EHalf a meter of snow in front of the door, the cross-country ski run freshly groomed, the footpath further out into the Zug valley, barely visible in the fog. The pine branches sag under the white weight. And Josef Walch, hotelier and top restaurateur, talks about his potatoes, the flowers and mountain herbs, the successful zucchini and radish harvest of the past season. It takes some imagination to follow Walch’s summery remarks from the field on this overcast late winter day. But, even if spring on the Arlberg starts a little later and there are only a few really hot summer days, white will also change to green and ski slopes to lush meadows. Then the seeds are sown, planted and harvested in a tranquil train.
Of course, vegetable gardens in Vorarlberg are no exception. And many plant experiments have also been carried out at an altitude of 1500 meters. But the fact that the hotelier has now gone under the gardeners is extraordinary. Walch, known to gourmets more as Joschi than Josef, is standing at the long kitchen counter in the newly furnished lounge in the oldest part of his complex Rote Wand hotel and gourmet complex. Down here, in the former potato cellar from 1680, he gives his guests a glass of cloudy natural wine and talks about it. He does it with pleasure and extensively. He takes his time, even if 1000 courses will leave the kitchen in the evening – and the chef will personally check every plate. Joschi Walch is currently in motion.
“Actually, we owe everything to Corona and the lockdowns”
Behind him and the chic wall with the yellow glazed tiles, his chefs are working in the newly created “Lab”, “our test laboratory”, as Walch calls the new experimental kitchen with all the special stainless steel equipment. Butter and curd are made in the Fromagerie, sourdough bread is baked in the Bakery, and game from our own hunt is processed into pies and terrines in the Charcuterie. And the chefs led by Jamie Unshelm transform oranges into black fruits, ferment the harvested vegetables, produce vegetarian caviar and herbal essences from the mountain meadows, or stir the in-house oat milk in a huge kettle for hours.
A lot thrives here in summer: the Rote Wand in Vorarlberg
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Image: © Rote Wand Gourmet Hotel & West advertising agency
In a conversation with Walch, it quickly becomes clear: You can’t look at his joy about the new potato and radish harvest in isolation from the whole. “Actually, we owe everything to Corona and the lockdowns,” says the restaurateur. “We could have stuck our heads in the sand or had our already first-class wellness area lined with diamonds during the compulsory break,” he says and laughs. But he, his wife Natascha and their three adult children decided differently. A garden, a laboratory should be created, a sustainable concept should be implemented.
“Anyone who knows me knows that first-class cuisine is my top priority,” says the 61-year-old, who regularly – when the hotel business allows it – travels the world with his wife to find inspiration from foreign kitchens and chefs permit. “So it was only logical that we used the time to realize long-cherished plans and ideas.” Just as he set up his chef’s table in the former school building in 2015, he now wanted to create something new again. “For me, it’s all about the constant experimentation in the overall concept.” That’s what he’s known for. He set an example on the Arlberg, where today 16 five-star hotels and 22 creative gourmet restaurants attract gourmets and where top chefs from New York and Copenhagen pitch their tents as a matter of course.