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Executive Chef with a familiar face at the Hotel Imperial: Rupert Schnait left the Hotel Bristol in 2010 to work for the Hotel Imperial on the other side of the Ring Boulevard.
After having served the Hotel Bristol opposite Vienna's State Opera for more than 25 years, Rupert Schnait started to work on the other side of the Ring Boulevard on February 1. "It was a wonderful time at the Hotel Bristol, we have achieved a lot", he says about his years "on the other side", while looking forward to his new assignment at the Hotel Imperial, his "new home". "Being the new culinary mastermind at Vienna's first house is a very special challenge for me", he admits. But the fact that half of his staff have already known him from the sister hotel and his Sous Chef and Patissier went along with him, made it easier for him.
In his new position Schnait heads a team of 30 in the kitchens of the toque-awarded Restaurant Imperial and the Café Imperial. He is also responsible for the culinary matters of banquets, caterings and room service. And the likeable chef has been excelling in this task for many years! "For decades we have been appreciating Mr. Schnait's continuity and professional management", emphasizes General Manager Oscar del Campo, "qualities that he carries out in a highly exceptional way."
Rupert Schnait's culinary concept focuses on Old Vienna, a priority that harmonizes perfectly with the tradition-steeped Hotel Imperial. Using mainly seasonal Austrian organic products, he blends classical Viennese cuisine with international elements when putting together the menu. "Each region has its specialties, be it Styrian pumpkin, Alpine salmon or lake samlet", says Schnait about his preference for regional products. "And as I come from the Waldviertel region, I get the potatoes from there, of course", he says with a smile. Born in 1957 in Grainbrunn, the gourmet had early discovered his love of cooking at his parents' inn and at his grandfather's butcher shop, before he moved to Vienna to become an apprentice cook at the Hotel Bristol.
The Executive Chef with a liking for wild boar goulash and greaves dumplings, gained international experience at the noble Amstelhotel in Amsterdam in the eighties, when he assisted in the coronation ceremony of Queen Beatrix as Sous Chef. In 1984 he worked at the Hotel Glocknerhof in Heiligenblut and later at the City Club near Vienna, before he returned to his roots at the Hotel Bristol, where from 1989 he pampered hotel guests as Executive Chef. He was also responsible for state banquets at the Kanzleramt at Ballhausplatz (the seat of Austria's Federal Chancellor) and at Belvedere Palace.
His utter competence with crowned heads and important politicians qualified Rupert Schnait for joining the exclusive Club des Chefs des Chef. The club, which was founded in 1977 by famous chef Paul Bocuse, only accepts chefs experienced in cooking for heads of states or monarchs. Once a year, the 40 international Chefs des Chefs convene at an optional place in this world over a period of several days. This year, in August 2010, the convention will take place in Hong Kong. "It is a special pleasure for me to cook for those state guests at the Imperial who I have already met earlier on my visits abroad", says Schnait in looking forward to seeing many famous guests again. "My declared goal is to have happy guests and a happy staff, because the one is only possible with the other", explains Schnait.
