Contributed by feature reporter Jens Hoffmann
These are challenging times for the restaurant industry. Cautious spending on dining out and rising labour costs are putting pressure on restaurants everywhere.
And yet, there is reason for optimism — and plenty of room for inspired innovation.
The visitors to the Gastronomica Festival were welcomed by glorious sunshine, wonderful flavours and a refreshing approach to regional cuisine. A course here, a glass of wine there: the pleasure lay in the journey as much as in the food itself. Throughout, one principle remained unchanged: a commitment to seasonal ingredients and the culinary traditions of the region.
The festival also offered a fascinating glimpse into the emerging new cuisine of Transylvania.
A medieval town becomes a dining room
One dinner, eight restaurants and an entire medieval town as the dining room: the inaugural Gastronomica Sighișoara, held in early October 2026, offered a refreshingly unconventional culinary experience.
Guests wandered through the town’s cobbled streets, moving from one course to the next. A culinary passport guided the way, the restaurants provided the dishes, and the historic town supplied the unforgettable setting.
Over three days, 18 dishes and a generous selection of Romanian wines turned the festival into a journey of discovery that reached far beyond the plate.
One moment, a velvety garlic cream soup appeared before us; the next, tochitură — a traditional Romanian meat stew — was reimagined as a crisp croquette served with paprika sauce.
What a delight!
Traditional recipes rooted in Romanian, Hungarian and Transylvanian Saxon culinary heritage met contemporary interpretations. The result was unmistakably local, yet never trapped in the past.
That, perhaps, is where the concept reveals its greatest strength.
Transylvania’s culinary heritage was not presented as a museum piece. Under the guidance of Andrei Bulz, it emerged as a living, evolving and richly layered food culture.
A thoroughly recommendable experience — and a genuine pleasure for anyone who appreciates good food.
Tradition with a contemporary touch
Birdsmilk, Nockerln and madártej — a delicate vanilla custard crowned with airy meringue — tell the story of a region whose cultural connections remain visible on its plates to this day.
Here, the ideas of no waste and the value of time take on a particular significance.
During the cooking demonstrations, chef de cuisine Nicolae Crăciun presented a sauce that takes three days to prepare. Slow cooking, repeated reduction and the careful selection of regional ingredients are at the heart of the process.
The result? A wonderfully aromatic, contemporary interpretation of classic Romanian-Hungarian cuisine.
A dish that achieves its depth not through theatrical effects, but through patience, craftsmanship and respect for its ingredients.
And that is precisely the point: in an age obsessed with speed, some of the finest flavours still need time.
Pop-up dining by the castle
In Sighișoara’s historic citadel, hospitality takes centre stage.
Yet this charming Transylvanian town is far more than a picturesque backdrop. Between historic townhouses and narrow, winding lanes, every change of location becomes part of the experience.
At Hotel Wanderer, regional chefs, producers and guests came together in an atmosphere of conviviality and exchange.
The hospitality was unpretentious, the atmosphere intimate — qualities that are difficult to manufacture and impossible to take for granted.
The festival was brought to life by chefs Robert Birtalan, Nicolae Lihor and Tudor Baca, whose work helped transform an ambitious idea into a memorable culinary event.
The verdict is clear: the ambition to establish Sighișoara as a culinary destination in its own right has succeeded.
This is a town that deserves far more than a brief stop on a journey through Transylvania.
The concept works beautifully. Moving from one course to the next encourages visitors to linger, explore and discover places they might otherwise have walked straight past.
Food becomes a reason to slow down. The town becomes part of the menu. And a meal becomes an experience of place, culture and people.
What a wonderful start to a gastronomic festival!
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves — and we will be back in 2027.
And after all those culinary discoveries, we slept exceptionally well at Hotel Wanderer.
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