From Farm to Plate – The Embachhof and the Natural Cuisine at the Puradies

Some hotels write regionality on their menu. For us, it stands in the field: the Embachhof, owned by the Madreiter family since 1845, is less than a five-minute walk from the hotel. What grows and grazes here often ends up on the plate the very same day. That's not a marketing promise, but simply the shortest route we know.

Around the nature resort, we have been farming for generations, just as mountain farmers in this region have always done: down to earth, without detours, without long transport routes – today as a certified organic farm. Fruit, vegetables and herbs grow in Sissi's garden right on the farm, and the alpine cattle graze on the surrounding meadows. For our little guests, the farm with its petting zoo is often their first big holiday adventure; for the kitchen, it is the most important list of ingredients we have.

What comes from our own cultivation is an integral part of our cuisine: depending on the season and harvest, herbs, vegetables and meat from the Embachhof can be found at the breakfast buffet as well as in the afternoon snack or the evening menu – usually most prominently where the head chef gives them the leading role: in the evening. The offering is complemented by, among others, selected regional partner businesses – because for us, farm to table means not just our own farm, but also the neighbourhood.

As different as our three culinary lines are – Genial Regional, Mediterranean Love and Hand-Picked – the core idea remains the same: good ingredients, honestly prepared, with the shortest possible routes. Genial Regional focuses on the immediate surroundings, with ingredients from, among others, our own Embachhof organic farm and selected businesses from the neighbourhood.

As part of half board, a breakfast buffet with products from, among others, our own Embachhof organic farm, an afternoon snack and, in the evening, a multi-course gourmet menu from our three culinary lines await you in the hotel restaurant, all year round.

If you would like to spend even more time on a culinary experience one evening, you will find it at Ess:enz, our additional gourmet restaurant with 2 Gault&Millau toques and 3 Falstaff forks. Ess:enz is not included in your stay and can be booked separately by all guests as well as external visitors.

A little adventure awaits just behind the hotel: in the Embachhof's henhouse, you can go on a search yourself and find your own breakfast egg. Amid the straw and excited clucking, it's entirely up to you to discover the right nest. Bring your prize to reception, where your room number will be noted, and the next morning that very egg will be on your breakfast table, prepared exactly the way you like it best: scrambled, soft-boiled or in a glass. For children, this is often the highlight of their holiday day; for everyone else, it's a small reminder of where good food actually comes from.

"For the little ones, finding eggs with me in the henhouse is the greatest thing."

So says senior manager Wasti, Sebastian Madreiter, born in 1953, organic farmer and the heart of the Embachhof for as long as anyone can remember. What is everyday life for him becomes a little story for our guests to take home with them.