Philipp Essl: The gourmet chef on the banks of the Danube
The Danube, the apricots, and the wine: they go together with the Wachau like Philipp Essl with Landgasthaus Essl. The 30-year-old gourmet chef’s cooking style is traditional but not old-fashioned. His signature dish: Topfen Strudel Soufflé with Wachau Apricots and Vanilla Panna Cotta.
Are the Wachau apricots ripe yet? Philipp Essl inspects 75 apricot trees—some of which are over 100 years old, planted by his great-grandmother—on his strolls through the orchards behind his country inn. It is not just any apricot variety that he processes in the kitchen. It is the Wachau apricot PDO (the EU protected designation of origin): “It has slightly reddish cheeks, is visually attractive but not a top model because its measurements vary. It has an intensely sweet flavour, a bit sour. Anyone who has tried one knows how an apricot tastes.” Philipp experiences the taste of his childhood every year in July, when he cuts into the first fluffy apricot dumpling of the season and lets every bite slowly melt in his mouth.
Working with regional partners
The gourmet chef Philipp Essl uses only products of the highest quality from the Wachau or the surrounding area and is a proud member of the Wirtshauskultur Niederösterreich (Lower Austrian gastropub culture). “Guests will find no marine fish or quickly bred, over-cultivated freshwater fish on my menu. I buy from an organic fish farm where the lake char and trout that originate from the cold Ramsau Brook swim about in the ponds. The fish grow slowly and are fed organic crustaceans.
Our wine list features predominantly Wachau wines, among them many from young vintners on the right bank of the Danube, such as Josef Fischer and Georg Frischengruber, who are less well known than the winegrowers in the villages of Spitz, Dürnstein, and Weißenkirchen. “We are young people still building our businesses, and we want to attract attention. That is why we are a bit more innovative. Young, daring people who take over wine taverns or restaurants, or forge new paths in winemaking.”
It is early morning, and he is already walking with his dog on the gravelly bank of the Danube. His Flat-Coated Retriever enthusiastically leaps into the water regardless of the temperature. Philipp only needs to take a few steps from the restaurant to see otters, beavers, herons, cormorants and kingfishers. This wonderful encounter with nature is made possible through the “LIFE-Project Wachau”. The banks were revitalised, the towpaths broken up, and the tributaries opened. This resulted in a meadow landscape being created between the river and the vineyards, a vital habitat for animals and plants.
It is a landscape that is very attractive not only for animals but also for people: you can paddle down one of the streams in a rubber raft, meet friends for a barbecue over an open fire, or enjoy a bottle of wine on the gravel riverbank. The advantage of the right bank of the Danube is that the Danube Cycle Path follows this side, and cyclists can enjoy views of the famous wine villages across the river while they’re pedalling, such as Weißenkirchen, Dürnstein and Spitz. The Danube’s right bank is the more peaceful side, with its numerous wine taverns situated in the vineyards and meadow orchards.