Leogang has achieved something for which many tourism professionals pray a rosary every day: the Salzburg community between Saalfelden and the border with Tyrol has become a so-called year-round destination. In summer, there are almost as many people at the valley station as in winter. Only they line up not with skis, but with a bicycle. In summer, the ski slopes of the village become a playground for downhill racers, i.e. mountain bikers who prefer to ride downhill. And as quickly as possible.
Andreas Herbst, hotelier and award-winning chef, naturally accommodates skiers and downhill racers. But above all, together with his wife Andrea, he and his wife Andrea have made the Riederalm, which his parents built up carefully and expanded again and again in such a way that a plan is needed in the hotel, into a center of life for gourmets.
Learned from the best
It wasn’t an easy path. Because when he returned home in 2015 from his years of travel with the top restaurateurs Johanna Maier, Andreas Döllerer and Mario Lohninger in France, it was not yet clear whether the audience was ready for his strategy.
“I can still remember when I served the first pure beef soup. It was sent back in batches because people were used to the soup cubes.” That has now changed. Not only the hotel guests appreciate the food in the Riederalm, in the gourmet restaurant “dahoam” the locals and external lovers have been enjoying the “Lucullian Autumn” seasonal menus since last year.
The urban ambience of the restaurant only appears to be in contrast to the regional approach of the kitchen. Because Herbst and his team conjure up their specialties as well as possible with regional foods.
What goes on a cowhide, he not only demonstrates symbolically. He had the map of Leogang printed on a cowhide, which is on every table. On it you can see the farmers from whom the Riederalm obtains its food, including the fish farmer Hermann Hasenauer, who supplies the Leoganger sturgeon including caviar as well as a special char, the Leoganger Wagyu (with nettles) from the Schattbach farmer, dairy products from Bernhard Perwein and even Leoganger Saffron from the Otting farmer.
The Riederalm has reached such a magnitude that Andreas Herbst, with his orders, encourages the local farmers to try something and not to give up, even in difficult times. On the day of our visit, 100 kilograms of fresh fish are delivered, immediately filleted and shock frozen so that the freshness can be prolonged. And the family that started extracting saffron is just beginning. “When Andreas told us he could use our saffron, that was an impetus to keep trying,” says part-time saffron farmer Georg Wölfler, whose main job is a registrar.
The knowledge of plants
At the Stechaubauer organic farm, Andreas Herbst is in his element anyway. There he picks plants that others would till and orders a crate of them. Herbs and meadow plants are his specialty, which he also used to cook his three toques with the “dahoam”.
And he also tells the story of the train that runs through Leogang and had three official stations and one unofficial one. Some of the appetizers and desserts therefore come in wooden trains. And Herbst tells how they got on the unofficial as boys.
And while you are about to get to know Leogang on a culinary tour, to eat, as it were, “Star Wars” is being served. But even Darth Vader, the villain from George Lucas’ series, isn’t from a distant galaxy or far away – Darth Vader is sculpted from chicken liver. And these chickens grew up happily near the Riederalm and passed away.
Only when it comes to wine is the Italian sommelier Fernando not quite so regional, although the majority of the wine cellar is filled with Austrian wine. Incidentally, this is played with classical music in the four-star superior hotel.
useful information
- Leogang: In winter part of the ski region around Saalbach/Hinterglemm, Zell am See and Saalfelden
- Getting there: By car from Upper Austria via the small German corner or with the ÖBB
- Saalfelden Leogang Card: The card offers a number of discounts.
- Rieder Alm: The “Good Life Resort” is a spa, family and gourmet hotel. Prices for family rooms start at 205 euros/person including 3/4 gourmet board. riederalm.com
Source: Nachrichten
