The tenth Pinka Valley Fish Day was held in Vaskeresztes

2024.07.15. Share

The Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations organized the Pinka Valley Fish Day for the tenth time, which initially started as a program to promote the consumption of fish dishes, but has now become a true gastronomic specialty on the county's program palette.

The tenth Pinka Valley Fish Day was held in Vaskeresztes

With its cultural and children's programs, it is one of those events that truly appeals to everyone, and every year it manages to show something new and more colorful than the previous one. This year was no different. The 10th Pinka-völgy Fishing Day began early on Saturday morning with the drawing of the fishing competition. Anglers measured their knowledge and luck in three categories (hobby, competitive, youth). Norbert Puskás, the executive president of the Vas County Federation of Sport Fishing Associations, greeted the participants, then Milán Tóth explained the rules and drew attention to the most important information.

At the three locations (Vaskeresztesi Pinka-holtág, Ömkörmányzati tó, Alpesi Horgász-tó) two fishing guards monitored the sportsmanship of the competition and were there to help each competitor if needed. Ten minutes before nine o'clock, a horn sounded to signal that the baiting could begin, where some people prepared bait in advance, others used their own mixture, hoping to hook as many fish as possible.

Ten minutes later, after a second horn, everyone could cast their hook, and the tense wait began, possibly refitting, successful release of the hook after a bite, and then the fish gathered nicely in the bags. In keeping with the anniversary event, the organizers welcomed visitors to Vaskeresztes with a variety of fish dishes: the dishes could be tasted in exchange for purchasing a supporter ticket.

The variety is well illustrated by the fact that Tamás Karácsonyi and his team prepared eel stew in a traditional Bonyhád pot, while Tivadar Konyher fried fried carp, African catfish and grass carp, rolling the latter in breadcrumbs enriched with his own mixture of green spices. It was worth trying the imaginatively named dish of Gábor Porteleki and his partner “smoked catfish on a fresh baguette with sweet fruits”, which they smoked on juniper berry beech wood, and this dish proved to be the best in the fish dish category at the cooking competition one year. Csaba and Ákos Kállai awaited the guests at the Pinka Fish tent, offering smoked trout fillets from their own farm with charred potatoes and cream cheese with green spices. The small children also enjoyed tasting this dish, as they could eat the guaranteed bone-free dish with confidence and get to know the world of fishy flavors.

Zsolt Schvets and Árpád Horváth prepared traditional Bajan fish soup and pike stew at the Püspökpuszta Csukapörkölt cooks' tent, while the cooks of the Balatoni Halgazdák Nonprofit Zrt., Ferenc Fodor, Imre Molnár and Zoltán Jankovics, cooked fish soup made from carp in their cauldrons. The cooking teams were not left behind in terms of taste either: they prepared, among other things, fish burgers, catfish paprika with sheep's curd strapacska, fish fillet, Bakony fish dumplings, Tócsni catfish and fresh vegetables, or a Mediterranean fish dish with chickpeas and tomatoes. The palette of fish used was also wide: in addition to the traditional catfish, carp and bream, the teams also used mullet and pike perch.

At 13:00, the dishes were served to the jury with a tasteful presentation: the judges had a very difficult job this year as well. Not so for the weighers of the fishing competition, as there was only one thing that mattered: the weight of the fish caught on the hook. A good number of larger fish came out of the children's bags, and the excited eyes could not wait for the scales to adjust and to find out what total weight of the fish they had caught. The result was already revealed here, as by the end a whole group of children followed the weighers, wondering what place the total weight written next to their own name would be enough for. The Vaskeresztesi Tradition Keepers performed first on the stage of the Alpesi-Fogadó és Borház event space, the youngest ones - we can say - are growing up almost before our eyes, as they are sure to be performers on the Fish Day every year.

We see that they are growing, becoming more skilled, and becoming more courageous during the performance. After the results were announced, Miklós Seregi, the president of the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations, greeted the participants. “Ten years ago, we started Fish Day as an event with which we wanted to popularize fish consumption in addition to fishing. I think we succeeded, as more and more people are visiting us.” – Miklós Seregi began his greeting, then added: the palette of flavors that the cooking teams put on the jury table is becoming more colorful every year, and it is clear that we are already looking beyond fish soup and fried bream. "We have experienced a lot in recent years, there was Covid, an economic crisis, but the number of registered anglers is increasing in Vas County. Our lakes have been beautified due to TOP developments, and the shores have been expanded with numerous elements, as a result of which we contribute to the recreational activities of the forty to fifty thousand people who visit the lakes in addition to the twelve thousand anglers," he added, and then wished everyone a good time for the rest of the day.

László Majthényi, the chairman of the Vas County Assembly, recalled that he was participating in the Pinka Valley Fish Day for the ninth time, which showed that it is not that difficult to create a good tradition. “You need a good idea, active participants, active supporters, mayors, sports association leaders, and supporters and sponsors on stage. The fact that thirty cooking teams applied for the tenth Fish Day showed that there is a demand for this event.” – László Majthényi pointed out, and then thanked President Miklós Seregi, Executive President Norbert Puskás, and the members of the association for being so active in the Regional and Settlement Development Operational Program in recent years. “Many fishing waters have been renewed in recent years, and the third complex tender is currently being implemented within the framework of TOP Plusz, as a result of which the fishermen of our county and the fishermen visiting here can use renewed quality fishing spots.” – he said, then thanked those who are participating in this work. Regarding today's competition, he said that he does not know the results, but he congratulates all those who, in these trying times, stood by the gas flames, stood by the cauldrons, and undertook to prepare food for the visitors that they can take home with them by tasting.

