Top London Chef to Launch Summer Gourmet Festival in the Austrian Alps

London-based top chef – and adventurer – James Knappett is to launch a summer gourmet programme along with fellow Michelin-starred chefs from across Europe.

And for James, hiking in the Austrian Alps will be like a walk in the park as his last few hikes have been arduous treks in Ethiopia, Myanmar and Nepal for the global charity Action Against Hunger.

James is one of five European Michelin-starred guest chefs to feature in the Culinary Jakobsweg summer food programme of the four Tirolean mountain villages of Ischgl, Galtür, Kappl and See.

Each chef adopts a mountain lodge restaurant and creates a hearty dish using locally sourced ingredients, which then becomes that restaurant’s seasonal special on the menu. And each will hike to their chosen lodge to cook and serve their dish on the first weekend in July when the programme opens for the summer season.

The programme takes its name from the ancient pilgrims’ path of Jakobsweg which crosses this part of the Alps on the route from France to Spain.

James and wife and business partner Sandia Chang own and run Bubbledogs in London, with its signature hot dog and champagne menu, alongside the exclusive Kitchen Table which has a daily changing 12-course menu – and two Michelin stars.

“I’m really looking forward to being in the mountains and working alongside the other guest chefs,” said James, aged 37.

His summer special for the Almstüberl lodge is fallow deer, celery purée and plum soaked in black tea, served with a grating of chocolate.

His fellow guest chefs are Tristan Brandt from Germany; Paul Ivić, Austria; Onno Kokmeijer from The Netherlands; and Jean-Georges Klein, France. They will be hosted by Ischgl celebrity chef Martin Sieberer.

To book a holiday in Paznaun-Ischgl this summer, go to paznaun-ischgl.com and choose from the range of accommodation, where five nights’ bed and breakfast is from €153 pp, including the local Silvretta Card which entitles guests to many free services, such as use of cablecars and chairlifts.

10. Kulinarischer Jakobsweg, Ischgl, Tirol