This summer we set out on a culinary hike through Dachstein West and cooked, tasted, filmed and laughed a lot along the way.
We take you with us part of the way to our stops and reveal our personal highlights of this culinary hiking summer.
Our first stop brought us to the Gablonzerhütte on the Zwieselalm. There, we were warmly welcomed by the lovely Gunnar, who together with his cook, was in charge of the thoroughly generous kitchen.
Together with Gunnar we cooked a vegan chilli, a chilli sin carne, so to speak. Vegetarians and vegans can certainly get their money's worth at a hut. In any case, we agree! So while the beans boil away in the immensely large pots, Gunnar chops up a potpourri of delicious organic vegetables.
While the chilli is boiling in the pots and we chat with Gunnar over a cup of coffee, Kaspressknödel and Kaiserschmarrn are waiting to be served. If we weren't here to work, we would already be enjoying them on the terrace. But anticipation, as we all know, is the best joy, so of course we got to enjoy the chilli and Kaiserschmarrn and this much we can tell you: We'll be happy to come back for both any time!Wir kommen jederzeit für beides gerne wieder!
Next we visited the Hirscher family from the Rottenhofhütte! It was already clear during the planning of our joint cooking day that the Hirscher family was fully committed.
And because cheese is as much a part of the Rottenhofhütte as cows are of the alpine pasture, it quickly became clear that we would be allowed to look over Magdalena's shoulder as she made her famous alpine cheese. As if that wasn't enough, we were allowed to accompany the entire process - from the barn at home, where Matthias lovingly feeds all the animals, to the alpine pasture, where the cheese-making process really begins.
Step by step, we were allowed to accompany Magdalena as the milk, still fresh in the morning, is turned into delicious alpine cheese. And because Magdalena hasn't just been doing this since yesterday, she also makes homemade whey. Fascinated by all the many steps, the skill and knowledge Magdalena displays, we all have a hard time focusing on our video shoot.
Our 3rd stop led us to a very extraordinary couple! Tina and Stephan, the hosts of the enchanting Stuhlalm in Annaberg, are an absolute dream team, and not just in terms of cuisine.
The two have managed to turn a cosy little hut into a true culinary insider tip. While Stephan interprets traditional dishes in a new way and conjures them up on the plates, Tina not only lovingly looks after the guests. As soon as you arrive at the hut, you can immediately see her love for detail. The adjacent herb garden, the flowers, the rooms - everything is lovingly thought out, nurtured and cared for.
And as if all that were not enough, they have also started a small alpine dairy. Homemade, regional delicacies to take home - a little bit of mountain hut magic for your home.
Right next door, a few minutes further on, is the Theodor Körner Hütte. The hut lies quite unassumingly at the end of the path and welcomes its guests with a great panorama of the surrounding mountains.
No less charming is the hut's landlord Christoph, who welcomes his guests with a mischievous smile and good humour. If you now think Christoph is only there to joke around, you are mistaken. He is also the one who whips up delicious cottage sandwiches, serves really good coffee and looks after his guests around the clock.
After the last dinner has been served, you may well find Christoph in the midst of his guests playing a card game or two - an authentic host!
Our last culinary stops took us to the Zeishofalm and the Sonnenalm in Gosau.
Host Anja from the Zeishofalm not only conjured up her popular alpine breakfast for us, there was an entire menu for us at once. Right up to the delicious alpine tiramisu as dessert after lunch, we were heart-warmingly treated on the sun terrace of the cosy hut. By the way, in addition to the alpine delicacies, the flowery arrangements that can be found at every corner are also quite enchanting here.
Only a stone's throw away from the Gosaukamm cable car, we were able to watch the hosts of the Sonnenalm prepare a delicious Brettljause. Not only was the bread homemade, we also discovered that such a Brettljause requires true culinary skill. Between cheese flowers and sliced varieties, we were amazed at these finger skills. The weather wasn't quite as kind to us on this day, but as we all know, you can't choose.
