Chef Biography
Günter Gaderbauer was born and raised in Austria, finished his schooling, and in 1976, he took the apprentice examinations in Munich, Germany for both Austria and Germany. He then apprenticed from 1976-1979 at the Hotel Schaerdinger; in 1980, he was at Hotel Ingonda in Saalbach; 1981 at Hotel Krone in Lenzburg, Switzerland as demi garde-manger chef; and in 1982 at the Hotel Zur Tenne in Kitzbuhel as chef de tournant, and Hotel Schlob Fuschl in Salzburg as commis. In 1983-1984 he was the head chef at Restaurant Holzschoessel and demi saucier at Oesterrichischer Hof in Salzburg, then he went as rotissier at the Hotel Karwendelhof in Seefeld in 1985. In 1986, he became the head chef at Hotel Sonnleiten in Saalbach, and in 1987 opened his own restaurant, Kuchlkastl, in Bad Ischl.
In the spring of 1989, an opportunity arose for Chef Günter to purchase the historic Villa Schratt in Bad Ischl, Austria. The Villa was the summer home of Austria’s last Emperor, Franz Joseph I, during the years 1889 to 1916 before he was assassinated, which started World War I.
In May of 1989, Chef Gaderbauer closed his Restaurant Kuchlkastl and moved everything, including staff over to Villa Schratt Restaurant. Nine years, almost to the day, in May 1998 the television crew for Great Chefs showed up to tape Chef Günter at his Villa Schratt for the Great Chefs of Austria series for Austrian ORF TV and for Discovery Channel’s Great Chefs of the World television series.