COLUMBUS, Ohio — Veteran chef Dan Varga has worked in and around Columbus for the past 25 years.
He recently opened The Hungarian Butcher, his first venture as a business owner specializing in all the staples as well as Hungarian-inspired foods that are close to his roots.
“I wanted to create a legacy for my family, something to leave for my two sons, my youngest son, Donny, actually works here. There’s a lot of Hungarians in Ohio, a lot in Columbus and there’s a need for all the Hungarian stuff we’re doing as far as the sausage and the cabbage rolls and Hungarian szalonna, which is a bacon,” said Varga.
Varga said his late grandmother, a Hungarian Immigrant, was one of his inspirations behind this new venture.
“Her Hungarian accent and the gold chains on her neck, and her hair perfectly done just saying no, no, no, you do it this way. She would be proud and she would be here all the time saying this is my grandson,” said Varga.
Varga said he looks forward to the creative aspects of his job and offering high-quality, local, and sustainably-sourced meats.
And he said area residents should feel free to ask about any home grilling or smoking tips.
“It’s nice to see people getting back into their house and using their grills and smokers and interested and having a passion about that. Anytime I can feed that passion and help them out I’m all about it,” said Varga.
The Hungarian Butcher said he’s working to be approved to cure meats in-house to make charcuterie.
The business is located at 2177 W. Dublin Granville Road in Columbus’ Linworth neighborhood.
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