What were your favorite foods growing up?
I was lucky growing up on the countryside, in a village called Wallsé, where most of the vegetables we used came from our garden. I still remember the yellow plums and the green bean shrubs.

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
I never wanted to do anything else, I dressed up like a chef when I was 7 years old. My brother, father and grandfather spent a lot of time together which left me with my mom and grandmother in the kitchen.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
At a very young age I enrolled in a professional hotel and restaurant school and obtained my degree in culinary arts, when I was 16 I started my apprenticeship at the Relais et Chateau Lowenherz in the Wachau.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
A race car driver

Who or what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
I was very fortunate, I worked at a lot of different places with very interesting chefs. I first journeyed to Switzerland to work at Crans Montan in the Wallis Valley, then I worked with Chef Werner Matt at the Rotisserie Prinz Eugen. Then I moved on to Tantris, a Michelin three-star restaurant in the heart of Munich, which had a huge impact on me. I later joined David Bouley and became a part of his talented team—we helped the restaurant upgrade their New York Times review from two to four stars. The position after was Munich's Mangostin, a contemporary Asian-influenced restaurant. But after six years in Germany I returned to New York to become a culinary director at David Bouley's expanding enterprise.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
A small fork, to turn the schnitzel

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
I was able to take all of my experiences and synthesize them with my passion for Austrian food—developing creative, yet authentic menus that showcase quality ingredients with an artistic flair. It is a Rock'n Roll of classic Austrian dishes.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Nutmeg. If you use it intelligently it is a very useful and important ingredient.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
You have to be passionate about what you are doing. You have to love what you are doing. If you are only in for the money, you will never win the Super Bowl.

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
There are many dishes on the menu I would recommend. There is one dish that is very popular for almost 8 years now — Halibut with Cucumber and Chanterelles.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make?
My first day here at Wallsé, it felt like a never ending day, it seemed like a really bumpy road in front of us, but when I look at it now I am very happy that I took this bumpy road.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
One day we had a new hostess in for training, I just came over from another restaurant of mine and started observing her. I watched her during service and at some point I saw her standing at the Micros station between the front and back room, so I went over to her and started giving her a speech about how to behave, what to do and what not to do as a hostess. She looked confused and said to me "I don't speak English", I told her to go back to the hostess stand and she just walked away and sat down on table 9. I could not believe it until I realized that she was not the hostess, she was a customer with just a very similar look as the new hostess I hired!

What is your least favorite food?
Bad hot dogs in sport stadiums with bad sauerkraut

What is your beverage of choice?
A glass of champagne and an ice-cold German beer

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
I made it my goal not to follow any culinary trends. It is more important to listen to yourself then to follow those trends, they don't really reflect who I really am, or what I am standing for in my cuisine. Sometimes it is better to stay away from this.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant,where are you eating?
I love the Wurstsalat followed by the Topfentorte at Café Sabarsky in the afternoon, the Cordon Bleu for lunch at Blaue Gans and the Kavalierspitz with creamed spinach, extra horseradish, no potatoes at Wallsé.

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
Well, the base of my dishes, of course, comes from Austria and Southern Germany, but I love the cosmopolitan multi-culture here in New York.

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
At Freddy Charade's restaurant in Switzerland

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Always look at your ingredients and do not too think difficultly, otherwise nothing is going to happen.

What do you eat when you are home?
Cereal and coffee in the morning, cheeses, and gummi bears when I watch TV