Csapó Katalin - Éliás Tibor: Dobos és a 19. század cukrászata Magyarországon (Budapest, Magyar Kereskedelmi és Vendéglátóipari Múzeum, 2010)

ÉLIÁS TIBOR: Dobos C. József, a halhatatlan cukrász - Dobos könyvei

ebédlőasztal végén, Asztalán két hatalmas kandeláberben gyertyák égtek, még akkor is, ha besütött a nap. Könnyű klöplicsipke-függönyét vastag kárpitfüggöny borította. Éjjelenként néha órák hosszat sétált fel és alá szobájában gyertyafénynél - villanyt ugyanis nem használt-, és újabb ötletein, munkáin törte a fejét. Szenvedélye a munkán kívül a muzsika és az utazás volt. Precizitására jellemző, hogy még kisebb-nagyobb körútjairól is térképvázlatot, ceruzarajzokat készített. Szerette az északi tájakat. Több levelet küldött Hammerfestből, a legészakibb svéd városból, sőt könyveinek egy részét ott is írta. Sokszor nyaralt az akkor már népszerű Sylt szigeten, Németországban, (ó viszonyban állt az akkori politikusokkal, barátkozott a vezető egyéniségekkel. Vacsorákat rendezett saját lakásán, ahol egyszerre tizenöt-húsz személyt látott vendégül, a tőle megszokott színvonalon. Asztaltársaságával kéthetente a Duna-parti Bristol szálloda éttérцЯшш Site Az Első Szakácsművészeti Kiállítás ezüst plakettje, Bécs, 1884 Silver Plaquette from the First Exhibition of Culinary Art, Vienna, 1884 were always having money problems. The poet, who had been languishing at the periphery for decades, broke down both physically and mentally during the final years of his life, not only as a result of his financial difficulties, but also because of his successive failures to become recognised as a poet. He died from a sudden heart attack on April 7, 1980. His sick, disabled wife outlived him by three years. Dobos was even known as an eccentric, private man by members of his family. His work was his everything. In his nine-room street-facing apartment in Kecskemé- ti utca, he was separated from his family by five rooms. He always dined alone at the head of the large dining table on which candles always burned in two huge candelabras, even when the sun was shining into the dining room. His exquisite lace curtains were hidden away behind thick drapes. At night he sometimes paced up and down his room by candlelight for hours on end - he refused to use electricity - working on new ideas and recipes. Apart from work, his other passions were music and travelling. It is typical of his precise nature that he prepared a sketched map and several pencil drawings after even the shortest trip. He liked northern landscapes and sent many postcards from Hammerfest, the most northerly city in Sweden, where he in fact wrote several of his books. He often vacationed on the German island of Sylt, then already a popular destination. He was on good terms with the politicians of his time and was friends with the leading figures of the day. He held dinners at his own apartments to which he would invite fifteen-twenty guests at a time, treating them to the usual luxury and gastronomical delights. He would meet his circle of friends every two weeks in the restaurant of the Bristol Hotel on the banks of the Danube. 75