Gerbeaud History
Perhaps the most beautiful and exciting gift in life is to guard a precious treasure and to further ennoble it. The Gerbeaud is surely one of the most famous gastronomic assets of Hungary. It is a nice gift, but it is also a serious responsibility and a big challenge to manage such a business – while preserving traditions, constantly being renewed. The Gerbeaud legend began with Kugler Henrik in 1858.
1858
Kugler opens his café-confectionery on 14th October on what is now József nádor Square.
1870
Kugler moves his headquarters to today’s Vörösmarty Square. His frothy chocolate coffee, special liqueurs, and sugar bonbons attract the public. Kugler cakes and mignons are in high demand; it is here that they are first packaged on paper trays. He offers the finest ice cream in Pest.
1880
Kugler Henrik—having no successor—asks his acquaintance, the Swiss confectioner Finaz, to recommend a young and talented professional, who suggests Emil Gerbeaud.
1882
Henrik Kugler met Émile Gerbeaud for the first time in Paris and invited him a year later to Budapest in order to make him his business partner.
1890
Emil Gerbeaud is inspired by the shop’s rich history of success and entrepreneurial spirit. He increases the number of assistants from ten to sixty, and in addition employs eighteen to twenty saleswomen, twenty packers, and five delivery workers. He introduces numerous innovations. He expands the confectionery selection with special new products. He creates butter creams, Parisian creams, and similar specialties, more than one hundred types of tea pastries, and confectionery sweets. His ice creams and creams are entirely innovative. By the end of the century, his products are already attracting international interest.
1895
As a master chocolatier, he introduces the “cat’s tongue” and the cherry bonbon (konyakmeggy) to Hungary. The Gerbeaud name becomes a household name.
1896
The Gerbeaud Pavilion opens as a garden restaurant. The Royal Pavilion is built in City Park for the millennium celebrations, to host Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, King of Hungary, and his wife, Empress Elisabeth (Sisi).
1897
Emil Gerbeaud receives the gold medal of the National Industry Association. At the 1898 Brussels and the 1900 Paris world exhibitions, he serves as a jury member. As the only Swiss-Hungarian confectioner, he proudly wears the ribbon of the French Legion of Honour; his career rises rapidly.
1919
After surviving the difficult war years, Emil Gerbeaud passes away on November 8, 1919. His wife, Eszter Ramseyer, continues to take part in running the business until 1940, preserving its high standards.
1948-1984
After the secularization the Café name changed into Vörösmarty, but since 1984 the name Gerbeaud has shined again above the entrance.
1995
Erwin Müller, a German businessman, purchases Gerbeaud Café’s four-story building.
2004
Gerbeaud Gasztronómia Kft. takes over the management of the confectionery in the spirit of tradition and innovation. We consider it our mission to introduce discerning gourmets to new flavors and textures, and to help them discover high-quality products.
2010
We introduce our new brand image and our new cake selection, whose illustrious representatives are the Royal Chocolate and the Salty-peanut-apricot.
2017
In the Cacao Barry chocolate laboratory in France, we personally, in cooperation with local masters, create Or Noir 1858 chocolate, which is made exclusively for us according to our taste: a 71.9% cocoa dark chocolate.
2018
On the occasion of our 160th anniversary, we create the Gerbeaud 160 cake, for which we use Cacao Barry Or Noir 1858 chocolate. Following our traditions, we also use classic Hungarian ingredients such as walnuts and apricots, yet we create our anniversary cake in the spirit of innovation.
2019
In Gerbeaud Café – faithfully to our founder, Émile Gerbead’s innovation – , our guests can taste classic coffee house courses beyond sliced cakes and packaged sweets. Gerbeaud as once, today is still one of the biggest and most prominent confectionery and café in Europe.
2020
The Gerbeaud legend began with Henrik Kugler and continued its journey with Emil Gerbeaud. Their common feature lies in their innovative spirit which made the business extremely popular among Hungarian guests. We have continued this tradition and aspiration with the launch of the Gerbeaud webshop. Our past of more than 160 years and the commitment of our predecessors spurred us to work when we revived the Gerbeaud Webshop, where you can find our complete offer. In addition to cakes and pastries, our handcrafted candies, chocolates, biscuits and our handcrafted, additive- and preservative-free pastries made from the finest ingredients are also available on the site.
2025
The café’s selection and interior are renewed. Alongside classic pastries, alternative versions appear, such as orange Dobos cake or the cherry–poppy seed Gerbeaud slice. The interior is refreshed so that contemporary elegance harmoniously connects with its historical heritage.