It was the tenth Pinka Valley Fish Day in Vaskeresztes

2024.07.15. Share

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

It was the tenth Pinka Valley Fish Day in Vaskeresztes

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

At the three locations (Vaskeresztesi Pinka-holtág, Önkormányzati lake, Alpesi Horgásztó) two fishing guards monitored the sportsmanship of the competition and helped each competitor, if necessary. At ten minutes before nine o'clock, the sound of a bagpipe signaled that the feeding could begin, where some had pre-prepared feed, some used their own mixture, confident that they would attract as many fish to the hook as possible. Ten minutes later, after a second blow of the bagpipe, everyone could throw in the hook, and the tense waiting began, possibly retooling, successfully releasing the hook after a bite, and then the fish gathered nicely in the bags. Befitting the jubilee event, the organizers awaited visitors to Vaskeresztes with a variety of fish dishes: the dishes could be tasted against the purchase of a supporter's ticket.

The diversity is well illustrated by the fact that Tamás Karácsonyi and his team prepared eel stew in a traditional Bonyhád stew, while Tivadar Konyher fried deep-fried carp, African catfish and grass carp, and rolled the latter in breadcrumbs enriched with a mixture of his own herbs. It was worth tasting the imaginative dish of Gábor Porteleki and his partner "smoked catfish on a fresh baguette with sweet fruits", which was smoked on beech wood with juniper berries, and this dish turned out to be the best in the fish food category at the cooking competition one year. Csaba Kállai and Ákos Kállai were waiting for the guests at the Pinka Fish tent, they offered home-raised smoked trout fillets with charred potatoes and cream cheese with herbs. This meal was also enjoyed by small children, as they could eat the guaranteed string-free food with confidence and get to know the world of fishy taste.

Zsolt Schvets and Árpád Horváth prepared traditional Baja fish soup and pike stew at the Püspökpusztai Pike Stew cooks' tent, while the chefs of the Balatoni Halgazdokászi 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 when it came to the world of taste: they prepared, among other things, a fish burger, catfish pepper with mutton curd strapacska, fish meatballs, fish balls from Bakony, pond catfish and fresh vegetables, or a Mediterranean fish dish with chickpeas and tomatoes. The range of fish used was also wide: in addition to the traditional catfish, carp, and bream, the teams also used mullet and perch.

At 13:00, the prepared dishes were presented to the jury's table with a tasteful presentation: the judges had a very difficult task this year as well. Not so for the judges of the fishing competition, since only one thing mattered there: the weight of the fish caught on the hook. A good number of bigger and bigger fish came out of the children's bags, and the excited eyes couldn't wait for the scales to settle and to find out what the total weight of the fish was caught. Here the result was already revealed, since at the end, a whole team of children followed the scales and checked how many places the total weight entered next to their own name would be. On the stage of the Alpesi-Fogadó és Borház, the Vaskeresztes Tradition Keepers were the first to perform on the stage of the event space of the Alpesi-Fogadó és Borház.

We see them grow, become more skilled, and become more and more brave during the performance. After the results, Miklós Seregi, 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 promote the consumption of fish in addition to fishing. I think it has succeeded, as more and more people are visiting us." Miklós Seregi began his greeting, then added: the flavor palette that the cooking teams put on the jury's table is getting more and more colorful every year, and it seems that we are already going beyond fish stock and fried bream. "We have been through a lot in recent years, there was covid, economic crisis, but the number of registered fishermen is increasing in Vas county. In connection with the TOP developments, our lakes have been beautified, and the shores have been expanded with many elements, as a result of which we contribute to the recreational activities of the 12,000 anglers, who visit 40,000 lakes." - he added, then wished everyone a good time for the rest of the day.

László Majthényi, the president of the Vas County Assembly, remembered that he was participating in the Pinka Valley Fish Day for the ninth time, which showed that it is not so difficult to create a good tradition. "It needs a good idea, active participants, active supporters, mayors, leaders of sports associations, and supporters and sponsors on stage. The fact that thirty cooking teams entered the tenth Fish Day showed that there is a demand for this event." - pointed out László Majthényi, and then thanked President Miklós Seregi, Executive President Norbert Puskás, and the members of the association for being so active in the Territorial and Urban Development Operative Program in recent years. "Many fishing waters have been renewed in recent years, and the implementation of the third complex tender within the framework of TOP Plusz is currently underway, as a result of which the fishermen of our county and the fishermen who visit here can use renewed quality fishing spots." - he said, and then thanked those who participate in this work. Regarding today's competition, he said that he did not know the results, but he congratulated all those who, in this trying time, stood next to the gas flames, stood next to the cauldrons, and undertook to prepare food for the visitors, which they could take home with them as an experience .

