The Making-Of Wiener Schnecke
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Who would have guessed that Vienna used to be the centre of Europe’s snail gastronomy? Until the mid-20th century, Vienna had a special snail-market where so called “snail-women” sold the molluscs in various price categories.
During lent there was such a high demand for the “Viennese Oyster”, that snails had to be shipped even from Ulm down to Vienna. However, with the break-up of the Austrian Hungarian monarchy this culinary tradition fell into oblivion. The snail started a comeback only in the 60ies, camouflaged as French delicacy under the name “Escargot”.
During lent there was such a high demand for the “Viennese Oyster”, that snails had to be shipped even from Ulm down to Vienna. However, with the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy this culinary tradition fell into oblivion. The snail culture made a comeback only in the 60′s, camouflaged as French delicacy under the name “Escargot”.
Andreas Gugumuck works with missionary zeal on the conservation of the old Austrian snail tradition. His excitement for snail breeding started as a hobby to counterbalance his job in the IT sector. In the meantime the dedication to his snails became full-time and with his enthusiasm and inventiveness he puts the snail-scene upside-down. Besides the traditional snails cooked with soup vegetables, snail-caviar and snail-liver were added to his product range. Furthermore, Andreas organises an popular annual snail-festival, attended by many starred chefs and gourmets.