RYE, PIKE-PERCH, WHITE RADISH

Alain Weissgerber

As a chef, Alain Weissgerber sees it as his mission to open people’s eyes to the richness of Austrian, and more specifically Pannonian cuisine, and he does this by buying everything that others aren’t. He works very closely with local farmers, planning out the produce to be grown and farmed for that year, never resorting to importation. Born in France and a self-taught chef, Alain has been living in Austria for the last 25 years, opening his own restaurant at just 23 years old and earning himself Michelin accolade in the process. Now, at Taubenkobel, and as the purveyor of Pannonian cuisine, Alain is responsible for turning fish from the nearby muddy lake, white asparagus from near their little house in Croatia and wild garlic brought home by their children into the distinctly delicious taste of Pannonia. “The taste that I want to convey through my dishes is the real taste, not the industry taste. I want the guests to bite into my food and know that they are dining at Taubenkobel.”, he states. What Alain Weissgerber creates is very specific and extremely pure. He doesn’t overly complicate dishes with more than 10 ingredients, instead he turns his physical surroundings into a taste that cannot be found anywhere else. Pannonia – an ancient province in Central-Europe – located over the territory of the present-day eastern Austria, western Hungary, northern Croatia, north-western Serbia, northern Slovenia, western Slovakia and northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Widely acclaimed amongst culinary opinion makers, the restaurant at Taubenkobel was awarded with two Michelin stars up until the guide in 2009 unfortunately stopped rating in Austria outside Vienna and Salzburg. Rated 18/20 by Gault and Millau, a very high rating, with the highest possible score of 20 having only ever been given twice in the guide’s fifty years. Add to this accolade 5* in A la Carte as well as 96 points of 100 in Falstaff – two of the German-speaking countries most respected culinary publications. Latest, Taubenkobel entered San Pellegrino’s list of the world’s best restaurants, currently ranking 89. Taubenkobel is where the Eselböck-Weissgerber family eat, sleep and work; This is where they have grown up and are bringing their children up; This is not some fancy big city restaurant where you’ll get turned away for not wearing a tie; This is where Converse have previously been a part of the staff uniform and the dishes are served up on locally made clay plates, and it works. Each element of Taubenkobel complements the other; The image of the lusciously green gardens is intensified by the distinct, warm smell flowing out of the kitchen, whilst the sometimes surprising, yet mouthwatering ingredients take you off on a tour of the local area and into the farms supported by Taubenkobel. Alain Weissgerber exclusively offers his gastronomic excellence for lectures, food festivals, consultancy, private dining and exclusive dinner parties. In case of interest or/and press, please contact Kristian Brask Thomsen at: [email protected]