Castles and palaces play host to gourmet food festivals

By Bernhard Krieger Jul 19, 2011, 4:06 GMT

Schenna, Italy - Schenna castle is situated between steep vineyards and huge apple orchards on a sunny plateau in the South Tyrol commune of Merano.

In a typical scene for Schenna, hikers and mountain-bikers take in the view while an elderly woman sits on a park bench with her grandchildren, taking in the sun's warm rays.

However, this day is different for the castle is the location for the second of a series of five gala culinary evenings under the title 'Stars, Castles, Mountains' when master chefs from the Merano region and environs display their cooking talents in historic palaces and castles.

The idea is the brainchild of two-star Michelin chef Gerhard Wieser from the Trenkerstube restaurant in Tyrol, and involves famous South Tyrolean chefs preparing gala haute cuisine dinners for guests in temporary kitchens.

The menu each evening is passionately prepared by Anna Matscher, Andrea Fenoglio, Alois Haller, Joerg Trafoier and Wieser. 'One call was all it took to get my four colleagues on board with the concept,' says Wieser.

Matscher cooks in the Zum Loewen restaurant in Tesimo, Trafoier in Merano's Kuppelrain restaurant, Haller at Castel Fragsburg and Fenoglio in Sissi, also in Merano.

The gourmet event is being used to demonstrate the culinary varieties and high quality cooking in South Tyrol and especially in Merano and its surrounding area, where the appreciation of good food and drink is a way of life.

The style is a mixture of Alpine and Italian cooking, influenced by everyday life in the mountains and valleys, according to hotelier Rudi Unterthurner, who is also one of Schenna's approximately 40 part-time winemakers.

Unterthurner has won awards in South Tyrol for his wines for two years in a row, including the area's 'Wine of the year' prize. The typical South Tyrolean red wine is Gewerztraminer, which Unterthurner also favours because it is so aromatic.

Trafoier uses the best local products in his creations and is considered one of South Tyrol's top chefs. He considers his hotel to be a 'place of refuge for the spirit', where guests can feel welcome and enjoy fine food and excellent drinks.

A gala dinner costs 110 euros (155 dollars) per person, including music, wine and an explanation of the wines being drunk between the courses by Christine Mayr, president of the South Tyrolean Sommelier Association.

Food fans will also have the opportunity to taste different haute cuisine dishes at five Alpine pasture huts also participating in the event programme, which runs until October 25.

The next 'Stars Castles Mountains' event takes place on August 7 at Kastelbell Castle with further gala evenings on September 16 at Trauttmansdorff Castle and Katzenzungen Castle on October 25.