Dr. István Németh, president of the Hungarian Aquaculture and Fisheries Professional Association, shared his experiences with fish dishes as a member of the jury of the cooking competition. He also congratulated everyone who stood by the pots in this heat and thus popularized fish dishes. He pointed out that the jury did not have an easy task: “It is very difficult to compare different dishes. It is perhaps easier to compare fish soup with fish soup, but in the mixed dish category, where fried fish had to be compared with corn chips, special cabbage slices with fish, we can safely say: this is a very difficult thing. We tried to remain objective, but subjectivity is unavoidable in this category. Overall, I can say that the teams have gone through a great development curve in ten years, the fish dishes are better year after year, and we take this with sincere pleasure.” – he said, then added: “I wish you to regularly consume domestically produced freshwater fish and to find joy in preparing fish dishes. Congratulations to everyone who cooked, everyone prepared excellent dishes, and we will award the best of the best.” – concluded Dr. István Németh.

Before the results were announced, Norbert Puskás, the executive chairman of the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations, expressed his joy that the event is now in its tenth year. “The association is important, the mayors and partners are important, but the fact that the event was able to celebrate its tenth year was made possible by the colleagues and staff, the volunteers, the cooking teams, and those who have been with us every single time for the past ten years. We could count on them every time, and we must definitely remember them today.” – he said, then he gave special thanks to those organizations that contributed financially to the creation of the event series in addition to their work or cooperation, and then thanked them for their joint work and help with a bottle of wine.

Fishing competition , competitor category:

place: Szabolcs Kádi (Electricians SHE)
place: Dániel Sipos (Körmendi Workers' Union)
place: Attila Kádi (Répcelaki HE)

Adult hobby category:

place: Aunt Mónika Skrapits (Sárvíz-tási HE.)
place: László Horváth (Körmendi Workers' Union)
place: Andrea Sántáné Tóth (Körmendi Workers' Union)

Youth category:

place: Dániel Sándor Soós (Pannonia HE.)
place: Kristofer Verasztó (Vassurányi SHE.)
place: Dávid Bálint (Körmendi Workers' Union)

In the fish soup category of the cooking competition, the judges judged the fish soup of the Tógazda Marcali team to be the best, the second place went to the Püspökpuszta Csukapörkölt cooks, while the third place went to the team of Balatoni Halgazdálkódasi Nonprofit Zrt. In the fish dish preparation category, the Püspökpuszta Csukapörkölt cooks also won first place, the second place went to Tógazda Zalaszentgrót, while the third place went to the Berek-völgye Vadásztársaság.

The County Association also awarded two special prizes, and the Karajtépők and Melluszony teams also received gift packages.

Attila Barabás's fish dish Pinka-Fish won a one hundred thousand forint voucher to the Pannonhalma Pálinkárium, and the MAHAL special prize went to Májki Szaky's Kitchen: as a result, it can participate in the 48th National Fish Cooking Competition.

After the announcement of the results, the children's programs were led by the Chocolate Factory candy distribution show on stage, and as every year, a whole kingdom of toys awaited the children behind the playground of the Alpine Inn. A bouncy castle, folk games, and face painting entertained the little ones, and the balloon clown was folding the puppy, kitten, and sword all afternoon. The Körmendi Brass Band created a great atmosphere in the event space, playing works by Jakob de Haan, Herzog, Roland Kernen, and Max Leeman, among others.

They were followed by the children's favorite, Brandnyúl, whose performance was so popular that not a single pin could be dropped in front of the stage, as the children wanted to take the best seats long before the show.

Those who were lucky enough to have a cuddle with Brandnyúl, who also took the children on a train ride around the playground. The raffle draw also gave away valuable prizes, after which the Sary Lilyum belly dance group enchanted the audience.

They were followed by Áron Sövegjártó's solo evening, "Vers mindenÁron", which was a real, entertaining, sometimes serious, often humorous performance, in which the actor of the Madách Theater sang, recited poetry, involved the audience, "confessed his love", and all of this almost simultaneously.

During our conversation before the Fish Day, he confessed: “I consider myself a true classic, old-fashioned actor, whose duty is to narrate the phone book in an exciting way,” and we can confidently say that he succeeded in this on the Fish Day. As he promised, he approached literature from a humorous perspective, and perhaps he also managed to understand why it is good to get up at dawn, pack up, go to a lake, and then, after a long time, hook a fish, which we then release after taking a photo.

The day ended with the fire juggling show "Don't Play with Fire", and we can say for sure: everyone who visited the Fish Day was part of both diverse gastronomic experiences and diverse stage productions. We hope that this series will continue next year, and that we can experience many more anniversaries together in Vaskeresztes.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to the successful preparation and organization of the tenth Pinka Valley Fish Day. Special thanks to the visitors who contributed to making this event so memorable with their presence and support. The many positive feedback we received proves that together we created something truly special, which has become a tradition today.

More pictures are available here:
1. Georgina Nagy's pictures (199 pieces) >>>

2. Martina Varga's pictures: (210 pieces) >>>

3. Pictures of colleagues and volunteers: (148 pieces) >>>