Gasthaus Haberl & Fink's Delikatessen

Junior Hans-Peter Fink has now taken over as head chef. You can taste his training in top international restaurants on every plate. His wife Nina skillfully selects from 400 wines.

The hyphen makes all the difference. Until now, Hans Peter Fink, 51, has been in charge of the culinary side of the 100-year-old inn in the Styrian Vulkanland region. He was once head chef at Vienna's "Sacher", and since 2008 he and his wife Bettina have run the family business including a delicatessen factory - with an impressive 200,000 jars of everything from vinegar plums to mushroom goulash per year. Recently the question arose - how does son Hans-Peter Fink, who has just turned 27 and has a hyphen, see his future? While elsewhere the changeover between generations lasts until the third generation would like to get involved, here it was clear - now or never. Because not keeping such a well-trained and highly motivated junior in the company would be missing out on an opportunity of the century. Hans-Peter and his wife Nina worked at Swiss top chef Andreas Caminada's "IGNIV" in Bad Ragaz, for example, while Nina was part of the "Tantris" sommelier team. Hans-Peter got his finishing touches at the three-star "Waldhotel Sonnora", which many consider to be one of the very best addresses in Europe. "Nina and Hans-Peter are taking the hotel into a new dimension," says Hans Peter Fink. And he is right. In addition to the menu, there are also fifteen à la carte dishes on the menu. An enormous repertoire that not only shines with remarkable precision course after course, but also with highly exciting compositions. A highlight right at the start: brook trout "Ikejime" (the gentlest method of killing) marinated raw and as a small brawn in a ceviche broth of white onions, kohlrabi, watermelon and lemongrass - aromatically finely balanced so as not to overpower the delicate fish. Pretty great cuisine. We continue in the same vein. Plucked crab with radishes and green apple as a small salad plus yellowtail mackerel. And big again: glazed sweetbreads on celeriac puree, lettuce, mirabelle plum and Madeira jus. When this is followed by the best Scottish lamb, you might ask Hans-Peter how he feels about regionality. The answer is clear: if the product is right - yes, otherwise no. What has always been a very good "Gasthaus" has become an exceptional one. The charge of 135 euros for seven courses is classed as occasion. The wine list features exciting wines from all over the world alongside Styrian heroes. There are also a few legendary labels. And for those who want to pop in, there is the "Terrassen Nest" during the day, where the same fish soup is served as in the fine evening restaurant.