I recently visited the Szamos Marcipán Múzeum Cukrászda in the small quaint town of Szentendre, which is about 40 or so miles outside of Hungary’s Budapest. Muzeum Cukraszda is Hungary’s first marzipan museum showcasing the work of famous marzipan makers Mátyás Szamos and Károly Szabó. Its numerous marzipan marvels include a 1.6-meter long Parliament and a life-size, once-edible statue of Michael Jackson.
It all started with a rose. Raised without a father, a poor boy named Mladen Szavits, inherited his attraction to eastern sweets. He was a trainee pastry cook at the pastry shop of the famous Auguszt E. Jozsef, when one day in the early 1930s, a Danish pastry cook visited the shop and showed the apprentice how to shape pretty roses out of the sugar-almond paste.
Since then, many hundred thousands of marzipan roses have been formed. A marzipan production company “Szamos” was established by the middle of the nineties at Pilisvorosvar. The company now employees over 200 people, sells delicacies to the Hungarian market and exports them to seven countries.
Medieval marzipan sweets were brought to Europe from Persia in the 13th century. Tradition has it that around 1400 a Venetian pastry-old daughter was first created by accident. Crushed almonds and honey mixed game rárakta on top of a hot baking sheet. The home of marzipan recipes in the first 16-17. century is still unknown but it remains a favorite among Europeans and other nations alike.
Renee Blodgett is the Founder and Managing Editor of We Blog the World, a global travel, culture and lifestyle publication exploring the world through the lens of meaningful experiences, human connection and cultural depth. Having lived in 10 countries and traveled to 95, Renee has spent much of her life immersed in the people, traditions, landscapes and ideas that shape how we experience the world.
Since launching We Blog the World in 2007, she has written and produced extensive editorial coverage spanning boutique and luxury travel, culinary experiences, arts and culture, wellness, adventure, technology, spiritual traditions and transformative travel. Her work is rooted in the belief that travel is about more than where we go—it is also about what a place, culture or encounter awakens within us.
Renee brings more than three decades of experience across journalism, photography, media, brand strategy, technology, wellness and global storytelling. She has worked with companies and organizations around the world on brand positioning, communications, product launches, media strategy, speaker positioning and storytelling. Through Blue Soul Media, she works with authors, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and purpose-driven brands to clarify their message and expand their impact, which includes speaker coaching/training for high-profile stages such as TED and bringing authors’ work to market while retaining authors rights.
She is also the co-founder of Blue Soul Earth, an educational platform exploring consciousness, ancient wisdom, spirituality, healing and the intersection between science and the nature of reality. Renee is the producer and host of the award-winning Blue Soul CHATS, a conversational series bringing together leading voices in science, technology, consciousness, wellness and spirituality.
Her growing body of work also includes Blue Soul Living, which extends her interest in consciousness and well-being into the spaces we inhabit, exploring how intentional design, energy and environment can support greater harmony and connection.
Renee is the award-winning co-author of the bestselling Magdalene’s Journey and founder of the Magdalene Collection, inspired by women’s voices, stories and wisdom across cultures and generations.
A longtime photographer and storyteller, Renee has documented people, places and cultures around the world and produced photographic collections focused on destinations including the Galápagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome and Ecuador. She also co-founded Traveling Geeks, an international initiative that brought entrepreneurs, journalists, creators and technology leaders together with their counterparts in other countries to exchange ideas and explore innovation across cultures.
Renee’s work has been recognized by Forbes, the United Nations and others for her influence in media and social storytelling. Across her work in travel, media, consciousness and culture, a common thread remains: curiosity about the world, the stories that connect us and the ways meaningful experiences can change how we see ourselves and one another.
