Harmati Gábor: Utasellátó 60 (Budapest, 2009)

98. Snack bar selling alcohol-free beverages at Budapest Western Railway Station 99. Cups won at sports competitions and contests were closed in order to increase efficiency. An important step was taken in the field of purchasing: products were purchased directly from farmers. It was something not quite ordinary under the conditions of the centralized and centrally planned economy of the period. It was an even hotter novelty that from 1981 onwards smaller enterprises started to operate on contractual basis - similarly to many big industrial enterprises in the Hungarian catering industry. Former managers could have some limited independence and they became almost as financially motivated as if they had run their very own restaurant or shop. After thirty years of Communism, managing private ventures had to be re-learnt. An interesting initiative was launched in 1983: the Hungarian Catering Company organized a gastronomic week in cooperation with its Czechoslovakian counterpart. This meant that a Czechoslovakian restaurant car was operated on Hungarian lines and a Hungarian restaurant car was operated on Czechoslovakian lines for a month. Passengers then had the chance to taste the best representatives of the Hungarian and Czechoslovakian cuisine prepared by the best chefs. West-German cruise ship "Donauprinzesssin" started its operation on the Passau-Budapest-Passau route in March 1984 and all catering and commercial services on board were provided by Catering Company. However, the contract between the West-German and Hungarian parties was not renewed because the competent foreign authorities refused to give the Hungarian staff working permission while working permission was necessary for working on the ship as it was considered a sovereign territory.