to the first edition of Neue Living. I hope you enjoy learning not only about what we do at our restaurants but also why we do it!

I recently became an American citizen. It was a very significant moment in my life and I am proud to call America home. I moved to the States permanently in 1996 and saw an opportunity to do something really special here. Born in a little town of 2,000 people, way out in the countryside of Austria, there was really no one to push me—so I did it myself. From an early age, I’ve always fought hard for what I believe in. My life would have taken a whole different path if I had stayed in Austria, but I wanted to travel and saw cooking as a way to explore different options. Although I love all kinds of cuisine, when it came down to what I wanted to cook in the U.S., I decided to stay with what my native country had given to me: to introduce to an American audience the elegance behind Austrian and German food. Austria is an old country steeped in tradition, so it was important to me to help people here understand that its food isn’t all about sauerkraut and potatoes. I take a lot of pride in where I came from as well as where I am today.
Art and design are two of my biggest passions. I love the creative process and the beauty of an object, and it makes me happy to fully integrate art and design into my restaurants. I am also a firm believer in simplicity—I think what we do is very straightforward, and we let good ingredients shine. And I strive to do the best job possible for my guests because it is an incredible feeling to please people while doing something you really love.

On Art, American Football, and the Eternal Question Mark

Last year, Kurt Gutenbrunner received the Austrian Gold Medal of Honor, one of the country’s highest decorations. “It feels good to be recognized by my country, and I appreciate the honor I received. But in the end, I consider myself a simple chef, nothing more. I feel fortunate to be able to do what I really like. It’s not just a job to me—it’s my life.”

Kurt Gutenbrunner has certainly earned his kitchen stripes, working at some of the finest establishments in and around Austria, Switzerland, and Munich in Germany before heading to New York’s Windows on the World Cellar in the Sky and then Bouley. “I just wanted to go out and see the world, and it was possible to do that through cooking.” He ended up in Munich for six more years before returning to work with David Bouley in New York as his culinary director and then taking over as executive chef at the Monkey Bar.

About 11 years ago, Kurt stumbled upon what is now Wallsé—named after his hometown on the Danube—when it was the Black Sheep, an old West Village establishment. He hired an Austrian architect to give it a makeover and decided to showcase German-Austrian food. “I considered doing a different type of fare, but I decided to do what I know best. I really believe that what we have created at Wallsé is modern, interesting, and different.”

A year later, he opened Café Sabarsky, a Viennese café in the Neue Galerie. “I actually met cofounder Ronald Lauder and director Renée Price before Wallsé opened. It was exciting to create this different kind of concept in this wonderful museum.” In 2005, Kurt took over the Blaue Gans space and created a casual Austrian wirsthaus, a tribute to sausages. His most recent endeavor, housed in the Swarovski Crystallized store in SoHo, is Café Kristall, designed by a young Swiss architect. “I love what Swarovski has done here, especially with the one-of-a-kind, commissioned chandeliers. They are wonderful pieces, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with them.”

If there is a unifying theme behind his restaurants aside from the food, it is art, Kurt’s other passion. “It’s fundamental to do something that you believe in and that makes you happy at the same time. For me, it is the fusion of food and art. I love good food, design, art, flowers, Thonet chairs, and antique mirrors. I love to buy my fabrics in Vienna, and I love going to the museum. And all of these elements are in my restaurants. Everything I do has a connection to art.”

“What I love about the Neue Galerie is its overall approach to art. It’s more than just pieces on the wall—there is a ‘why’ behind it, and that ‘why’ is what fascinates me. I’m not easy on myself. I question myself a lot: Why are we doing this? How are we going to do this? Will we do it right?”

And art there is—from the works of Julian Schnabel and Albert Oehlen on the walls of Wallsé and lighting fixtures and furniture designed by Austrian architects Josef Hoffmann and Adolf Loos in Café Sabarsky to fabrics from Backhausen in Café Kristall. “I am surrounded by an enormous amount of excellence!”

