Bence Dalnoki was born to be a chef, but he didn’t know it until high school, after attending a seminar entitled “Introduction to hospitality”. On obtaining his high school diploma, he applied to the Taverna Hospitality and Tourist School, and went on to begin his apprenticeship at Fausto’s Ristorante in Budapest. There he met Frigyes Vomberg (who was the trainer for the Hungarian team that won the 2016 Bocuse d’Or Europe); that was his first venture into this field, one that he would never leave again thanks to Tamás Széll, for whom he became one of the second commis chefs during those months of training. He took part in the Bocuse d’Or as a second commis chef for the 2016 European selection in Budapest, alongside Tamás. Two weeks after the victory, to his great surprise, Tamás hired him to work at the Onyx restaurant. After a short detour in the region of Lake Balaton, at Kistücsök, a landmark restaurant that has earned a Bib Gourmand award in the region, he returned to Budapest when Tamás Széll and his partner Szabina Szulló, both of whom have been true mentors for Bence, opened their first restaurant, Stand25 Bistro. Then came an almost inevitable development: he joined the brigade at the Stand Restaurant (Michelin 2*), where he is now the sous-chef.
Although he loves being in the kitchen, Bence still feels the need to be out in nature as often as possible. He loves to wander the forest, often with his dog, a Shiba Inu who even has his own Instagram account: @berciashiba.
Around ten years ago he took up hunting, a pursuit enjoyed by his family. When he was young, he kayaked for eight years and even won the national selection once; he no longer kayaks but dreams of heading back to the Danube one day to take up the sport again.
His fiancée Dorottya works as manager of a bistro in the same group. Whenever possible, they love to travel; the Côte d’Azur is one of their favourite destinations.
2023 will forever be an unforgettable year for Bence: on January 28, his birthday, he mounted the podium at the Bocuse d’Or final with his commis chef Patrik Nyikos, and in August he will be marrying Dorottya!
