The Viennese Love Story - a tribute to Vienna and its cuisine

The relationship between the Viennese and their cuisine is like a true love story—a real "Viennese love affair."

The Austrian writer Karl Kraus (1874–1936) once said of the Viennese, "Vienna has countless landmarks, and every Viennese considers themselves one." The same is true of Viennese cuisine.

It is the only cuisine in the world named after a city and is a diverse and sumptuous culinary fusion from all the crown lands of the Habsburg Monarchy. In a sense, Viennese cuisine is an imperial collection of dishes and their unique preparation methods. It is a European fusion cuisine with a long tradition.

The dishes and recipes have been passed down through generations and, from the mid-19th century onward, found their perfect expression in Vienna through the influx of workers from the crown lands, resulting in the "Viennese cuisine" we still know, appreciate, and love today.

Immigrants from Hungary, Bohemia and Moravia, the Balkan countries, and also from Northern Italy brought their traditional regional culinary skills to the imperial capital of Vienna. This melting pot of cultures significantly influenced Viennese cuisine. The wives and daughters of these migrant workers found employment as cooks, kitchen maids, or chambermaids in the wealthy households of the Viennese nobility and bourgeoisie.

Thus, soups, boiled beef, goulash, roasts, baked goods, sweets, and desserts found their way into the kitchens of Viennese society, even reaching the imperial court.

Emperor Franz Joseph (1830-1916) was a great admirer of Viennese cuisine. Boiled Viennese beef, known as "Tafelspitz," was served to His Majesty daily at 11:00 a.m. for his mid-morning snack, achieving worldwide fame.

Another distinctive feature of Viennese cuisine is the strict distinction between sweets and desserts. Sweet dishes are served as a main course, desserts—as the name suggests—as a main course.

The end of the First World War in November 1918 also brought about the end of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Fortunately, Viennese cuisine survived this watershed moment to this day.

The Austrian author Friedrich Torberg (1908–1979) captured the fascination, love, and enjoyment of Viennese cuisine in his book "Aunt Jolesch" with an anecdote about Aunt Jolesch and her famous cabbage noodles:

Shortly before her death—peaceful, surrounded by her family—Aunt Jolesch revealed the secret of her renowned culinary skills with her last words when asked:

"Auntie—you can't take the recipe to your grave, can you? Won't you leave it for us? Won't you finally tell us why your cabbage noodles were always so good?"

Aunt Jolesch, with her last bit of strength, sat up a little: "Because I never did enough..." She said this, smiled, and passed away.

This feeling is what makes Viennese cuisine so precious, and it is Austria's true gift to the world, because if not in Vienna, where then, does "the way to a man's heart go through his stomach"?