La Loupe Lech Zürs Sommer No 12

PHILIPP JOCHUMS WORDRAP
Hospitality means…
mutual respect. If the interplay works out alright,
it’s perfect: the guest should appreciate the host
and vice versa.
In Formula 1 I cheer on …
the team members in the background.
Gröstel or barbecue?
Barbecue.
L.L. Your menu is small but exquisite.
What aspects are important to you
when choosing the dishes and where
do you source your food?
P.J. We here at Bodenalpe value regional
food, which is why most of what
we use comes from Vorarlberg and
Tyrol. I also work together with three
local butchers and a vegetable supplier
from Vorarlberg.
L.L. Bodenalpe is famous for its
delicious grilled specialties – and you
often make them yourself. You even
bought the grill in Australia. Why is
that? Are other products not as good?
P.J. I did Formula 1 catering for a long
time and there I came into contact
with the Australian barbecues that
really were extraordinarily good. And
when I looked around for a suitable grill I really couldn’t
find anything in Europe, nothing offered the performance
and quality I was looking for. So, I imported a gas grill from
Australia – which really wasn’t easy. But we are very happy
with our ‘Turbo Elite’ – so much so that we’re having another
one delivered to Bodenalpe soon. Barbecuing with this thing
simply is so much fun!
My Favourite spot in Lech:
the small waterfall at Stierloch.
Freshness, creativity, and a respectful way of
dealing with food
… those are the most important ingredients for
my cuisine.
“The great wide
world is great when
you’re young but
at a certain age
you simply feel like
settling down. .”
“One of my most
formative experiences
was when we
were in Brazil and
Bernie Ecclestone
came to me and
said: ‘Don’t try your
best, do it!”
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L.L. Together with Karl-Heinz Zimmermann, a restaurant
owner from Lech, you worked in Formula 1 catering for a
long time. What experiences were you able to take home
with you from the Formula 1?
P.J. In Formula 1 you closely cooperate with many different
nationalities, which is why, as a caterer, you have to be
extremely flexible. Everyone has different preferences, which
makes you – especially as far as the cuisine is concerned – extremely
creative and international. You travel across the globe
and work with products from different regions – but in a way
that’s tasty for as many people as possible. At Formula 1,
when we cooked for Toyota, we fed people from 28 countries
in a motorhome that moved from race to race. For that reason
we had to improvise a lot.
One of the most memorable moments was when we were in
Brazil and Bernie Ecclestone came to us in the kitchen while
we were cooking for more than 350 people. He asked: ‘How
are you?’ And I replied: ‘I try to do
my best.’ His answer was: ‘Don’t
try, do it!’ And this sentence had a
strong influence on me and it sort
of became my motto. Today, in our
small kitchen at Bodenalpe, we sometimes
master similar challenges.
L.L. During that time you travelled
across the entire globe. Do you
still remember your most beautiful
experience?
P.J. I really did travel to many
amazing countries and places.
What I remember in particular is
the Great Ocean Road in Australia,
speed boat rides on Canada’s St.
Lawrence Seaway and of course
the celebrities and racers of Formula
1. The most beautiful event
though was when I met my wife
Sandra in Imola.
L.L. Now you’re back to living and
working on the Arlberg. Do you
never miss the big, wide world when you’re here in Lech?
P.J. Because of the two seasons we have the big advantage of
having plenty of time to travel to faraway places between the
seasons. The big wide world is great when you’re young but
at some point there comes the time when you want to settle
down. And in Lech my family and I have built a foundation
for this.
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Kulinarik & Genuss
153