oho #3 - The magazine of the Principality of Liechtenstein

oho#3
Doesn’t that constrain your creativity? After all, you are an ambitious
toque-winning chef.
I grew up in the world of gastronomy, and have always worked in
restaurants. I like the mix here. In addition: a village like Balzers
needs a restaurant like Zentrum. We are not in Vienna, where
thousands of anonymous people walk past your premises every
day. We live here in the countryside, everyone knows everyone
else, and we have a much better idea about what people want.
There still is plenty of scope for creativity. Compromises need
to be made, but that is not a problem. I like the way things
are.
You are an excellent and award-winning chef.
Yes, as a master chef I have always valued further training
highly. I am a dietetically-trained chef, and also completed
courses in the fields of tourism and business. This is
important, because the business has not got easier in recent
years. Gastronomy and above all cooking is very hard work!
You have been awarded 13 Gault-Millau points. In your position,
many people would market themselves accordingly. Yet you hardly
mention the fact at all.
I am very honoured by this accolade, and I am proud of my toque. But
what is more important to me is offering my guests excellent cuisine in a
pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. Of course I cherish my awards, but
these do not necessarily have to be displayed on the restaurant façade.
The Zentrum is and will remain a village restaurant.
What characterises your cuisine?
The menu changes frequently, as the cuisine is very seasonal. The natural
world offers so many possibilities, and I want to make the most of them.
Even if use regional products as often as I can, my dishes have an
undeniable Austrian twist. Backhendl (roast chicken), for example, which
is very popular. On the other hand I eschew the typical Vienna schnitzel
– after all, that can be had anywhere. Of particular importance to me is
good value for money. I do not cook with all the bells and whistles.
Instead, I cook purist food with passion.
For you as a chef, what are the most significant differences between
Vienna and Balzers?
The culinary influence of the Austrian Empire era with a Bohemian flair
and traditionally seasoned dishes, such as for example beuschel (lights)
and gulyas (goulash), is still strongly felt in Vienna. Here, by contrast,
classic Alpine dishes find particular favour. In both locations, however, my
work is never done in eight hours. 13 or 14-hour days are the norm.
Whether in Vienna or Balzers – I stand in the kitchen most of the time
(laughs). Of course, Vienna has more varied leisure opportunities than
Balzers. But, like I say, I knew what I was getting myself into, and
enthusiastically took up the challenge.
Ruben A. Brunhart
Ruben A. Brunhart was born in Balzers in 1977. He
completed his apprenticeship as a chef at the Adler
Restaurant in Vaduz. This was followed by two
years at the legendary Hotel Real in Vaduz. The
young chef then joined Martin Sieberer’s Trofana
Royal in Ischgl. After Ischgl, Brunhart moved to
Vienna, where he spent 14 years cooking in a
number of distinguished establishments, inter alia
in his own restaurant Rubens in the Liechtenstein
Palace. While he left Vienna on one occasion, to
work for Martin Real at the Heuwiese in Weite, he
was soon drawn back to Vienna. In February 2015
the toque-winning chef Brunhart took over the
Zentrum Restaurant in Balzers from his godmother.
This features a healthy mix of traditional and
contemporary dishes. Brunhart, who was awarded
13 Gault-Millau points in 2015, particularly values
good value for money as well as a varied, seasonal
menu with a Viennese twist.
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