Cheers in Carinthia?

These restaurants could get Michelin stars

Carinthian gastronomy is also recognized by Michelin

(Bild: LuckyAlex - stock.adobe.com)

In 2009, the gourmet publishing house Michelin withdrew from Austria - now Carinthia's restaurateurs have the chance to win the coveted stars again for the first time!

Speculation is already rife in the local gastronomy scene: How many Michelin stars will go to Carinthia after a 16-year break? "A handful of chefs de cuisine have received an invitation", the "Krone" is told. The award-winning restaurants will be presented at a ceremony at Hangar-7 in Salzburg today.

Michelin is the only gourmet guide in the world where gastronomy professionals pursue their profession of testing full-time. While 1342 restaurants in Italy, 1265 in Germany, 63 in Slovenia and 92 in Croatia have already received awards from the publisher, Austria has so far been missing from the international gourmet world map. 

However, there are already rumblings in knowledgeable circles that there will be over 200 awards throughout Austria this year - which would make Austria one of the countries with the highest density of stars in the world.

Awarded in 2009:

2 stars:

• Schlosstern/Schloss Velden, Silvio Nickol, Velden
• Restaurant Pucher/Hotel Wulfenia, Arnold Pucher, Nassfeld/Hermagor

1 star:

• Restaurant Sicher, Michael Sicher, Tainach
• Dolce Vita, Stephan Vadnjal, Klagenfurt
• Kellerwand, Sissy Sonnleitner, Kötschach-Mauthen
• Zum Bären, Trippolt sen. & jun., Bad St. Leonhard im Lavanttal

These Carinthian restaurants have a good chance
The "Krone" has already come across several names from Carinthia: Moritz from Grafenstein, Fischrestaurant Sicher from Tainach, Kochwerkstatt from Klagenfurt, Restaurant Trippolt (Zum Bären) from Bad St. Leonhard, Bärenwirt from Hermagor as well as Forelle am Weißensee and the gourmet restaurant Hubert Wallner in Maria Wörth, among others, have a chance of winning an award.

Who the testers are, by the way, is a well-kept secret; this year they are said to have been from Germany.

Other categories

• Michelin Selected (Michelin "mentioned" award)
• Bib Gourmand
• Michelin Plate
• Green star for sustainability
• 1* star
• 2** stars
• 3*** stars

Why was the last Michelin rating 16 years ago?
The Michelin gourmet publishing house is financed exclusively through the sale of advertisements in the guides and the guides themselves. As sales of the guides for the Austrian edition were manageable, Guide Michelin withdrew from Austria in 2009 after just four years. 

The reintroduction began a good three years ago when representatives of the Austrian Chambers of Commerce actively contacted Guide Michelin and wanted to follow the example of a successful Guide Michelin such as Slovenia and Croatia. Ms. Astrid Steharnig-Staudinger, head of Austrian advertising, is mentioned by name in connection with this initiative. The woman from Lower Carinthia was significantly involved in the process.