The Vitéz Kürtős team followed Irma’s brief illness with heavy hearts, unable to believe that this strong, determined woman – so full of life and work – could fade away from one day to the next. Even today, we struggle to come to terms with the fact that the woman to whom we owe the creation of Vitéz Kürtős – she was the mother of the owner, Gáspár Bálint, and her Lehel Kürtősház was the predecessor of Vitéz Kürtős – is no longer with us.
Even last year, at the 12th Chimney Cake Festival, she couldn’t attend. With a heavy heart but hopeful spirit, she followed the events from her home in Székelylengyelfalva, and we still hoped she could recover. But as she often predicted: “Once I put down the chimney cake baking stick, that’s the end!”
In her honor, we have decided that the Chimney Cake Festivals will not be held in 2026…
She lived a beautiful and meaningful life… We learned so much from her; her perseverance and unwavering spirit were exemplary. From her, we learned that “there is no impossible, only powerless,” and we felt her passion when she spoke about authentic Székelyland chimney cakes:
"Chimney cakes must be passed on from our hands like a jewel! Because it’s ours. Chimney cakes are our past, our present – which we bake now – and our future, which we must continue to share!"
