(source: TASR)
BRYNDZOVÉ halušky, a Slovak dish consisting of sheep-cheese and potato dumplings, has become a symbol of Slovak traditional food, and is celebrated each year at the Halušky Turecká Festival in the municipality of Turecká, near Banská Bystrica (which is said to be where the dish originated). The festival debuted in 1995 and was conceived by “the Father of Halušky” Svetlan Turčna to celebrate the unique dish. Over the years it has developed into a Slovak and European-wide bryndzové halušky cook-off competition that has grown to include a variety of cultural and entertainment programmes.
This year, the Halušky Turecká festival was organised on June 29 and 30, and the competition included a new category – assessing the quality of bryndzové halušky. This year was the first time the festival hosted the Slovak and European Championship in Cooking and Eating Bryndzové Halušky.
Teams of four competed in two categories: cooking and eating bryndzové halušky in the shortest amount of time; and the second, new category – the quality of the dish as assessed by a culinary committee. Turecká mayor Ivan Janovec told the TASR newswire that they judged the dishes on the flavour and the form of halušky, as well as the overall presentation.
In the first category, the local team from the Krčma u Maka inn won, while the second category was dominated by a team of city police from Banská Bystrica, Mesto BB “MSP”. “It was crucial for us to make simple, pure halušky,” Ľubomír Piterka of the team said. Although they explained they used bryndza, bacon and a bit of sour cream for the meal, Piterka claimed they also use a secret ingredient which he refused to reveal.
An estimated 3,000 people in total attended the two-day event, in which17 teams participated.
