The Genuss Festival was founded in 2008 to showcase Austrian cuisine and high-quality gourmet products from different regions of the country. The name of the event can be translated into English as “pleasure festival” or “indulgence festival”, and this is exactly what the Genuss Festival is about: every year in early May, more than 100,000 people come to the Vienna Stadtpark to indulge in delicious foods, buy delicacies from different corners of the country, attend culinary workshops, and meet the best Austrian chefs. The main focus of the festival is regional food produced using traditional skills.
The goal of the Genuss Festival is to showcase high-quality food and drinks from different parts of Austria. The event features almost two hundred booths and tents where the country’s leading craft food producers and small artisan manufacturers offer culinary specialties. Here you can sample and buy cheese from Tyrol and Vorarlberg, Alpine caviar and sea buckthorn from Upper Austria, snails from Vienna, honey from Carinthia, poppy seed oil and hemp from Lower Austria, wines and pumpkin seed products from Styria, and other delicacies from all over the country. To make navigation easier, all booths are divided between four festival areas: Forest & Meadow, Earth, Water, and Specialties.
There is something at the Genuss Festival for everyone: cured meats and sausages, pastries and bread, mead and schnapps, a fine selection of wines, and countless jars and bottles filled with oils, different kinds of vinegar and mustard, salad dressings, spreads, honeys, jams, herbs, and spices. This jars and bottles with condiments might make good gifts to take back home. The best thing about buying food directly from manufacturers is that they will gladly talk to you about the production process and answer any questions you might have. The origin and quality of all products offered at the festival are confirmed by the AMA GENUSS REGION seal.
The Genuss Festival isn’t just about shopping for food though. Its program offers plenty of exciting events and activities for people of all ages. For example, there are several interactive stations for children where kids can try to churn butter, grind their own herbs, or make their own muesli, whereas adults will surely be interested in live cooking demonstrations and discussions hosted by Austria’s top chefs. And, of course, there are also the beautiful monuments, pavilions, and flowerbeds scattered throughout the Stadtpark, which you absolutely should check out while you’re at it.
The Vienna Culinary Festival is usually held during Mother’s Day weekend (like many other countries, Austria celebrates Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May). It normally takes place rain or shine; however, the festival did go on hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: festival.genussregionen.at
