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Naturhotel Rainer:
quality starts at the roots

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How it all began: Chef Hannes Rainer tells his story...

Ever since I was a child I have appreciated the treasures of nature in South Tyrol.

 

Throughout my childhood I spent my school holidays being a shepherd and dairyman at our Ontrattalm dairy hut with my grandfather and his sister. Growing up like that was the best thing for me. I was free, I played, I did what I wanted... but of course I also worked. Milking cows and goats, making cheese, taking the animals up into the mountains and bringing them back.... The day began at 5 a.m. and ended at 9 p.m. when it got dark: life according to the natural cycle. And when they came to pick me up, I never wanted to go back down.

 

It was here that my affinity with nature developed. It is here that my foundation was laid for working with what nature has to offer.

Nature, our teacher

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Up there in the alpine pastures, one learns why it is so healthy to take the cattle out to pasture and into the fresh air. The lush alpine meadows with their grasses are ideal for obtaining the nutrient-rich milk needed to make richly flavoured cheeses and butter. The taste and valuable ingredients of these traditional products are unmistakable. It is also essential for steers and heifers to spend the summer in mountain pastures, as this makes their meat particularly tender and gives it beautiful marbling.

We are not organic. We are something more.

What grows is harvested. Maybe crooked, maybe misshapen, but always genuine!

 

Our natural gourmet cuisine reflects the idea of nature: we almost exclusively use regional and seasonal products. Fresh, high-quality foodstuffs are transformed into unique creations on our guests' plates.

 

The products of our farm, vegetable garden and fields or the herbs from our herb garden and the Ontrattalm dairy hut are free of harmful substances, processed and fertilized without any chemical additives. In co-operation with our natural partners in South Tyrol, most of whom are Hannes’ friends, we can optimally implement our culinary philosophy, using among other things:

  • vegetables and meat from our own farm and from local farmers,
  • game from Val di Giovo, caught by our senior manager himself,
  • eggs from organic farms with proper free-range practices.

Hannes Rainer

Hotel owner and chef de cuisine

"By using unprocessed products, the flavour develops better and gives the dish a special touch - something that is impossible with commercially available products.”

From nature to the plate

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It is a mustthat our animals spend the summer months in our alpine pasture, where they graze on lush grass and wild plants, drink fresh spring water and enjoy the mountain sun in the fragrant alpine meadows. The resulting quality speaks for itself and we place great emphasis on this.

 

The same applies to the ripening of our natural products from fields and meadows. The longer they can ripen, the better the flavours develop. This is also the reason why our natural producers are located in close proximity: in this way, we can take advantage of the optimal ripening process and create flavour-rich dishes.

 

Of course, we cannot source everything here in the region. We do, however, use South Tyrolean and Italian quality products as much as possible.