Purist cuisine in Salzburger Land
She is known as one of the best female chefs in Europe. She is the first female chef in the world to have collected 4 Gault Millau bonnets and 2 Michelin stars. She stands for regional, high-quality and seasonal dishes - and lives and works not even 15 minutes away from Eben im Pongau. We are talking about Johanna Maier, an accomplished top chef, cookbook author and teacher directly from the province of Salzburg for many years. In this blog post, you can find out what her expectations of a good dish are, how this relates to her connection with nature and what all this has to do with the Outlet Center Eben.
An exceptional cooking school
For Johanna Maier, cooking is more than just preparing dishes. It is the love of nature, eliciting one's own creativity, consciousness in eating, art and philosophy. You can taste this not only in her dishes - it becomes especially clear when you attend one of her cooking classes. Here, Johanna Maier talks with joy and passion about her herb garden and the regional ingredients from which she conjures up a menu with her course participants that even the gods could not disdain. The vegetables, mushrooms, meat and fish come directly from the Salzburg region, sometimes delivered by old acquaintances, sometimes searched for, fished and picked by herself. She is also supported by her husband Dietmar, who secured the fishing rights to the nearby lake years ago.
In her cooking class the tasks are distributed to the course participants, after which the precious ingredients are transformed into a royal meal by Johanna Maier's finesse and her more than 30 years of cooking experience. Of course, at some point the participants lose track of the various stages of preparation - only the top chef herself skilfully keeps on top of things and organises the individual cooking steps with bravura. All of this plays perfectly into the philosophy of the toque chef - her gift to all who get to taste her creations is healthy lightness, huge variety, freshness, purism and surprising newness. Well-being is the top priority in her cooking - and you don't just taste it, you feel it too.
Johanna Maier's kitchen secrets
Another project close to the star chef's heart is her own delicatessen. There she offers hand-picked spices, oils and jams. Of course, Johanna Maier also pays attention to the quality and regionality of all ingredients: All spice mixtures are personally compiled by her and the selection itself is huge, which is why you are guaranteed to find the perfect spice mixture for every taste and every dish.
The delicatessen is also located in Filzmoos in Salzburger Land and is only a stone's throw away from the cooking school. In addition to the products already mentioned, you can also find the finest balsamic vinegar, cooking accessories, vouchers and the grandiose cookbooks by the award-winning chef. The prices are fair, the range of products is lovingly put together - and if you get stuck, the best advisor of all is there to help you.
The most beautiful book at Christmas time
In keeping with the season, Johanna Maier has another treat for all food enthusiasts and Christmas fans. Her latest book "My Christmas is all about the Advent season: it is about old traditions and customs, traditional Christmas stories and songs, creative handicraft ideas and, of course, probably the most important heritage of the Christmas season: the perfect festive meal.
This book is more than a simple cookbook - it is an ode to the end of the year, a paean to the beauty of the Christmas season, a tribute to traditions that you inherit from your grandparents and pass on to your own grandchildren. "Anyone who delves into the book can almost smell the homemade biscuits and hear the Christ Child flying past the window." - anyone who spends another Christmas without this marvel is missing out.
If you have read this far, you are probably wondering what all this has to do with the Eben Outlet Centre. The answer is simple: on the way to Filzmoos, you can hardly avoid a detour to our outlet centre. Whether you're taking a cooking class or browsing the spice rack in the delicatessen, it's always time for a new outfit at outlet prices.
You can also take part in our Christmas competition until 20 December! The main prize is a €150 shopping voucher for the Outlet Center Eben and a copy of the latest book by Johanna Maier. The prize will be handed over by Johanna Maier herself, together with Michael Lungkofler, the centre manager of the Outlet. Interested? Then take a look on our Facebook page and try your luck! We wish you much success, good health and a merry Christmas.
We would like to end this blog post with some wisdom from Ms Maier herself - when asked what her motto in life is, the top chef answers: "Devote yourself to love and cooking with all your heart." And with that: See you soon.
