Café Gerbeaud facts for kids
Café Gerbeaud is a famous and old coffeehouse in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. It first opened its doors in 1858. You can find it at Vörösmarty tér 7. The building was designed in a style called Gründerzeit, which was popular in the late 1800s. In 2009, Café Gerbeaud even opened another sweet shop in Tokyo, Japan!
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The Story of Café Gerbeaud
How it All Started with Henrik Kugler
The story of this famous café began in 1858 with a man named Henrik Kugler. He was born into a family of bakers and sweet makers. Henrik learned a lot about making delicious treats by traveling and working in eleven different capital cities across Europe, including Paris.
After his travels, he opened his own sweet shop in Budapest. It quickly became known as one of the best places in the city. People especially loved his Chinese and Russian teas, and his amazing ice creations were called "the best ice in Pest."
In 1870, Kugler moved his shop to a better spot, Vörösmarty tér, which was closer to the city center. His customers loved his coffees, sweet drinks, and candies. He was also famous for his "Kugler Pies" and "Mignons." These were special because they were some of the first treats you could take home, wrapped in a paper tray! Many important people visited his café, like the politician Ferenc Deák, the composer Franz Liszt, and even Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who was also the Queen of Hungary.
Emil Gerbeaud Joins the Team
In 1882, Henrik Kugler met a talented young man named Emil Gerbeaud while traveling in Paris. Kugler was very impressed with Emil's skills and business ideas. In 1884, Kugler invited Emil to Budapest to work with him. Eventually, Emil Gerbeaud took over the shop bit by bit, but he kept the original "Kugler" name for a while.
Emil Gerbeaud also came from a family of sweet makers. He was born in Geneva and learned his craft in Germany, France, and England. Emil brought many new ideas to the café. He added lots of new treats, like different kinds of butter creams, Parisian creams, hundreds of small cakes, and various candies, including cherry candy.
To make all these new items and serve his many customers, he hired a large team. By 1899, he had about 150 employees! Many people came to Budapest just to learn from Emil Gerbeaud. He was also very good at business and made sure the bakery had modern machines. Because of this, the name Gerbeaud became known for high quality and amazing baking. He also continued Kugler's tradition of using special paper boxes for takeaway pies, and he even designed these boxes himself.
International Fame and Awards
Emil Gerbeaud became famous around the world. He was asked to be a judge at the Brussels world fair in 1897 and the Paris world fair in 1900. At the Paris fair, he received a very special award called the Legion of Honour, which is one of France's highest honors. He also won many other awards from different countries.
After Henrik Kugler passed away, Gerbeaud created a company called ‘Kuglers Nachfolger Gerbeaud AG’ (which means Kugler's Successor Gerbeaud PLC) to keep the business going. He cared about good working conditions and even started using cars for deliveries alongside horse carriages from 1909.
The Beautiful Interior and Later Years
In 1910, Emil Gerbeaud worked with Henrik Darilek to design the inside of the café. They used beautiful materials like marble, special woods, and bronze. The decorations on the ceiling were made in the fancy Rococo style, inspired by the time of Louis XIV of France. The hanging lights were inspired by Maria Theresa of Austria. Guests could sit at elegant French tables or more modern Secessionist tables that Gerbeaud brought from the world fair in Paris. Even during World War I, the company managed to keep going.
Emil Gerbeaud died in 1919. His wife, Ester, took over the business and ran it until 1940. In 1948, the café became owned by the government and was renamed "Vörösmarty," after a famous Hungarian poet named Mihály Vörösmarty. It kept this name until 1984, when it finally got its original name, "Gerbeaud," back.
In 1995, a German businessman named Erwin Franz Müller bought "Gerbeaud." He spent a lot of time and effort to make it look new again. All the changes from the past 50 years were removed, and today, the café looks just like it did when Emil Gerbeaud first designed it.
Images for kids
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The confectionery
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One of the saloons
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Café Gerbeaud (inside)
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Cake menu
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Cake menu
