Culinary Delights in Carinthia
Experience slow food: From Gailtal bacon to Carinthian Kasnudeln and Lesachtal bread
Travelling through Carinthia, along the sunny southern side of the Alps with its numerous lakes and valleys, you'll encounter people who have realised that true enjoyment requires one thing above all: Time.
This time isn't just needed for savouring the local specialities, but also for their production. A journey to the Slow Food Travel region, including the Gailtal, Lesachtal, Gitschtal, and Weissensee, is therefore a voyage into traditional craftsmanship – and to producers who are full of dedication.
Farmers, chefs, and artisans work together, focusing on sustainable and organic methods for grain cultivation, fish farming, alpine pasture management, and cheese-making. With great care and passion, they create products that have often been cultivated in the region for centuries. They not only preserve this traditional knowledge but also aim to share the process with guests. Whether it's crimping Carinthian Kasnudeln (the intricate sealing of pasta pockets), baking natural sourdough bread, or making butter on the alpine pastures, the experience is immersive.
Chefs bring a modern twist to seemingly familiar ingredients, crafting creative dishes that give these products a new dimension. Their extraordinary interpretations delight those who want to taste authenticity.
Culinary tips in Carinthia
Slow food events: looking over the shoulder of professionals
Precious as gold: Products from Carinthia
UNESCO cultural heritage
The Lesachtal bread
The Lesach Valley bread making has been declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO; the grain for the bread is still ground in old mills. Who wants to taste the Lesachtal bread and "taste" its ingredients with every bite, your palate goes on a journey: Up to altitudes of up to 1,427 meters, where the grain grows and is harvested in pure nature, and then down to Maria Luggau, where the five water mills are located at 1,179 meters, where the grain is ground for the bakers in the valley. The rich, fruity, valuable and award-winning bread is made in their ovens.
There are also special Slow Food Travel experiences around Lesachtal bread:
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Experience Carinthian originals!
Bread art: Art and food both reflect culture, tradition and identity through their style and ingredients. A loaf of bread is already a work of art in itself. We take it one step further and ask artist Katya Frei to work not on canvas, but on the loaves baked by master baker Veronika Dörfler at hefehaus. Carinthian hornwort, lakes and mountains, water and mist – these motifs were chosen because they capture Carinthia’s unique landscape and the spirit of the region.
Fishing for compliments: Chefs Christine Schwarzenbach from Lake Weissensee, Florian Satran from the Stiftsschmiede on Lake Ossiach, and Roman Pichler from Restaurant Moritz in Grafenstein create refined dishes from more than 15 different types of fish, including a fish Brettljause, wood-oven-baked Amur carp and braised pike-perch cheeks.