Back to the Source
It’s Our Creed
Back to the Source
It’s Our Creed

The Jagdhof’s Culinary Tour

… Because our Region Has Great Taste

Eating is so much more than the intake of vital nutrients – it is an experience that arouses all our senses. Our very special Jagdhof culinary tour delves into every delicious aspect of this autumnal experience. Join us as we explore our region, visiting producers and suppliers and sampling nature’s food treasures. Find out where our ingredients come from and how they are made; sample them at source and follow their journey onto our plates and into our glasses.

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Stop 1

Untersillerhof Farm, Neustift im Stubaital

Tyrolean Quails & Eggs

The Untersillerhof farm in Neustift is not just organically certified, but at almost 400 years old, it’s also one of the oldest farms in the Stubai. Here, biodiversity sets the tone: cows graze on meadows with their calves, Indian runner ducks dash across the yard, and cats and dwarf rabbits laze in the sun while a donkey’s braying drowns out the cluck of chickens. In amongst them is a very special treasure: the Tyrolean quail.

The meat of these tender birds delights top chefs, and gourmets prize their prettily spotted eggs. ‘A quail’s egg has up to 15 times the vitamin and mineral content of a chicken egg,’ Anita Siller tells us.

As well as being impressed by the eggs’ nutrient content and unsurpassable flavour, we really love the Siller family’s philosophy: from the hatchery to their species-appropriate approach to animal husbandry – which includes rearing, finishing and stress-free slaughter – the Untersillerhof farm meets all the conditions for organic accreditation. The Jagdhof benefits from this delicacy which is more than worthy of our top gastronomic status and quality standards.

Stop 2

Xanderhof and Jagerhof Farms, Obsteig and Fulpmes

Organic Chicken from the Xanderhof Farm in Obsteig

From quails in Neustift we move on to organic turkeys and chickens in Fulpmes and Obsteig. Alexander Schaber discovered his passion for poultry when he was 12. By the time he was 22, he had taken over the early 17th century family farm in Obsteig and switched it from cattle to poultry farming. ‘Every four weeks, around 600 new chicks arrive on the farm,’ says Schaber. This means that 1,800 or so organic chickens are being sustainably reared at any one time.

Organic Turkeys from the Jagerhof Farm in Fulpmes

In 2016, Schaber also leased the Jagerhof farm in Fulpmes. ‘This is where we look after around 350 organic turkeys,’ the young poultry farmer tells us. The birds are reared outdoors, slaughtered on site and delivered straight to the end-customer, thereby avoiding long transport routes. With the two farms, Schaber ensures that his customers – including the Jagdhof, of course – are supplied with fresh organic poultry all year round.

Stop 3

Käserei Plangger, Niederndorf

Precious and Traditional

All that clucking and ruffling of feathers can make a person feel quite warm, so the cheese cellar at Plangger’s dairy, which is set deep in rock, is a welcome change of scene. Following the call of cool air and an intense aroma, we arrive in the vaults. They are filled to the rafters with ripening wheels of cheese, which the Plangger family has been making since 1956. The rock-cut cellar provides their cheeses with optimal maturing conditions: ‘Our organic mountain cheese takes between three and nine months – the more time you give it, the more flavourful it becomes,’ explains Plangger. The taste of the organic Rässkäse cheese is unmistakable in its evocation of mountain herbs, crystal salt and minerals, while the Plangger’s Sennkäse also comes in a lower fat version.

Making Good Cheese Starts with the Soil …

Herbert Plangger believes that our health reflects our soil. The pioneer of organic cheesemaking recognised early that good cheese depends on good soil nourishing a healthy mix of herbs and grasses for the cows – because happy, healthy cows deliver the best milk. Plangger remembers a time when milk, butter and cheese tasted of red clover, chervil and yarrow, so his cheese dairy only uses raw organic milk from cows fed exclusively on grass, herbs and hay. Since 1991 Plangger has also been using microorganisms in his cowsheds and in the cheese dairy: ‘They protect the soil from over-fertilisation, and promote plant growth and biodiversity,’ emphasises Plangger.

Stop 4

Alpine Prawns, Hall in Tirol

Clean Prawn Farming

Over-fertilisation is the keyword that takes us to our next stop: the Alpine prawn. It may seem unlikely, but a TV documentary about prawn and shrimp farming shocked Daniel Flock, 21 at the time, to the core. ‘I just thought it had to be possible to farm prawns under different conditions: without the need for drugs and pesticides, without generating vast amounts of wastewater, destroying mangrove forests or necessitating long transport routes in deep-freeze containers!’

Alpine Prawns, Farmed in Hall in Tirol

Today, Daniel Flock is the managing director of Austria’s first indoor prawn farm, which he and partner Markus Schreiner set up together. ‘We mix our excellent, mineral-rich Tyrolean mountain water with high-quality sea salt and keep it at 28°C to provide the prawns in the rearing tank with optimal conditions for healthy, chemical-free growth,’ says Flock. ‘Ours are king prawns, also known as whiteleg shrimp or Pacific white shrimp,’ they explain as we tour the facility. ‘These are ideal for aquafarming and their firm flesh and sweet taste make them very popular with consumers.’ A huge amount of know-how and passion goes into sustainable prawn husbandry. That much is clear – as clear as the water in which these delicious creatures thrive.

Stop 5

Schoberlhof, Mutters

Home of the Char

From prawns to fish, in this case char, sustainably farmed by Toni Steixner. ‘We rear our fish from eggs to full maturity,’ he says. It takes around three years for a char to grow to a weight of around three kilograms, which is when it’s ready for eating. It spends this time in Mutters’ cool mountain water where it is carefully and species-appropriately tended.

‘The fresh spring and mountain waters are ideal for farming char,’ adds Steixner. ‘Around 100,000 litres of water flow through the ponds every hour, which means there is a complete change of water every hour.’ Sounds like wellness for fish! It definitely means wellness for our plates …

The Pillars of Culinary Enjoyment at the SPA-Hotel Jagdhof