Austria. Media News.

  

Dear friend of Austria,                                                     

I hate to break the news to you - but here it goes:  …  Forget about Schnitzel with Noodles! …  The iconic Wiener Schnitzel will always be a staple of Austrian cuisine (albeit it will never be served with noodles in Austria) but over the last few years a quiet but mighty culinary revolution took shape in Austria. 

The long awaited comeback of the MICHELIN Guide Austria edition (first one since 2009) was the culmination and celebration of this effort. Last month, the Austria MICHELIN Guide was presented in Salzburg and its selection not only spotlights the country’s culinary diversity but also underscores the great importance it places on gastronomy and the international orientation of Austria as a culinary destination.

For a relatively small country like Austria (the size of Maine and the population of the metro New York City area) the accolades were plenty: 82 MICHELIN Starred Restaurants, 33 Green Stars (recognizes restaurants for consistently following high sustainability standards in daily operations) and 43 Bib Gourmand awards (recognizes restaurants that offer high-quality food at moderate prices).

"The partnership with the MICHELIN Guide is not only an honor for Austria’s culinary arts but also a powerful sign of the passion and commitment that is to be found in every  kitchen in our country. With their innovation and skill, our award-winning chefs create culinary experiences that touch the heart and delight the palate. (…) ” says Astrid Steharnig-Staudinger, CEO of Austria Tourism.

Warmly,
Sigrid Pichler

Manager of Public Relations
Austria Tourism New York City

sigrid.pichler@austria.info​
www.austria.info

Eating is more than just consuming food. It nourishes the soul, can be an expression of love, and brings people together. It tells stories, makes a country and its culture tangible, and creates memories. Austria's top chefs are ambassadors of culinary artistry. From the ingredients provided by the land, they create masterpieces with a distinct signature and a sense of origin and terroir. 

Austria has a long history of the highest quality of ingredients and food culture. It has the highest percentage of agricultural land under organic management within the European Union. The government first recognized “organic” as a production method in 1927. In 2021, 23,961 farms in Austria were certified organic, which is 21.9% of all farms.

Regional diversity in both ingredients and natural surroundings is the key to Austria’s culinary prominence. Austria is a land of culinary originals, celebrated chefs with Austrian and international roots - adding exciting flavor and variety to culinary landscape- and regional products such as Pannonian saffron and wasabi. Our dining culture thrives with unique venues ranging from traditional taverns and mountain huts to fine dining in hangars and lakeside restaurants.

It is Austria’s culinary mission and vision to feel and taste the land in every bite, for locals and guests alike to be able to say “Wherever I am, I want to know what it tastes like.” The salt and minerals of the Austrian Alps flavor the herbs and vegetables of the region, the grass the cows ruminate can be tasted in the butter you put on your bread, the quality and freshness of the water gives the river trout its unique flavor. And just like the air, earth and water flavor Austrian ingredients, our stunning nature from the snow-capped Alps to rolling vineyards, the essence of Austria’s landscape is reflected in every product and dish.

Some regional products may surprise you: poppy seeds in the far north of Lower Austria, snails in Vienna, 3200 varieties of tomatoes in sun drenched Burgenland, black garlic in idyllic Carinthia, others have been staples in Austrian cuisine for a long time: cheese most notably in Vorarlberg which has its own cheese road, apples and pumpkin seed oil from the Tuscany of Austria – the rolling hills of Südsteiermark, or apricots from the bucolic Wachau Valley.

   

Young Austrian chefs have been elevating their skills without losing touch with their roots and their passionate beliefs of how their food should taste and feel. From award winning vegetarian chefs like Paul Ivić (TIAN) whose motto “from root to leaf” won him awards since 2011, to visionaries like Parvin Razavi (&flora) whose creations are Austrian, oriental and inspirational, their creations and contributions to the international culinary scene do not go unnoticed.

Julian Stieger took home the MICHELIN Young Chef Award. He is the head chef at restaurant Rote Wand Chef's Table located in the Rote Wand Gourmet Hotel in Lech am Arlberg, and he demonstrates that being young and having a distinctive style doesn't have to be a contradiction in terms. Thanks to his delicate, precise and playful dishes, the young chef has secured the restaurant two MICHELIN stars right off the bat.

 We don’t want to go amiss and not tell you about Austria’s two 3 MICHELIN starred restaurants: Vienna’s Steirereck im Stadtpark has made it into the top league. It stands out by its architecture and design, elegant yet not highbrow cuisine – and a legendary bread & cheese trolley famous beyond city limits!

It shares the gastronomic pinnacle of Vienna and Austria with the stylish restaurant Amador, located at the Hajszan Neumann winery, which has been awarded Three MICHELIN stars for years thanks to the sophisticated and creative cuisine of Juan Amador.

Now that you have read that far, you have one last thing to do: go to Austria and taste for yourself!

   

The MICHELIN Guide rates restaurants according to five criteria that are the same worldwide: quality of the ingredients, mastery of the cooking techniques, originality of the cuisine, and consistency both through time and the menu as a whole. The restaurant evaluation is done by full-time inspectors who conduct their tests in complete anonymity and according to clearly defined and objective criteria. In the future, Austrian restaurants will be tested once a year.

The complete selection of restaurants can be found on the MICHELIN Guide app and the MICHELIN Guide website. It complements the global offering of over 16,000 restaurants and 6,000 hotels and makes Austrian gastronomy visible all over the world.