“A young and extremely professional service crew, a performance of international par-excellence, a perfect location and an audacious and distinctive cooking – a combination rarely seen in hotel kitchens in Vienna.” This can be read in the new edition of Gault Millau as overall statement on the restaurant At Eight.

The total of 15 points for the concept of aroma cuisine of Thomas Seifried do acknowledge the excellent and fascinating combinations of menus and dishes with which he his pampering his guests. His cuisine is focusing on high quality, seasonal products, various spices and sauces as well as fresh domestic and exotic herbs which he combines with different essential/ethereal oils.

“Getting the second toque means a lot to us,” rejoices Thomas Seifried. “It states that the direction we have constantly and strategically followed since the opening in 2007 has been the right one. I am moreover positive that it will help the old and wrong prejudice that one cannot expect as much from hotel kitchens as from classical restaurants.”

1. Who are you?

2. What do you like about what you do?
Meeting new customers and providers everyday is the most thrilling part of my job. Enjoying people from all over the world, with different culture, personal history and occupations. It is really enriching as you have to greet them according to their own traditions, yet they all have to be satisfied and ensure to make them come back.

3. What don’t you like about what you do?
That I am not able to meet all the clients, even though our team is dedicated to make their stay the most enjoyable one, I would like to see them all.

4. Please tell us about your hotel and your aims with it?
Hotel BALZAC is a unique property, mixing the traditional decor with contemporary fabrics along with a gourmet restaurant, rated 3-star at Michelin Guide. A stay at the Balzac is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
My goal for the Balzac? Make it one of the best hotels in Paris, reaching the top 20 in 2010. We can make it.

5. Are you working with blogs and if yes, what is your favourite blog?
Not that much actually except my friends’ ones.
I truly think this is a great medium and I will create one for the Balzac for sure.

6. Your TOP 3 hotel experiences:
Oriental in Bangkok; tradition and excellence
Montage in Laguna Beach : the best Californian experience ever
Eden Roc on French Riviera: perfection in service and view on the Mediterranean sea

7. Your TOP 3 destination experiences:
Provence, as everything there seemed to have been especially created for hapiness
sia, especially Thaïland for its culture and the kindness of its people
California:  from San Francisco to Los Angeles, the true American dream

8. Your TOP 3 food and/or beverage experiences:
- Restaurant Pierre GAGNAIRE, inside the Hotel, one of the 3 best restaurant in the world
- Mon Vieil Ami, gourmet bistrot in the heart of Ile Saint-Louis in Paris
- Rosticceria Fiorentina in Roma : genuine, simple, perfect

9. Can you offer possible readers 3 things they absolutely need to do/visit/see when visiting your city?
- Champs Elysées
- Ile Saint-Louis
- Trocadéro Gardens

10. Any comments you want to share with us?
Life is short, enjoy every minute of it.

At the top of the Champs-Elysées, this 19th-century elegant mansion is one of the most exceptional landmarks in Paris.

Thomas Seifried, Chef de Cuisine, about the award: “I am very proud and happy that Gault Millau awarded us with a toque. It shows that we are going into the right direction. What made me most happy is that the testers said there is even more to expect in the next years!”

The menu offers all kinds of excellent dishes. An example of which is: a Bean Sprouts and Lemon Balm Crisp Role with Mountain Pepper Vegetables and Friesèe Salad or a Steak with an Artichokes-Potato-Chorizogröstl and Red Wine Chilliglace or Cardamom-Biscuit Role with a Marzipan Shake. Products used, mainly originate from biological cultivation and where possible, are from Austria.

“The preparation with essential oils is a very sensitive work because one has to work with very little amounts and this art of cooking is very rare. Therefore we had a lot of testing in advance. The art of aroma cooking, as we are calling it, is dependent on excellent products, from naturally cold pressed oils and to abstain from regular flavors like salt. The dishes are low in fat and by using the different essential oils, a positive health effect is guaranteed. There are different positive effects like a better digestion and reducing the fat of the body,” Thomas Seifried explains.

Mr. Thomas Seifried, Chef de Cuisine, began his career as an apprentice and then as a young cook at the Hotel Lärchenhof in Tirol. During 2004 he started work at the Grand Hotel Vienna as a Sous Chef in the restaurant “Le Ciel”.

“The concept of the “at eight” immediately got me because it’s up to date and represents the health mentality perfectly. The great variety of different herbs and essential oils offers endless possibilities regarding preparation and decoration of the dishes,” says Mr. Seifried.

The wine cellar of the restaurant is exceptional and can offer over 700 bottles of International and Austrian class wines and champagne! A table placed in the centre of the room offers the opportunity to sample the wine in a Professional and pleasent atmosphere.

Questions and Photos
Céline Brigg, Public Relations & Communications Manager
Tel: +43 1 515 80-761 oder cbrigg@jjwhotels.com
Presslounge under www.theringhotel.com

European Business Express delivers a detailed report about The Ring Hotel in their September issue.

Quintessentially magazine´s visit to The Ring Hotel yields an explicit recommendation. Quintessentially is first and foremost a club, a club for those who believe that life is too short to waste time on the mundane or second-best.