Cutting-edge cooking rooted in the Austrian landscape

Chef Heinz Reitbauer pushes the boundaries of Austrian cuisine in thrilling ways at his beautiful restaurant on the banks of the river Wien in Vienna’s central park. His cooking draws heavily on the Styrian roots of his family, incorporating unusual ingredients from the region’s fields and rivers, as well as his own farm. The stunning produce is handled with the utmost respect in the kitchen, with Reitbauer using his own ground-breaking cookery techniques that are now inspiring other chefs around the world.

Hot beeswax is used to cook the freshwater mountain fish char, served with yellow carrot, pollen and sour cream, while the chef also cooks with heated blocks of Himalayan pink salt and special branding irons heated to 600°C.

The restaurant trade has always been in Reitbauer’s blood. His parents first set up Steirereck in 1970 and he trained under some of Europe’s best chefs, including Alain Chapel near Lyon and Anton Mosimann in London, before returning home to eventually head up the family business. The knowledge he has accrued during his career is evident in beautifully presented dishes such as puntarella (chicory) with woodruff, sweet potato and sea buckthorn and a dessert of quince with burnt milk and lavender. A huge wine list showcasing hundreds of indigenous varietals from Austria’s best vineyards is further reason to visit.

Source: http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50-winners/steirereck