Kocsonya (koh-tsoh-nya) means meat jelly, in Hungarian. But don’t be deceived by its name, the Miskolc Kocsonya Festival is way more than a celebration of this wobbly local specialty. This cultural-culinary carnival aims to introduce the colorful faces of this Northern Hungarian town, travelling through eight centuries of its history and culture.

The festival, starting February 19th, will take over the entire center of Miskolc, offering a range of cultural performances bringing the history and legends of the town alive. There’ll also be contemporary acts, as well as a jolly bazaar vibe at an artsy-crafts market. And meat jelly galore, of course.

Wonder what all the fuss in Miskolc about meat jelly is all about? Well, once upon a time, a frog jumped into a bowl of kocsonya cooling in the cellar of a Miskolc restaurant, and an unsuspecting waitress served it to guests. Since then, the expression “Blinking like the frog in the Miskolc meat jelly” has come into common usage in Hungary, to refer to someone giving a confused look. So, Miskolc is deffo the place to head to enjoy this pre-formed treat (hopefully without the frog this time), and now’s the season!

Staying true to the legend of the blinking frog, the organizers are all geared up with an arsenal of different kinds of meat jelly. More than 40 different types will be on show, in fact! Not a fan of trembling, savory snacks? There’ll be plenty of lip-smacking Magyar bites, the likes of the Miskolc lacipecsenye, a special type of Miskolc roast, plus divine nectars of the region.

The festival attracts upwards of 200,000 people to the scenic streets of Miskolc every year – a fun (and quirky) opportunity to visit this beautiful part of the country in the crisp winter weather. For the more ambitious, enter the meat jelly cooking contest and get judged by the region’s meat jelly experts. Or, watch dogsled races, the traditional running competition for waiters (aye, in uniform with a mug of mulled wine on their trays; hilarious, trust us), an ice sculpture competition and live musical performances (indoors, phew)!

This year’s added bonus is the so-called festival-coupon that you can buy in advance to optimize your expenditure and still make the most out of the festivities (you can use it for numberless services, from accommodation to eating out and expect huge discounts!).   Bring along friends and family and mingle with the merry crowd in marvelous Miskolc at the 10th Jubilee Miskolc Kocsonya Festival!

February 19-21         10th Meat Jelly Festival  

Miskolc - town center   Tel.: +36.46.508.806   www.kocsonyafesztival.hu  (Hun, Eng, Ger)