Behind The Scenes of Salzburg: Tasty Dumplings & Totally Awesome “Moor” Food!

Open or secret: Gourmet foodie travel continues to be a topic of huge interest here in Austria. And especially Salzburg, thanks to being the nation’s “secret beer capital” and home to the annual Eat & Meet Genussfestival, deserves a mention here, what with food tours around the city getting more and more popular, too! We have just come off a tour through Salzburg’s historic “Almkanal” including a walk around a town with a historic night watchman (!) only to continue talking about food. Naturally. There is no way round it, as each and every dish here contains a story – to be told for instance by the likes of expert culinary storyteller Roland Essl at the Weiserhof restaurant in Salzburg.

“Gerichte mit Geschichten”: Tasty Tales of “smelly dumplings”, “Brein” sausage and other tasty food creations await us here.

The Weiserhof succeeds in combining the best of two worlds: Haute cuisine with top quality ingredients while preserving the local pub culture where the chef still takes time to sit with his clients: “Let me get you some more rowan berries!”, Roland Essl is swift to look after us. We smile and listen to all his food stories: Who would have thought that “Stinkerknödel” (smelly dumplings) as well as local “Brein” sausage creations could actually taste so good?

Tasty tales welcome us to the restaurant Weiserhof …

… with local host & chef Roland Essl taking the actual time to sit down and talk with us about his philosophy of preparing food.

Those tasty, “smelly dumplings” infused with cheese and served with fried onion, really are a delight …

… as is the local “Brein” sausage, a sausage filled with spices, herbs & vegetables to make for a better (and healthier) tasting experience. Love it !!

Take those rowan berries for dessert, served by our host Roland Essl himself!

If simple “wining & dining” is not enough, consider heading for an entertaining cooking class at the fabulous Cook & Wine team of Günther & Laura Grahammer.

Siblings like to hang out together – some even start bands, others then dig their concerts (such as my brother Julian and I, heading to Roskilde Festival in Denmark last summer!). Günther & Laura are Cook & Wine: Right here in the city of Salzburg, they have recently launched their cooking school, food shop & wine tasting portfolio sharing their know-how with the same passion as they have for their products. Günther just loves introducing us to his “youngest”, the delightful range of pestos & chutneys created under his own “Genussmanufaktur Grahammer” label. “I am still experimenting here”, he replies modestly after showering him with compliments of lots of “Mmmh’s!”. Cooking is what he most feels at ease with, no matter if its showing you how to prepare the dough for famous Austrian dumplings, prepare those mushrooms or create the perfect sauce: A cooking class with Günther is sure to make you laugh and learn at the same time.

Arriving at the “Cook & Wine” gourmet cooking school, we find this cute little wagon awaiting us …

… matched only by the happiness of the brave participants to the cooking class!

Günther’s many tipps for cooking …

… soon start turning us all into real experts!

“Many cooks spoil the broth”? We don’t think so! And: “The best parties always take place in the kitchen” – true that, right?

If you add Laura’s knowledge about wine …

… a sure gourmet cooking experience is guaranteed: Prost, my dear!

Last but not least, we get a sneak preview of Günther’s latest chutney & pesto creations … Yum! Make sure you come back for more!

“Trinkmoor”. Drink Moor?! “Moorbier”. More beer?! The SonnenMoor company might well be the most outstanding natural food company in the whole world, I daresay now.

“Totally awesome Moor Food” – what on Earth might this be?! Can you really drink moor? And – are you kidding me? I’ll be drinking thousands of years old soil?!

Yes. I could first not bring myself to understand it in full either. Visiting and learning from the gourmet restaurant Ammerhauser in Anthering close to the city of Salzburg, we gradually begin to understand how moor (and its many beneficial, natural energy ingredients) can be harvest for the likes of … Moor beer, Moor bread, Moor dumplings, Moor spätzle, Moor pasta or Moor pancakes. “We extract what nature has preserved in the moor soils for many millennia”, Siegfried Fink, the managing director of the SonnenMoor Natural Food company reveals to us. After the delightful moor tasting at the local restaurant, we visit his SonnenMoor company for a real look “behind the scenes”: Moor is more! Check this out.

Welcome to SonnenMoor: Our host and naturally creative entrepreneur Siegfried Fink!

Before visiting the SonnenMoor company and learning all about the “moor philosophy”, we taste this “moor beer” brewed exclusively during full moon nights!

Moor bread too is just delightful, and very tasty …

… thanks to its many spices, nuts and carrots!

We say “Prost” with a SonnenMoor beer!

Fancy a “moor drink” of a different kind?! It really is beneficial for your health, to drink what plants and soil have preserved in terms of valuable minerals and vitamins.

Countless other visitors have been quite enthusiastic about their visit, too!

Siegfried Fink leads us right behind the scenes of his production plant at SonnenMoor …

… from the very beginning, moor soil extracted from the local “Leopoldskroner Moor” near the city of Salzburg …

… all the way to this special moor tasting, it is a long way of processing and natural care: THANK YOU for such an interesting visit to a product I had never even heard of before, but which has already convinced me thanks to its many health benefits! 😀

Disclaimer: We have been invited “behind the scenes” of Salzburg by the city of Salzburg. All opinions are my own.