Or, possibly, pre, pre ski… Summer in the Alps is food and hiking heaven
The Alps. We all think about them for some winter entertainment but less so in the summer. Some regions, however, are trying to change that…
Take Ischgl for example. Ischgl is home to more than 1,000 km of hiking paths (and not quite enough vowels). It also has 350 km of bike routes AND the largest number of gourmet restaurants in Austria after Vienna, four of which have been awarded four Toques by Gault Millau, meaning they serve “world beating” cuisine.
And thus started The Culinary Way of St James, as an attempt to improve the quality of food served at local Alpine Association huts and promote the area’s food credentials.
Seven of the region’s best chefs create a new dish using local produce, such as the region’s renowned Paznaun mountain cheese, and regional varieties of bacon, sausages, and honey, and seven mountain huts in the Paznaun-Ischgl, dotted along the ancient path of St. James serve the dishes through the summer season (June 24 until September 18). Hikers can then choose between six different routes, of varying difficulty. It’s like a Sunday walk to the pub then. Only prettier. For details, well, you know what to do…
Neil Davey
Neil Davey is a freelance writer specialising in things you can do sitting down, but mostly eating, drinking, travelling and interviewing the odd famous person. The author of The Bluffer's Guide To Chocolate, Neil also writes for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Metro, Delicious Magazine, Sainsbury's Magazine, Escapism, Foodism and Hello!. Thanks to a karaoke machine in Montana, he once told a billionaire that he loved his sweet little pussycat nose and sang I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For with a Hollywood star, in the space of 15 minutes. He now generally stays away from karaoke machines in Montana.