PASSION TALK WITH BENJAMIN PARTH

(…)finest tabletop and cutlery play a very special role: when applied to the painting, they are the frame and canvas of a culinary creation.

Cosmopolitan, cheeky and out of the ordinary, garnished with a breeze of imagination: This is how Benjamin Parth’s recipe for success can be described.

In his gourmet restaurant Stüva in the Hotel YSCLA, he translates the philosophy of the Tyrolean winter sports mecca Ischgl into a modern gourmet concept. The restaurant enjoys an excellent reputation and has developed from an insider tip to one of Austria’s top gourmet restaurants in recent years.

rochini: Hello Benjamin! Thanks for your time. How did you get your passion, cooking and creating dishes?

Benjamin: Preparing dishes gave me great pleasure in childhood and I had ample opportunity to do so in my parents’ business. Then I soon had the ambition to be as good as my mother. At the latest when Jamie Oliver emerged as a role model, it became clear to me where my journey should go.

rochini: Which dish do you eat, and which do you prefer to cook?

Benjamin: In general, I tend to prefer seafood and Franco-Japanese cuisine. After a day of work with a ruler and tweezers, I can also have a currywurst with my kitchen crew. However, the following always applies: the best quality is essential.

rochini: Normally it is high season in your gourmet restaurant Stüva at this time of the year. But everything has changed for a year. How are you currently shaping your everyday life?

Benjamin: One result of my lockdown activities “can be read”: The book “Angeberküche für Jedermann” is a product of the first lockdown. In autumn we created a pop-up sushi bar for our house, which has a particularly broad portfolio. And of course, I dedicated the past few months to my little family: our daughter Clara keeps my wife and me on our toes and it’s nice for me to have extra time for her.

rochini: Which positive aspects and which chances are crystallizing for you from the current corona problem?

Benjamin: Due to the current stagnation and the emerging developments, we currently have the chance to reflect: Now is the time to find new ways to bring hospitality and our beautiful country back into focus. Crises make it possible to better recognize past mistakes so that they can be dealt with sustainably. For example, I see a promising perspective in raising the quality factor in hospitality to a new level in the hotel industry in the Alpine region. Not only our mountains, but also our offer should be outstanding.

rochini: What aspects of cooking do you associate with joy?

Benjamin: Creative design and the opportunity to learn every day are my primary motivators here. This form of creativity makes the daily variety particularly exciting. Above all, however, the fact that for someone cooking always means “giving joy” to a certain extent.

rochini: Which criteria are essential for you when creating and presenting your creations?

Benjamin: In general, the following applies to me: Only the best quality ingredients! My main focus in cooking is on taste. However, the principle “eat with your eyes” always applies, so the next important step is the presentation. And here finest tabletop and cutlery play a very special role: when applied to the painting, they are the frame and canvas of a culinary creation.

rochini: The youngest award-winning chef in Austria at the age of 19, four toques (18.5 points) in Gault & Millau 2021, four forks (97 points) in Falstaff Restaurant Guide 2020, inclusion in “Les Grandes Tables du Monde” 2020 – these are just a few of your awards. What can we expect from you in the future?

Benjamin: I still have a lot of goals in mind and will definitely not rest on existing awards. “Get better every day” was my credo from the start, and that still applies without reservation today.