Tavolata: In Steyr everything will soon revolve around enjoyment

In the design studio of the interior design specialists Kühberger & Haas in the old steam power plant in Steyr, this year’s starting signal will be given with “Tavolata Take Off 2023” on Wednesday, June 7th. Together, the three top chefs Lukas Kapeller, Klemens Schraml and Max Rahofer invite you to an evening with a flying dinner and gourmet stations.

New fine dining address

Lukas Kapeller is someone who is indispensable for Tavolata. Now the top chef’s creations can not only be enjoyed in the “Putz & Stingl” inn, for which he is responsible together with Michael Schlöglhofer, but also in his fine dining project.

“I didn’t really want to do something like that anymore,” says Kapeller. He closed his two-toque restaurant in 2016 after two of his three children were diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy. The disease can now be controlled with medication. “And when I got to know Michael Schlöglhofer, the thought came back to me. With him there is someone I can rely on 100 percent.”

In the “Restaurant Kapeller” the two mostly use products from the region, “but if I’m in the mood for seafood, then there’s that, too,” says the chef.

He pays particular attention to vegetables, but game and wild herbs from the area are also served in the “Restaurant Kapeller”. How many toques, forks and stars his new project is rated with in the restaurant guides is “completely unimportant to him and is becoming less and less important – we just want to make really good food”.

Really good food and that in unusual places was also the basic idea behind the Tavolata Festival, which the managing director of the tourism association Eva Pötzl came up with: “We considered what can differentiate us from other culinary festivals – and these are definitely our chefs.” The first year was “full of great experiences”, in the second year the festival was expanded to include a junior edition, in which pupils from the Weyer hotel management school as well as gastro apprentices and young sommeliers show their skills.

Info: www.tavolata.at

Delicacies near the railway

Steyr finger food specialties in six courses from the kitchen of the Hotel & Restaurant Christkindlwirt are staged at the nostalgic station of the Steyr Valley Museum Railway. Gerhard Meidl creates a good atmosphere with live music. June 8, 4 p.m

Exclusive pizza at the church square

The church square in Maria Neustift as an open-air osteria for pizza creations: three-toque chef Klemens Schraml creates the dough with the best ingredients from the region for a pizza that is as simple as it is ingenious. Bella Italia meets iconic Austrian pizza culture. 10 June, 12 p.m., 3 p.m. and 6 p.m

Taste of the Steyr wilderness

Around the wildly romantic Bergerwieshütte on the Weißenbach at the entrance to the Kalkalpen National Park, three-toque chef Klemens Schraml and his team cook a six-course menu made from regional products – without electricity or mobile phone reception. June 8, 3 p.m

Above the roofs with Max Rahofer

On the old town roof terrace of the Hartlauer house in Steyr, Max Rahofer is organizing a festival of a different kind with wine, cocktails and small dishes in the form of a flying buffet. Live music sets the mood at this unique location at a dizzy height. June 16 and 17, 7 p.m

Brunch on the raft on the Enns

After a welcome and an aperitif on the terrace, three-toque chef Klemens Schraml and his team will provide an exclusive gourmet brunch on the rustic wooden raft of the Floßmeisterei Dirninger: breakfast specialities, tapas and mini dishes as well as drinks and music. June 18, 11 a.m

Grilling at the highest level

The Quenghof was once a farm building with horse stables at Lamberg Castle. At this Tavolata event, grill world champion Gerald Hochgatterer presents a wide variety of specialties including desserts from the open fire. June 16, 7 p.m