Dr. István Németh, president of the Hungarian Aquaculture and Fisheries Interprofessional Organization, shared his experiences with fish dishes as a jury member of the cooking competition. He also congratulated everyone who stood next to the pots in this heat, and thus also popularized fish dishes. He pointed out that the jury did not have an easy task: "It is very difficult to compare different dishes. Fish soup with fish soup is perhaps easier, but in the mixed food category, where fried fish had to be compared with fish with corn flakes or special cabbage, we can say with confidence: this is a very difficult thing. We tried to remain objective, but subjectivity is inescapable in this category. All in all, I can say that in ten years the teams have gone through a great development curve, the fish dishes are getting better every year, and we take this with sincere pleasure." - he said, then added: "I wish you to regularly eat domestically produced freshwater fish and find joy in preparing fish dishes. Congratulations to everyone who cooked, everyone did an excellent job and we will reward the best of the best.” Dr. István Németh concluded his thoughts.

Before the announcement of the results, Norbert Puskás, the executive president of the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations, expressed his joy at the fact that the event is now taking place for the tenth year. "The association is important, the mayors and partners are important, but the fact that the event was able to survive its tenth year is due to the colleagues and co-workers, the volunteers, the cooking teams and those who have been here with us for the past ten years on occasion, they made it possible. We could count on them every time, and we should definitely remember them today." - he said, and then he thanked the organizations that, in addition to their work or cooperation, contributed financially to the creation of the series of events, and then thanked them for their joint work and help with a wine named after them.

Fishing competition , competitor category:

place: Kádi Szabolcs (Elektromosok SHE)
place: Dániel Sipos (Körmendi Munkás HE)
location: Attila Kádi (Répcelaki HE)

Adult hobby category:

place: Mónika Nagyné Skrapits (Sárvíz-tavi HE.)
place: László Horváth (Körmendi Munkás HE.)
place: Andrea Sántáné Tóth (Körmendi Munkás HE.)

Youth category:

place: Sándor Dániel Soós (Pannonia HE.)
place: Krisztofer Verasztó (Vassurányi SHE.)
place: Dávid Bálint (Körmendi Munkás HE.)

In the fish soup category at the cooking competition, the judges judged the fish soup of the Tógazda Marcali team to be the best, the Püspökpusztai Csukapörkölt cooks came second, while the third place on the podium was the team of the Balatoni Halgazdokászi Nonprofit Zrt. The Püspökpusztai Psukapörkölt Főzők team also won a place in the fish food preparation category, the second place went to Tógazda Zalaszentgrót, while the third place went to the Berek-völgye Hunting Association.

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

Thanks to Attila Barabás's offer, Pinka-Fish's fish meal won a HUF one hundred thousand HUF voucher to the Pálinkárium in Pannonhalm, and MAHAL's special prize went to Májki Szaky's Kitchen: as a result, he can participate in the 48th National Halbőző competition.

After the announcement of the results, the children's programs were led by the Csokigýáros sweets distribution show on stage, and, as every year, a whole kingdom of toys awaited the children in the area behind the Alpesi Fogadó playground. A bouncy castle, folk games, and face painting entertained the little ones, and the balloon clown played around with puppies, kittens, and swords all afternoon. The Körmendi Brass Band created a great atmosphere in the event space, with a taste of the works of Jakob de Haan, Herzog, Roland Kernen and Max Leeman, among others.

They were followed by the children's favorite, Brandnyúl, before whose production it would have been impossible to drop a pin in front of the stage, as the children wanted to occupy the best seats long before the show.

Those who were lucky could have a chat with Brandnyúl, who even took a train ride with the children around the playground. Valuable prizes were won at the raffle again this year, after which the belly dance group Sary Lilyum enchanted the grand prize.

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 love", and all this almost at the same time.

During our conversation before Halas Nap, he confessed: "I consider myself a real classic, old-fashioned actor whose duty it is to tell the phone book in an exciting way", and we can safely say that he succeeded in this on Halas Nap. As he promised, he approached literature from a humorous side, and perhaps he also managed to understand why it's good to get up at dawn, pack up, go to a lake, and then hook a lot of fish, which we then release after a photo.

The day ended with the "Don't play with fire" fire juggling show, and we can say for sure: those who visited Halas Nap were part of diverse gastronomic experiences and colorful stage productions. We hope that this series will continue next year, and that we can experience many more jubilees together in Vaskeresztes.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the successful preparation and organization of the tenth Pinka Valley Fish Day. Special thanks to the visitors who helped make this event so memorable with their presence and support. The many positive feedbacks we received prove that together we created something really special, which has become a tradition nowadays.

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