”they kind of have to
read each other’s mind”.
What made the team work? ”What? Mostly the jokes!” – the boys reply promptly. ”There
isn’t really any other way to survive sweating in the training kitchen at 5 a.m. every morning
for weeks knowing that we have to practice over and over and even for the one hundredth
time making the strudel dough sheets or meat rolls. The preparation was commented on in a
video diary, we had some good laughs when we replayed it afterwards.”
Norbert kindly avoids the question about team building: ”I didn’t build it, it has built itself.
Nikos is very innovative and open to new ideas. He is the engine. Bálint lets Nikos lead, but
not by turning into a puppet, he also has a strong personality. They pulled and inspired each
other and their souls were somehow incorporated in the whole project. My role was to
intervene from the sideline when a conflict occurred. Also my obsession with the
profession… yes, that probably inspired them as well. We shared the joy of creation.”
Not only to discover, also to keep
It is hard to resist asking the eternal and somewhat cliché question so I did not hold back and
asked:”What is a good teacher like in your opinion?” The answers came immediately: ”His
professional knowledge provides security. The fact that he loves so much what he does revved
us up very much during the preparation.” ”We have a cordial relationship, but if it’s needed,
he is strict with us. He is open to our ideas, but he also provides the framework for them and
can keep the discipline as well.” ”His praise is valuable. It feels incredibly good when he is
standing in front of the meal, he tastes it and finally says: ”Hmm, this has turned out really
well, it’s a five (the best grade in Hungary).”
And Mr. Herbst does not give praises easily. ”I assign the most difficult tasks to the
outstanding students and evaluate them according to their own level. I compare their
performance to their potential.” Norbert Herbst is convinced that if someone is skillful, but
not diligent, it is no use forcing the profession on them. ”I know the pitfalls – if someone is
not dedicated, they will be greatly disappointed later on. Only those can remain in this field
who can endure that not every day is about the flash of new, magnificent taste combinations,
but sometimes they have to make 200 of the same roast meat.”

3. At the end of the discussion Norbert Herbst recalls again the experiences of the competition.
”I saw the potential in the guys. They were so much on fire that they knew no obstacles. This
force is the special characteristic of really talented children.” To feed and keep up this fire is
not only the teacher’s task and responsibility. The other pieces of the puzzle: the family
background, the inspiration gained from the experiences and the outside support are all
needed to complete the picture so that the talent should not only be revealed, but could
flourish as well. So that those who are fuelled by that special force inside - whether they are
genius chemists, water polo players or cooks – could not only tread, but race ahead.
-S-Zöld
rész a jobb oldalon:
My mother spent a lot of time in the kitchen and it really made her happy when we ate – and
if on top of that twice as much was left than what was eaten. Maybe, that was where my love
for gastronomy started and this creative, exciting journey is still on.
At the age of fourteen in a dormitory in Szeged, if we wanted to eat well, we had to make an
effort. In the sandwich toaster bought in the GDR more and more special – sometimes really
bizarre – sandwiches were made: a lot of things could fit under the Trappista cheese
(Hungarian semi-white cow’s-milk cheese)… Later on a lot of things cleared up during my
travels. The world is very beautiful and colourful and this is reflected especially well in music
and gastronomy.
Quality meals can only be created from quality ingredients and even the expensive ingredients
are wasted in the hands of people who cook out of responsibility and without passion. Quality
does not (only) depend on money. A good toast with olive oil and tasty tomatoes, or a slice of
bread with goose fat and purple onions is a hundred times more delicious than a trout
overfried in a deep-fryer. Despite the fact that a well-prepared trout is unmatched… The
production of fresh-cut is exactly the same: if one does not seek perfection, for sure they will
not achieve it. Nothing else is required, ‘only’ excellent quality raw materials, expertise,
endeavour and care.
Nikos and Bálint set off on a journey as early as the age of 17: their eyes sparkle with
enthusiasm; they are diligent and know what they want. They have learned by now what it
means to prepare duck breast one hundred times, because it is still not right: sometimes too
rare, sometimes too chewy. This is where their master could help, Norbert Herbst, the true
pedagogue whose professional approach, humility and love for cooking was exemplary for his
students.
In their first competition they were real amateurs: while the other groups brought their
masterpieces that had been elaborately prepared the day before, they got up at night and
started grilling the cheese in the parking lot in Tata at four in the morning. They did not win
the competition, but for me they were already winners.
They understand more and more what is needed for quality in addition to technique: I am glad
we can help their development.
Zoltán Gazsi
Managing Director, eisberg Hungary Ltd.
The fresh-cut producing eisberg Hungary Ltd. has been present on the Hungarian market for
20 years. The plant employing 115 people and producing 5000 tons of finished products
annually is the exclusive supplier for fresh-cut for the McDonalds restaurants in Hungary,
Austria and Slovenia and a market-leader in the Hungarian retail chains.