If you enter the poorest peasant house or the richest villa in Hungary you will more likely than not be treated like royalty and shown the greatest hospitality. The Hungarian hospitality is second to none. It never ceases to astound me that if you call in to see someone, even if you have not let them know previously of your visit, you will be welcomed with a table full of refreshments.
Hungarian housewives pride themselves on being able to offer delicious, freshly home-baked delicacies to any visitor who drops by. I have often wondered how they have the time to keep baking all these things until you realise that a Hungarian housewife’s day starts long before the rest of the household gets up in the morning.
Whatever time of the day it is you will also be offered coffee – very strong Turkish coffee which is served in tiny cups.
I remember, when I first visited Hungary in 1970, after dinner I was offered Turkish coffee which to me was just a very sweet, thick, dark brown liquid. It was the first time I had tasted it and I thought it was delicious. I was warned not to drink too much of it but I ignored advice and had 5 cups. What a stupid thing to do – I didn’t sleep for 2 days & nights – I didn’t do that again.
If you happen to be in the house when it is dinner time (which can be from 11am onwards, depending how early the household rises in the morning) you will be expected to eat with them. A refusal will be seen as an insult.
It is normal for the food to be put into serving dishes on the table and you will be expected to help yourself.
In England if you help yourself to food you would normally take the amount you require for that course and when you have finished you don’t very often go back for more – perhaps the men would but women seldom do.
My first big mistake! In Hungary if you don’t go back for a second helping the hostess will think you didn’t like her cooking. It took quite a few meals, where afterwards I was hardly able to rise from the table, to remember to take just a little for the first helping so it left room for the second but I do refuse a third.
I can remember reading an article about Hungary in a past century and it said that the host weighed his visitors before they came to stay and if at the end of their stay they had not put on so many kilos of weight he thought they had not enjoyed their stay and was insulted as he was not a perfect host.