Interview with Heinz Reitbauer

Heinz Reitbaeur presides over what is regarded as Vienna’s best restaurant, Steirereck, which serves modern Austrian food in a stunning setting. Steirereck can boast some mind-boggling statistics; there are 35,000 wines on its wine list, it has its own ‘Meieri’ Milk Bar with 120 cheese varieties from over 13 countries, and chef Heinz Reitbaeur even owns his own farm from which he sources much of Steirereck’s ingredients.

As the highest ranking Austrian restaurant on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List, we caught up with Heinz to get his thoughts on Styrian Cuisine, what Vienna has to offer and the challenges of running your own farm.

What does “Steirereck” mean?
A: Steirereck was opened in 1970 on the corner of two streets: Weissgerber Lände and Rasumofskygasse in Vienna. Because of the location and the fact that my parents came from Styria they named the restaurant, “Steirereck”, which translates as “Styrian corner”

How would you summarise Styrian cuisine? What makes it so unique?
A: The one ingredient most associated with Styria is its pumpkin seed oil. The nutty, dark green oil is eaten with everything from salads and omlettes to cheese and even ice-cream! Styria is also a producer of a lot of very fine, predominantly white, wines: As such the individual terroir of a particular area and the characteristics it imparts to the wine also influence the dishes of the area. What really makes Styrian cuisine so unique is the diversity of small farms and vineyards each producing their own unique and delicious products. We aim to stay true to this ethos through our close relationships with our specialist producers, whilst also looking further afield for interesting and unusual ingredients and techniques.

You are famous for having a wine cellar containing over 35,000 wines. What are the best 5 wines you have in the cellar and are they available to your diners?
A: What constitutes a good, or even a great wine, is often contentious. We endeavour to cater to every palate –hence our 35,000 wines, all of which are available to our guests. However, in my opinion our five best wines are: 2006 Riesling “Unendlich” F.X. Pichler/ Wachau, Austria; 1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild; 1990 Chateau Latour; 1998 Grange Penfolds/Australia; 1983 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes.

Vienna is home to a number of vineyards and wine producers, which is unsual for a city. Do you have many Viennese wines on wine list? What are their characteristics?
A: Vienna is unique as a capital city fort he vloume and the quality of wine it produces. A typical Viennese wine is the “Gemischter Satz”. This is where a number of different grape varieties are planted, harvested and pressed together from the same vineyard. The result is charcteristically fresh, slightly sharp but also a rounded feel in the mouth. Interestingly, this year at a blind tasting in Singapore, a 2004 Pinot Noir from Wieninger/ Vienna was voted the best in the world!

You opened your own farm in 1996, can you run us through the reasons for this?
A: We bought the farm, which included an old inn in 1993. After almost 3 years of reconstruction and refurbishment we began farming in earnest. The lay of the land and also the altitude –the farm is over one thousand metres above sea level- meant there were limitations to what we could practically farm: As such we decided to focus mainly on the raising of sheep –who thrive on the lush hills and also farm a small amount of veal. We produce only enough to provide our restaurants in Vienna and Pogusch and, by keeping the quantitiy low, we can ensure the perfect control over the feeding, raising and treatment of the animals. We also created a cooperative with twenty-five farmers in the Pogusch region who produce crops and livestock according to our own detailed guidelines for our restaurants.

What are the challenges of running a farm and a restaurant?
A: Finding enough hours in the day! I spread my time between Vienna and Styria to ensure I always have an oversight from the field to the plate! We try to create dishes in the restaurant with a sympathy for the products that help to accentuate their natural characteristics. I know I can personally see and taste the difference between our own lamb and lamb from elsewhere

As a chef, you respond to the seasons with your menu. Last winter was tough across Europe for chefs sourcing their normal ingredients. Did you find the same in Vienna and on the farm? If so, how did you overcome this challenge?
A: We were very fortunate in this respect. Firstly in Austria we are used to cold winters with plenty of snow so our supply chain was not overly disrupted. Secondly, because we source so many of our products locally we rarely suffer from problems of delivery. Lastly, our menu is always in a state of flux, adapting to the seasons and the availability of ingredients, as such we can be flexible to shortages of particular products and see such events more as an opportunity and challenge to our creativity than as a hardship.

For visitors to Vienna, where would you recommend that they visit to truly experience Viennese Cuisine (apart from Steirereck of course!)
A: For the classic Viennese “tafelspitz”, boiled beef with all ist traditional accompaniments the restaurant “Plachutta” is an institution. For an authentic experience of a Viennese inn the “Wirsthaus Grünauer” in the seven district is to be recomended. Finally any visit to Vienna would not be complete without immersing oneself in the legendary cafe culture at “Cafe Landemann”.

From a culinary perspective, when is the best time to visit Vienna?
A: In late spring and early autumn the city is not too crowded and nature has some of her best products available to us in the kitchen.

Which chef has had the biggest influence of your career to date?
A: I worked for one year with Alain Chapel in France and was deeply impressed by his passion and attention to detail. Also my apprenticeship with the Obauer brothers: Rudi and Karl was invaluable in forming my ideas of modern Austrian cuisine.

What is the best bit of advice you have ever been given?
A: The advice that has stayed with me has been: “The worth of a person can be measured only in his worth to other people”.

What are your ambitions for the future?
A: Perhaps the most famous Austrian of all, Mozart once said: “Today I have to write you a long letter because I have no time for a short one.” I like to interpret this as meaning that often it is easier to be convoluted and elaborate than to find the true essence of something and speak with clarity and simplicity. I endeavour to apply this idea to my cooking by allowing my techniques to enhance the ingredients and produce a truly “essential” dining experience for my guests.