Ràcz Jenő

"When I walk past a vegetable, when I smell certain vegetables, when something catches my eye, when I see differently formed shapes. Then the feeling of what I could prepare with that raw material immediately hits me.”
 
Rácz considers his style to be avant-garde; there are no rules, and he likes to cook without anything binding him. Inspiration comes from many facets in his life.
The most important aspect, Rácz says, is that one should operate with a strong understanding of the foundations. “Just like a painter,” he explains, “if they know which color to mix with which and how they can bring that onto the canvass, then from there on out everything comes from the imagination.”
 
While there have already been Michelin star restaurants in Budapest, Jenő Rácz alone is the first Hungarian to have been awarded a Michelin star abroad. Rácz became the chef of the Taian Table in Shanghai in 2016, which was awarded a Michelin star three months after its opening. Thanks to his leadership, it was able to maintain that title for the next two years.
 
Things have changed in the modern world, Rácz says, referring the changing atmosphere around the culture of cooking. Nowadays he is meeting young people, five, ten, fifteen years old, who want to become chefs someday. This is excellent in his opinion, since it means an entirely different generation is growing up “which looks at gastronomy as an artform."
The most important aspect, Rácz says, is that one should operate with a strong understanding of the foundations. “Just like a painter,” he explains, “if they know which color to mix with which and how they can bring that onto the canvass, then from there on out everything comes from the imagination.”
 
While there have already been Michelin star restaurants in Budapest, Jenő Rácz alone is the first Hungarian to have been awarded a Michelin star abroad. Rácz became the chef of the Taian Table in Shanghai in 2016, which was awarded a Michelin star three months after its opening. Thanks to his leadership, it was able to maintain that title for the next two years.
 
Things have changed in the modern world, Rácz says, referring the changing atmosphere around the culture of cooking. Nowadays he is meeting young people, five, ten, fifteen years old, who want to become chefs someday. This is excellent in his opinion, since it means an entirely different generation is growing up “which looks at gastronomy as an artform