Matt Henderson Ellis is an author, a writing instructor, a longtime Budapest resident, and a dedicated chronicler of the Budapest culinary scene. Matt grew up on the North Shore of Chicago. He received a literature degree from Bennington College in Vermont before buying a one-way ticket to Prague (then, of Czechoslovakia), where he tended bar at the first Western pub in the city, an experience he would later draw upon for his first novel, Keeping Bedlam at Bay in the Prague Cafe. Before relocating to Budapest he worked in many capacities from barista at Starbucks to the editorial department of Doubleday & Co. He kick-started his own writing career as a food journalist at the now defunct chew.hu and continued to write about culture and cuisine for publications like Vice’s food channel Munchies, alongside his career as a conventionally published fiction writer. For several years now he has run a local writers’ workshop, the Budapest Writers’ Lab. Visit his site to learn more about his work.

Taste
Hungary

Taste
Hungary

Matt Henderson Ellis

Matt Henderson Ellis

Articles by Matt Henderson Ellis

Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage: The Wedding Gift You Didn’t Know You Wanted

Chomping at the Bit: a Hungarian Horse Sausage Primer

Dog Tongues and Ink: Historic Literary Coffeehouses in Budapest

Lecsó as a Verb

Szalonna: Call It Delicious, Just Don’t Call It Bacon