Besides introducing guests to his love of art, there is the question of the food, which, certainly in the beginning, involved a lot of risk. “I fight hard for my beliefs. I am constantly pushing myself. I fought hard to get more Austrian wines imported to the United States, to make people understand there is more to Austrian food than what they may imagine. So it’s exciting to see how much progress we have made.” And the proof is in the pudding—or, in this case, the strudel. A lot of his clientele is American, which Kurt points to as acceptance of

At the turn of the 20th century, Vienna was considered one of Europe’s leading cultural centers. Wiener Werkstätte was a revolutionary production community of visual artists—architects, artists, and designers—brought together under a common commitment to design art that would be accessible to everyone.
In the following pages, we bring together accessible elements of winter entertaining, from recipes and ingredients to floral design and gifts for all occasions, to make your winter festivities a little more elegant with a little less stress.

Festive Flowers

Paris-born Yasmine Karrenberg is a Tribeca local and mother of three who has an intense passion for blooms. She has been arranging the flowers at Wallsé for the past ten years and recently launched her own business, Flowers by Yasmine.

How did your interest in flowers blossom? I have always loved flowers; it wasn’t anything I ever went to school for, it was just a passion of mine. Growing up just outside of Paris, we had a garden with a magnificent lilac tree in it, which was the flower I first fell for. They are so strong and powerful that you need only one to fill up the house with its perfume. In France, we were constantly going to the markets, where you can pick out your own arrangements at the flower stalls. I always loved doing that, and it evolved naturally into bringing flowers to the homes of my friends, who were usually surprised when I said I had arranged them myself. I started doing the flowers at Wallsé, and it progressed from there.

Does art inspire your floral creations? I am half-German so I grew up with Klimt, but I love Monet. A few years ago, I took my three daughter to Monet’s gardens at Giverny, and it just reinforced my love of flowers and gardens and voluminosity. I wanted to just gather it all up in my arms. Monet is magical and very inspirational. When I was little, every Easter we went to Holland, where I fell in love with the tulip and hyacinth fields! Van Gogh’s paintings have also influenced my work.

What considerations do you give to floral arrangements in a restaurant setting? Practicality and seasonality. You can make it pretty for the customers, but depending on where you put the flowers—on a hostess stand, the tables, or on the bar—they can’t be too big and difficult to work around. Also, I like to work with seasonal colors and flowers, especially since that is what the chef works with ingredient wise, and it’s a good synchronization.

What are some of your favorite flowers and foliage for the season? Amaryllis is a pretty amazing flower by itself that doesn’t need anything to really create a mood: simple, elegant, and powerful, whether potted or singular in a vase. I love white more than red for the holidays, but I do use red in the restaurants as it is festive and brings warmth to the cold. This time of the year, anemones are just spectacular. I always love roses, and I love the smell of pine in the home.

There are plenty of Austrian and German food traditions that authenticate and add dimension to any winter party spread.

Viennese Finger Sandwiches

Vienna’s version of fast food, these elegant open-face sandwiches are a lunch staple that come in a variety of tastes and textures. We use whole-grain bread from Amy’s Bread for ours. Perfect for parties of all sizes.

Spicy Egg Spread

Makes 1 cup
5 hard-boiled eggs
t tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 cornichons
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon drained capers

Puree all ingredients together in a food processor and spread on fingers of bread. Get creative with the toppings. Chef KG likes to add sliced hard-boiled eggs with tiny herb sprigs on top.

Stollen

This traditional German bread-like fruitcake, usually eaten during the holidays, dates back to the 1400s. It contains dried fruit and citrus peels and is usually covered with some form of icing or powdered sugar.

3 cups raisins
4 tablespoons rum
8 cups flour
2 cups lukewarm milk
2 cakes compressed yeast
1 cup sugar
Pinch salt
2 cups butter
3/4 cup ground or chopped almonds
1 cup candied lemon peel, finely diced
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup candied orange peel, finely sliced Ground nutmeg
Butter for brushing
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Soak the raisins overnight in the rum.

Prepare a yeast dough using the flour, milk, yeast, sugar, salt, and butter. In turn, work the almonds, lemon peel, orange peel, nutmeg, and raisins into the dough, kneading well after the addition of each ingredient. Leave to rest for 1 hour. Then knead the dough again, divide in half, shape into stollen, and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 1 hour. While the stolen is still warm, brush it with melted butter and dust thickly with confectioners’ sugar.

