If you’re in the centre of Mohács, the Szekeres Confectionery, just opposite the bus station, is a must-see. The more than half-century-old confectionery is the place where from opening to closing there’s always someone representing the family behind the counter. Their secret is that, while preserving traditional recipes and artisan techniques, they are open to innovations such as modern desserts and decorative elements, but they have also had the strength and energy to redecorate the restaurant space with the help of Coninvest, and in the near future they plan to completely renew and transform the workshop, also using Coninvest’s knowledge, range of tools and the creativity of its professional team.

We talk to Daniel Szekeres, a representative of the third generation of confectioners, about the renovation that has already been completed and the upcoming tasks, and we also talk to him about the main characters of their confectionery, the sweets they make.

Looking at the range of confectionery on offer and the exciting design of the dining area – you are struck by the many delicious desserts. Traditional delicacies blend well with “new wave” desserts.

I started to introduce the latter line. In the days of my mother and grandparents before her, the desserts we now offer were not in fashion, of course, alongside the old familiar flavours. However, what we always insisted on – and still do – is that we have always tried to bring back the old coffeehouse atmosphere in our confectionery, which creates a relaxed, intimate and familiar ambience. A place where it’s nice to sit down and where it’s a pleasure to enjoy a delicious cake or an ice cream composition with a matching coffee, soft drink or accompaniment, either with family, friends or acquaintances, or just stopping by on the way.

Ice cream season is coming.

We are also very much preparing for it. Although, vanilla and caramel are still the king in our house – we won the “Ice cream of the year” competition in 1999 with these. We still make it the same way as we did when we won.

And what about the cake line? Isn’t the public open to new flavours, unusual pairings and ways of making them?

We like to experiment in this area, although the people who come to us tend to look for traditional products. For example, “Dani’s favourite” is a big hit not only with our guests, but also with me – that’s why I named it “Dani’s favourite”. It’s actually a cooked vanilla custard loosened with cream on a bed of caramel sponge cake, topped with pureed strawberries.

The guest area has been renewed – can you tell us what happened?

The interior design was done by the Coninvest team, led by interior designer Veronika Nagy. She said that when they first entered the guest room, they felt like they had stepped back in time – the atmosphere was of the 80s and 90s. They sat down with us and together we discussed what we wanted. We said that we wanted a modern, clean interior, but we wanted it to be done in a way that still retained the coffeehouse feel of the confectionery. So the professionals designed an interior with light colours, natural wood surfaces, chairs, tables, benches and a modern counter system and cake display cabinets bought from Coninvest. The complete redesign took nearly two months, but fortunately the professionals made sure to include dark green details in the new design – keeping the traditional character that suggests elegance, as we requested. The result is a unified, harmonious guest space that both we and, most importantly, our guests love. That’s why we decided to call on the Coninvest team again to design our new kitchen and carry out the implementation of our next big project, the complete transformation of the workshop.

Where can designers start here?

The entire lighting system will definitely need to be renewed, and new flooring is needed, because the old one is very outdated. We would also like to buy new machines for the workshop, for example an ice cream machine.

If Mohács, then busójárás – the Szekeres Confectionery is obviously full, as are all the shops and accommodation in town, as Mohács and its surroundings are full of tourists for the winter holidays.

This is exactly right. When the restaurant was renovated, we had to be open again for the busójárás season – only with takeaway option-, which is when we have the highest traffic. By the way, we residents of the town love these days too, and most of us have even worn busó costumes and walked the streets of the town. That was me. When I was a boy, I got a mask, and I would go out with my grandfather to the streets to march with the others in the hustle and bustle, to scare the winter away. That was then, many years ago, and every year since then, we, the people of Mohács, have managed to do it.