History walks the red carpet in Vienna's Hotel Imperial. Marble columned, stucco-art, glimmering chandeliers and life-size paintings. Built as the Viennese residence of the Prince of Wrttemberg in 1863 and transformed into a hotel in 1873, Hotel Imperial has been the fave snooze-place of the rich and the mighty. Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore checked-in in 1926, Queen Elizabeth stayed here in 1969 and the Emperor of Japan turned in with 400 suitcases. Michael Jackson stayed incognito until he walked across the street to shop and fans gathered around the hotel on a frosty night.
Hotel Imperial is famous for the square almondy Imperial torte and Weiner schnitzel. Of late, it is the hotel's Michelin-star Opus restaurant, which is basking in the glory of Gault-Millau 3 toques and Falstaff 90 points. Behind all this Opus glory is head chef Stefan Speiser, the Shooting Star of the year 2017 awarded by Gault&Millau Guide, an honour that all chefs covet.
Speiser grew up in Lower Austria. He was probably to the kitchen born - he started cooking at 13, apprenticed at 16 and tied the aprons for several swank restaurants. It was Rupert Schnait, chef-de-cuisine at Hotel Imperial, who discovered this highly talented young chef and gave the 35-year-old Speiser his own culinary playground from the very first day. For three years, Speiser has been the head chef at Opus and has masterminded the restaurant's success. To celebrate its Michelin star, the restaurant has created the ultimate Opus experience: a special, six-course menu highlighting some of Speiser's favourite dishes, such as organic egg and black truffle with quinoa and glazed tongue of veal, and five-spiced duck breast with salted tangerine, broccoli, and lotus root.
One afternoon, chef Speiser sat in Opus at exactly the same window from where Charlie Chaplin first addressed his fans through a microphone. Listed in Austria's 50 Best Chefs List and considered an authority on Austrian vegetables, Speiser talked of his journey as a chef, the 'absolutely unexpected' honour from Michelin and his must-haves in the kitchen.
Trace your beginnings as a chef.
Very early in childhood, I wanted to become a chef. No one ever in the family has been a professional chef but I decided to chase my dream profession. At 16, I was working as an apprentice. Before starting at the legendary Hotel Imperial, the stations of my career include, amongst others, the five-star superior Hotel Kulm in St Moritz, the five-star Hotel Central in Soelden, Meinl am Graben in Vienna, and Lisl Wagner-Bacher's Landhaus Bacher in Mautern in Lower Austria.
Do you remember the first dish you cooked?
I started cooking when I was 13, but I do not remember the first dish that I cooked.
What is your inspiration?
The daily train ride along the passing fields of Lower Austria inspires me to novel culinary creations and works as a laboratory of ideas for the dishes/recipes.
Do you have a chef guru?
Yes. Andreas Caminada, the Swiss chef who, by the age of 33, had been awarded three Michelin stars and 19 Gault-Millau points. He is the youngest chef in Europe with three Michelin stars.
What is your culinary philosophy?
My gastronomic handwriting stands for exquisitely light Austrian cuisine, inspired by global trends, playfully decorated, and served with a modern twist. The focus is on premier quality products which are sourced regionally and grown sustainably. For my culinary creations at Opus Restaurant, I choose only what I am myself fond of.
What is your favourite thing in the kitchen?
Vegetables. Not anything picked from the cold storage or imported from far-off countries. I believe in local and seasonal produce.
What is Opus's signature dish?
The one dish that everyone should devour at the famous restaurant? At Opus, we change the menu five to six times a year and not a single dish is repeated. What you see on the menu today, will never return. As such, there is no signature Opus dish.
Is every dish a surprise?
We did spring a few surprises. For example, our pigeon dish which is served with turnip, chamomile, and pistachio. Traditionally, Austrians do not eat pigeon meat. To create this unusual dish, I sourced pigeon from Austria's only pigeon farm which is located in a small village of Deutsch-Tschantschendorf in southern Burgenland. The Austrian gourmand was mighty surprised by the pigeon, especially the pigeon-feet dish.
Any favourite comfort food?
No. It all depends on the day, the mood. What I know is that one should hurry through food. You should spare two hours for the six-course dinner at Opus. Slow food is not only about slow cooking, perhaps also about slow eating.
Beyond Austrian, is there a particular cuisine that fascinates you?
I am interested in the Norwegian kitchen, which presents itself as simple, with the freshness of products being of high importance. Furthermore, I find the development of the Norwegian cuisine within the last 10 years amazing.
If you had to carry only five things into a kitchen, what will those be?
Knife. Creativity (although not really a thing). Fresh products. Spices. Two persons who will enjoy my creations (although people do not count as things).