“I am extremely proud of what we have done in the way of making Austrian wines more popular in New York. We have such a great selection in stock that I often have Austrian winemakers marveling at the labels we carry, many of which they can’t even get their hands on anymore!” —Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner

Red Varietals
ZWEIGELT
The most widespread red wine varietal in Austria, zwiegelt grows in all the wine regions. This violet-reddish-colored wine ranges from young-drinking to strong, firm wines.
“An easy-to-drink table wine, low in tannins. A hidden cherry note, a light to medium body, mostly on the lighter side. Our go-to wine with a plate of charcuterie.”

BLAUFRÄNKISCH
The blueish-black blaufränkisch grapes grow in the wine regions of Burgenland and Carnuntum. This late-ripening variety is characterized by deep woodberry or cherry tones and can yield wines with dense structure and prominent tannins with good aging potential.
“More structure that makes for a longer finish. Fruit notes plus some spiciness that gives it a unique character.”

SAINT LAURENT
Named after St. Lawrence’s Day, August 10th, the day when these grapes begin to change color. Saint Laurent is not an easy grape to grow. It is sensitive, low yielding, and needs deep soil, but it yields high-quality dark, sturdy, and fruity wines with good ageability.
“Similar to a pinot noir with a little more texture, very smooth and inviting. It has slight red-berry fruit notes and a medium finish.”

White Varietals
GRÜNER VELTLINER
The most popular white and most important grape varietal in Austria, Grüner Veltliner is widely planted, especially in Niederösterreich and northern Burgenland. This grape delivers wines of all levels of quality, though spicy, peppery versions with stone-fruit notes are preferred.

“Light, easy, fresh, with some pepper notes, some green apple, a bit of acidity. Lemon and lime notes, which work well in the summer. Higher-end vintages can have less spice and more ripe apple notes. You have more on your palate; your finish is longer. The acidity will keep this wine fresh and enjoyable even after six or seven years.”

RIESLING
Next to the Grüner Veltliner, this is the most important white wine variety in the Wachau and the most widely grown white variety for all quality levels of wine. Young Riesling wines have dominant notes of stone fruit and can reflect a minerality reminiscent of slate or flint. Aged wines have rose-like scents and can develop a pleasurable petrol tone.
“Many think all Rieslings are sweet, but that is definitely not the case with Austrian Rieslings—95 percent of their production is bone-dry.”

I’ve always had a passion for wine. I went to an Austrian hospitality school in Vienna while at the time working at Steirereck, one of the finest restaurants in the country. I traveled for a bit and ended up in Alsace, France, where I first worked in a restaurant but then moved on to a local winery. There, I learned every step of the winemaking process, from driving the tractor and harvesting to pressing and selling. After that, I headed home to finish my diploma as a sommelier and deepen my wine studies. In 2007, I took a job on a cruise line as a sommelier in its main dining room. The fast pace and organization was a real eye-opener.
Off the boat and back in Austria in 2008, I fortuitously crossed paths with Kurt while he was on vacation in Vienna. A month later, I was working for him in New York. Kurt gives Austrian fare a modern interpretation—not so easy to do in an American marketplace saturated with French and Italian culinary influences—but he has done it well. The wine program is different at each of our locations. For the most part, we have a 100 percent Austrian wine list. It’s exciting to be able to showcase Austrian wines and watch their popularity grow each year.
—Leo Schneemann

WINE PARINGS

Blaue Gans
Beef Goulash with Spaetzle and Roasted Peppers
Heideboden (ZW-BF) Reeh—Neusiedlersee, Burgenland 2011

Wallsé
Wiener Schnitzel, Potato Cucumber Salad, Lingonberries
Neuberger, Federspiel, Wallsé Edition—J. Donabaum, Wachau, Niederösterreich 2011

Café Kristall
Veal Sliders Oven-Baked Veal with Mâche Salad, Sautéed Potato, Veal Jus
St. Laurent, Altenberg—Glatzer, Carnuntum, Niederösterreich 2004

Café Sabarsky
Palatschinken mit Räucherforelle & Oberskren Chilled Smoked Trout Crêpes and Horseradish, Crème Fraîche
Grüner Veltliner, Heiligenstein—Weingut Hirsch, Kammern, Kamptal 2011

Upholstery winebar
Enjoy one of our wine-based cocktails, like the Antique Fruit—fresh black berries cooked with cherry vinaigrette, mixed with red wine, with soda water on top.

