The big question: what do we serve alongside one of our finest fish?

Did you know that Hungarians have two names for the zander fish, depending on its size? They call zanders that weigh less than 1.5 kilos a ‘süllő’, and any that weigh more than that a ‘fogas’. Zanders live in the great rivers of Central Europe, including the Elba, Oder and Danube. Zanders also thrive in standing water – they can be found at Lake Balaton and several lakes in southern Germany. When it comes to preparing zander, simplicity is to the fore – its flavourful, dry white meat needs to express itself, so it shouldn’t be overpowered by a strong sauce or garnish.

Our chef Dani Bíró serves zander with parsnip and grapes to allow the incredible taste of the fish to take centre stage. Though parsnip is less prevalent in Hungary, it has been a popular ingredient in the cuisine of Western and Southern Europe ever since the Roman era. The vegetable’s most famous Roman fan was Emperor Tiberius, who had the finest parsnip imported from the colder provinces and ate it with meat or fish.