First cookbook

Buchinger: “Looks like shit, but tastes good!”

Michael Buchinger also demonstrates a great sense of humor with his first cookbook.

(Bild: Starpix / A. Tuma)

Influencer, author, cabaret artist, actor, dancer - there's nothing Michael Buchinger can't do, or at least nothing he won't try. With "Buchinger's Cookbook", he is now venturing into his first cookbook - complete with his legendary chip toast, plenty of humor and the courage to be ugly. The "Krone" met him for an interview... 

Krone: Why does the world need another cookbook?

Michael Buchinger: Because there are already a lot of cookbooks out there, but none of mine yet. I just want to infiltrate every market a little bit (smiles). It has to be said, I have a lot of cookbooks - as we all probably do. They're something like this: I get up in the morning and the first thing I cook is breakfast tacos. But that's not true. When I get up early, the most I'll make is a yogurt and nothing else. That's why I wanted to make a very authentic cookbook - in which I show things as they are. Maybe someone can pick something out of it, but above all it should be funny.

Funny and with the courage to be ugly. There's also a special chapter in the book...

It's called "Looks like shit, but tastes good!" It contains recipes that aren't necessarily Instagram-worthy. I come from this influencer world where everything has to look perfect. But as irony would have it, the things I like to eat the most - goulash, casseroles, soups - just look like shit. Especially if you try to take a photo of it with your cell phone. Hence this chapter...

"Buchinger's Cookbook" is now available in stores.

(Bild: Brandstätter Verlag)

What else can fans and amateur chefs who open the book expect?

I have tried to reflect how I eat. It's 80 percent relatively healthy, and there's also a separate fitness chapter. And then there's also a lot of comfort food, the infamous chip toast, three different drinks. Even if nobody buys this cookbook, I think it's good that my 60 favorite recipes are in one book, like grandma's recipe folder - only that it's available in stores.

Do you now use the cookbook yourself from time to time as a kitchen aid?

I usually cook by feel. That's why I found it so interesting to actually consciously sit down and write down what I put in and how much, because I'm often asked by my circle of friends: Hey, how do you make this goulash, for example? Then I think it's stupid to tell them: You'll hear it bubbling when it's done. Now I've really timed it and it takes two and a half hours. It's now exact. AND: Because I cook so well, people always want me to cook something for them. Now I can say: Here's the cookbook, page so and so much, cook it yourself.

The author and a publisher: Buchinger with Stefanie and Nikolaus Brandstätter at the book presentation.

(Bild: Starpix / A. Tuma)

But you still enjoy being a host...

Yes, but you can fool your guests a bit. A great trick is when you invite people to a burger night, for example. You put out the meat, bread, onions and everything else you need for a burger and let people cook it themselves. Everyone thinks it's really exciting because they're finally doing something with their hands again and in the end I force my guests to cook for themselves.

Important question at the end: How do you get rid of your guests in a charming way when it's getting a bit late?

So number one: I put my braces in. Then I ask: And what are you doing tomorrow? Do you have to get up early? How will you get home? Cab, subway or on foot? That way I suggest that I want you to walk. And if none of that helps, I just put on my pyjamas and do the washing up. By then at the latest, everyone has usually figured it out.

Buchinger's cookbook

"Buchinger's Cookbook" has been published by Brandstätter Verlag (ISBN: 978-3-7106-0795-0) and is available in stores now.