Located in Gols, Burgenland, Szigeti is Austria’s only family-owned winery dedicated to sparkling wine production. Brothers Peter and Norbert Szigeti employ centuries-old knowledge from the Champagne region, combined with the latest technology and innovative ideas, to produce more than 35 different sparkling wines.

The charm of Szigeti wines lies in their fresh, lovely aromatics, lively textures, and elegant fruity flavors. In addition to such classic wines as Grüner Veltliner and Welschriesling Brut, Szigeti also creates premium sparkling wines from chardonnay, muscat ottonel, and pinot noir rosé.

Juice from the finest, ripest, and healthiest grapes grown in Burgenland/Pannonia, the sunniest region in Austria, is fermented in the bottle using the méthode traditionnelle, a labor-intensive and highly specialized method that preserves and refines the freshness and flavors of each grape variety used.

Production at Szigeti is a rigorous process. Once the grapes are pressed, fermentation begins with the best Champagne yeast, imported directly from France. The wines rest on the yeast until the fermentation starts in the bottle. As fermentation continues, the wines rest on the spent yeast for 15 months or more, ripening and developing in the bottle, which results in a perfect mousseux, or perlage, of delicate, fine bubbles and finely developed flavors. At the end of this resting period, computer-controlled riddling machines bring the bottles slowly and carefully from a horizontal to an upside-down position, allowing the yeast to move gently down to the bottle neck. At the end of the riddling process, the bottles move neck down into a freezing agent to embed the yeast in an ice cube. Then the yeast and ice cube is removed, or degorged, and the dosage is added to give the last refinement to the sparkling wine. Different from the Champagne region, where a sugar and wine solution is added, Szigeti sparkling wines are replenished with selected dessert wines from the region.

KLIMT-EDITION SZIGETI SEKT
Conceived by Kurt and Leo and produced by Szigeti, this special Klimt edition Blanc de Blanc Brut 2009 features the artwork of Gustav Klimt’s Adele Bloch Bauer that hangs in the Neue Galerie, who is celebrating the painting’s 100th anniversary in 2013.
“We wanted to produce a sparkling wine in line with our heritage to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Klimt’s birth, as well as the book-release party for Neue Cuisine. We took 50 percent of the Chardonnay grapes from Wachau and 50 percent from Hungary, not only because Peter Szigeti was producing some Hungarian wines but also because of the historical aspect of our joint empire. Instead of brandy or cognac for the dosage, we added an Austrian sweet wine. The result is a wine with green flavors on the nose, a creamy palate, and a very acidic-driven structure that makes it fresh.”
The bottle was a key visual for everyone involved. Thanks to permission granted by Ronald Lauder, Kurt and Leo were able to take photos of Adele to use on the label. The overall result is a fusion of culinary and art—both inside and outside the bottle.

Zum Schwarzes Kameel
With just 11 tables and set in a perfectly preserved Art Deco dining room, Zum Schwarzes Kameel is a treasure trove of culinary delights. Opened in 1618, it features a delicatessen selling everything from specialty meats to wine. The café is renown for its hearty and flavorful cuisine, including herring filet Oslo, potato soup, tournedos, roman saltimbocca (veal with ham), and an array of daily fish specials.
Bognergasse 5, Vienna
+43 (0)1 533 81 25 11 kameel.at

Hotel Sacher
Founded in 1876, this five-star hotel located opposite the Vienna State Opera is famous for its specialty of the house, the Sacher Torte, a chocolate cake with apricot filling. There is also an art gallery in the hotel featuring works from the 19th century. The hotel is built where Antonio Vivaldi once lived.
Philharmonikerstraße 4, Vienna
+43 (0) 1 514 560
sacher.com

Restaurant Steirereck
Located in one of the most beautiful settings in town, Steirereck’s commitment to indigenous sourcing, the revival of forgotten dishes, and the promotion of sustainability have earned it considerable praise, including 11th ranking in ‘The World’s 50 Best restaurants.” An unsung culinary hero, Steirereck’s chef-owner Heinz Reitbauer creates a “corner of Styria” in this intimate and rustic restaurant with traditional Viennese dishes and new Austrian selections on the menu.
Am Heumarkt 2A Vienna
+43 (1) 713 31 68
steirereck.at

