Servus! May I introduce myself briefly: My name is Maria Oppitz. As a young woman I studied history with great interest, then worked in the Media business – among others at the news magazine “profil” and for the cooking magazine “GUSTO”. I have a state-certified tourist guide licence and have a degree in Gastrosophy*.
With my studies, I was able to link two of my passions – culinary arts and history. It is not without reason that my gastrosophical master thesis also deals with the past and present of an Austrian traditional drink, the Apple and Pear Cider.
I have been living in Vienna for over 40 years now – and with great pleasure! I love to stroll through the narrow streets of the inner city and to discover new aspects of Vienna again and again, recently, for example, I discovered an underground column from the 17th century..
Another one of my passions is culinary delights: I love to cook, with a particular passion for tomatoes, my absolute favorite, but I also like to taste what the restaurants and Wiener Beisl are offering on their menus. Now in spring I look forward to a refreshing cold sour milk yoghurt soup with lots of fresh chives! A glass of 2023 Weinviertel DAC goes perfectly with it!
I am curious, read a lot – about history, food and drink, of course, as well as fiction. I’m currently immersed in Doris Knecht’s novel “Eine vollständige Liste aller Dinge, die ich vergessen habe (A Complete List of All the Things I’ve Forgotten)”, in which she tells the story of what it’s like for a woman to start life all over again.
I also like to travel, if it is possible – and, of course, always try the local specialities abroad, for nothing says as much about a place as its cuisine. As is the case in Vienna. With the Food Walks I would like to bring my guests closer to “my” Vienna through its cuisine and to inspire them to share my love for this delightful city.
* Gastrosophy is “the teaching of the joys of the dining table,” as one of the many definitions of this new branch of science says.