"Signatures" Cookbook

"Signatures" is much more than "just" a cookbook.
This book is about dishes that paved the way in the world of haute cuisine, about foods that are never taken off the menu or creations that guests request. Thus, every chef has their signature, something irreplaceable.

Renowned culinary photographer Joerg Lehmann, who has been traveling the world's kitchens for over 30 years, always deals with the following questions in his work: What makes a chef a chef? Who is this person anyway, apart from the fact that they can cook? This thought was the spark that ignited "Signatures".

The lavishly designed illustrated book with texts by culinary journalist Alexander Rabl and photos by Joerg Lehmann introduces readers to the 43 JRE establishments and takes them on a very personal journey to the top destinations of Austria's young top gastronomy. There are the classics, the traditional, but there are also particularly creative and innovative approaches. New facets in this country's rich culinary scene.

And the chefs themselves share touching insights, memories and experiences. Vitus Winkler, for example, talks about his plan B to become an architect. We learn that Andreas Döllerer's childhood summers with his grandmother on the mountain pasture tasted like blackberry dumplings. Alexander and his father Armin Gründler, on the other hand, talk about how a harmonious generational change can succeed in the restaurant business: "It's easier to invent in pairs."

Beyond the overall concept, it is these "moments," these "signatures," that make it an experience – a special reading pleasure, page after page.

Best of from all nine federal states

Dishes always tell stories - about the people who created them, about the craft and the place where they are created, about the time, the season, which can be read from the ingredients. In their signature dishes, the young top chefs combine the best of their regions from Vorarlberg to Vienna, from the mountain peaks and alpine pastures to the fertile plains and vineyards, to the lakes and rivers. Full of talent and passion, visionary and innovative, fully in line with the philosophy of the Association of Jeunes Restaurateurs. Michael Schwarzenbacher from the Mangold restaurant in Lochau on Lake Constance combines black pudding with the typical Vorarlberg Rhine Valley Riebelmais corn, octopus and pointed cabbage, while the reigning Gault&Millau Austria Chef of the Year, Hannes Müller, from the Forelle on Carinthia's Weißensee lake, combines wild-caught white vine, buckwheat, apple, Indian nettle, golden beet and spinach in a unique way. And Josef Steffner turns chocolate, strawberries, rhubarb and chervil into a tempting dessert that tastes of summer.