Urbanek am Naschmarkt
It’s tiny, but step inside Urbanek and enter a world of the finest selection of cured meats and cheeses that will truly impress. Run by three charming men—Gerhard and his two sons—this place is a delight for gourmands who don’t mind enjoying a glass at wine in close quarters!
Naschmarkt Stand 46, Vienna
+43 (0) 1 587 20 80zwienernaschmarkt.eu

Outside Vienna

Restaurant Obauer, Salzburg
It’s worth the 45-minute train ride from Salzburg to sample the cuisine of Karl and Rudolph Obauer, who worked for some of the greatest chefs of Europe before opening their own little hotel and restaurant in this pristine hilltop village. Their kitchen turns out fare that is regional, seasonal, creative, traditional and modern, hot and cold, and usually all of the above at the same time. Try the venison terrine, the Werfen lamb, the Pongau lamb, or other dishes made with local ingredients.
Markt 46, Salzburg
+43 (0) 6468 52 12 0 obauer.com

Gasthaus Steirawirt, Steiermark
Brother and sister Sonja and Richard Rauch have turned this 120-year guesthouse into one of the finest restaurants in Styria. Their food displays all their avid passion and enthusiasm for regional products, integrating tradition with innovation in their culinary techniques.
Trautmannsdorf 6, Styria
+43 (0) 31 59 41 06 steirawirt.at

Heurigenhof Bründlmayer, Langenlois
Don’t miss the fresh nut dumplings at Heurigenhof Bründlmayer, a quaint wine tavern that offers both typical Heurigen products, such as
bacon, sausages and cheese, as well as more sophisticated dishes.
Walterstraße 14, Langenlois
+43 (0) 2 734 28 83 heurigenhof.at

Yoko Ono and Swarovski together
In September, Swarovski celebrated the launch of Yoko Ono’s limited-edition crystal key cuts at Café Kristall, with Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner as host. In attendance were Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Olsen, Chelsea Leyland, Alek Wek, Nadja Swarovski, Julie Macklowe, Zani Gugelmann, Flo Fulton, Cameron Silver, Emma Snowden Jones, Waris Ahluwalia, Anne Grauso, Mia Moretti, Catlin Moe, Bruce Weber, and Yoko Ono.

10-Mile Dinner
On September 22nd, German winemaker Roman Roth of Wölffer Estate Vineyard and Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner teamed up in Southampton at the winery’s historic Hamptons home for an unforgettable meal to benefit the East End Hospice.

NYCFWF Shake & Bake
On October 11th, Whoopi Goldberg hosted Shake & Bake, an event whose menu features a star chef–studded love for fried chicken. In attendance was Chef Gutenbrunner, who marked the occasion with his backhendl—a golden fried chicken—and potato arugula salad

Taste of the Greenmarket
At the Fifth Annual Taste of Greenmarket held on June 27th, more than 20 of the city’s finest chefs and mixologists prepared market-inspired dishes and cocktails for an elegant evening and silent auction that honored Women in Agriculture, pioneers who have paved the way for the next generation of regional farmers. Chef Gutenbrunner cooked heirloom tomatoes two ways, and all proceeds benefited Greenmarket’s Youth Education Project.

From the publisher, HauteNotes is about the discovery of all things innovative and exciting in food and wine, art and design, and style and travel. Visit hautenotes.com.

Wölffer Estate Vineyard

Sagaponack, New York
Perched on a rise overlooking vineyards to the east and the gently rolling Hamptons landscape to the west, Wölffer Estate Vineyard is unquestionably one of the most beautiful and stylish on Long Island. Rivaling European wineries, the rustic, Tuscan-style building, with its warm ochre walls, houses a lavish tasting room with imported stained-glass doors, an expansive portico, and a state-of–the-art winery underneath. An appropriate foundation for the world-class Wölffer wines, among them the popular rosé known in the Hamptons as “Summer in a Bottle,” created and nurtured by winemaker Roman Roth. Wölffer Estate Vineyard values its long and gratifying relationship with Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner while watching his creativity and passion for life drive his many successes.