A culinary pilgrimage through Austria’s Paznaun Valley
Last updated on 12.05.2023
From 7 July until 16 September 2023, gourmets and hikers can enjoy exquisite gastronomic dishes at selected mountain huts on the Culinary Way of St. James route in Paznaun Valley. Guests can choose from seven routes, each leading to a different hut, and sample one of seven dishes that local gourmet chefs have created especially using high-quality, regional ingredients. The dish the chefs serve in their adopted hut then becomes their restaurant’s seasonal special on the menu.
However, no hiking is needed to try the delicious cuisine on 7 July, as The Culinary Way of St. James kicks off with a massive feast where the celebrity chefs – and hut hosts – present all seven Jakobsweg dishes at the Ischgl marketplace. For a contribution towards costs of €25 pp, guests can taste “Tomato with lasagne and Galtür Alpine cheese”; “Crispy breast of young Alpine piglet with Grammel semolina dumplings and cabbage”; “Plucked piglet with potato Coleslaw and onion cream”; “Stuffed peppers with tomato sauce on potato-lemon puree”; “Alpine beef with yeast bread and wild herbs”; “Nettle ravioli on Gerstl, mountain cheese and endive”, and last, but not least, “Potato dumplings with venison, porcini mushrooms, wild herbs and mountain cheese”. All these recipes from the dishes of the Culinary Way of St. James can be collected and recreated at home.
After this indulgent day, the routes of the Culinary Way of St. James offer starting points in Ischgl, Galtür, Kappl and See. Meander through one of Austria’s most diverse hiking regions enjoy the stunning Silvretta mountain range which Hemingway raved about. And admire the imposing peaks such as Fluchthorn, Blankakopf or Rotpleiskopf that will be silent companions whilst exploring the majestic mountain world. The seven huts have been chosen so that foodie pilgrims can hike to them on relaxed mountain walks or reach them on an e-bike. One such hut, The Alpenhaus, is easily accessible by gondola (no walking), alternatively, those wanting the exercise can reach The Alpenhaus on foot in two-and-a-half hours or less. On Specific dates, detailed below, guests will find a special festive ambience, where the respective hut host presents the chefs Culinary Way of St. James’ dish to the accompaniment of music. All information on the participating chefs, huts, dishes and hut festivals is here.
The programme takes its name from the ancient pilgrims’ path of Jakobsweg, which crosses this part of the Alps on the route from France to Spain.
Special dates on the Culinary Way of St. James:
07.07.2023: Kick-off event at the gourmet market in Ischgl
09.07.2023: Hut party in the Alpenhaus with Benjamin Parth
22.07.2023: Hut party in the Almstüberl with Martin Sieberer
30.07.2023: Hut party at the Friedrichshafener Hütte with the #YoungChefsPaznaun
12.08.2023: Hut party at the Heidelberger Hütte with Patrick Raaß
20.08.2023: Hut party at the Ascher Hut with Andreas Spitzer
27.08.2023: Hut party at the Jamtalhütte with the #YoungChefsPaznaun
16.09.2023: Hut party at the Faulbrunn Alm with Hermann Huber
Further information at www.paznaun-ischgl.com
To book a holiday in Paznaun-Ischgl this summer, go to www.ischgl.com and choose from the range of accommodation, where five nights’ bed and breakfast is from €207/£180 pp, including the local Silvretta Card which entitles guests to many free services, such as use of cable cars and chairlifts.
