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From his grandmother to Norbert Niederkofler at the beginning of his career, from Gordon Ramsay in London to the chefs in the traditional restaurants of Naples: Egon Heiss has been influenced by a wide variety of people and chefs throughout his career. Today, the Sarntal native is a highly decorated chef at Gourmet Restaurant Prezioso in Merano's "Castel Fragsburg" and was crowned Chef of the Year 2024 by Gault&Millau.

Relais & Châteaux

For the 49-year-old, there's no recipe for success as such: "I've seen that most successful people are very hard-working, determined, persistent and humble, trying to improve a little every day and questioning themselves in the process." And referring to himself: "I focus on the essentials, both professionally and privately: the way of the kitchen is to become simpler, to work with few components and to serve the best products that don't have to be hidden." Egon Heiss' cuisine is inspired by northern Italy with all its regional ingredients. But thanks to new knowledge and various new cooking methods and techniques, it's lighter and more delicate. It is not for nothing that Heiss is often described by food critics as a tinkerer and magician.

The northern Italy menu

© Hannes Niederkofler

The question arises: if Heiss were to create a menu entitled "northern Italy", what would be on the table? "Farmhouse bacon, Schüttelbrot bread, mountain cheese, apple and gray cheese would be essential ingredients," he answers promptly. In summer, he adds peas, tomatoes, mozzarella from the Ritten water buffalo, apricots, cherries, char and chanterelles. The father of three doesn't have a favorite dish, but spaghetti aglio, olio, peperoncino is ''something excellent".

"Anyone who has seen and experienced everything comes back to the perfection of simplicity," says Heiss, who has cooked for many stars, crowned heads and billionaires as a Michelin-starred chef. So there's no particular personality that he would like to cook for. But he would certainly like to meet Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. "I often compare my job in the kitchen to his work as a coach: choosing the right players or staff, putting them in the right position or job, getting the best out of them every day, assessing situations quickly and reacting because there's no routine." And their success proves them both right! 

Read more: 4 Hand-picked Recipes From Egon Heiss