Of the 5 children of János Gundel it was Károly who inherited his father's passion for the catering profession and his gastronomic genius.

After the trade school, he learned the craft in famous restaurants in Switzerland, Germany, England and France from 1900.

Many well-known politicians, artists, and prime exponents of business life were regular guests in his restaurants.

He wrote in foreign languages, gave cooking demonstrations and exhibitions, and popularized Hungarian cuisine, boosting tourism.

'The Gundel Restaurant is a bigger, better publicity from Budapest than a boatload of tourist brochures."