Glimpses of Austrian Culture by Ruth Paget
When I was the vice president of the Young Executive Program of the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris (France), I organized monthly networking cocktail parties for members as one of my duties.
At one of these networking cocktails, I met Ms. S. who did public relations work for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. I immediately told her that I watched the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s Christmas concert with my French in-laws.
“That’s a good tradition and an Austrian contribution to building European culture,” Ms. S. answered.
That comment led to a discussion about all the Habsburg queens of France who had Austrian heritage such as:
-Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII and mother of Louis XIV
-Maria-Theresa of Spain, who was a Habsburg and wife of Louis XIV
-The famous Marie-Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI
“The Austrian daughters-in-law were not always popular,” Ms. S. noted.
“The French like Austrian desserts, though,” I said.
I took this opportunity to note that I had just gotten my first food article published in newspapers in Rhode Island and New Zealand about Catalan food for the upcoming Olympics in Barcelona. I asked Ms. S if there were Austrian food traditions I could write about.
Ms. S. said that her favorite holiday was the Catholic celebration of Advent, the 24 days before Christmas, which is a time for reflection and simple, but good eating.
During Advent, Austrians do “jause,” coffee breaks with pastries. The Austrians like “Kaffe mit schlag” – coffee with whipped cream on top and a slice of Linzertorte. Linz is a city in western Austria. A linzertorte is a wedge of jam pastry with a lattice-work pie crust topping.
On Sundays during Advent, Austrians eat wiener schnitzel, a breaded and fried veal cutlet served with lemon. It is accompanies by sliced cucumber salad, potato salad, and French fries.
I thanked Ms. S. for the information and introduced her to several Young Executive Program members who worked in media. I noted down what she said and added the notes to my “to-do” list at home. The to-do notes have survived several international moves.
Finally, about 40 years later after this meeting, I am getting the notes written up in the versatile blog format. The food information is still relevant. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is still magnificent and easy to attend now thanks to online ticket ordering.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
