Didi Maier
“My employees should also be happy, because without them it wouldn’t work.”
Didi Maier is not only a celebrated chef, but also a visionary who is redefining sustainability in gastronomy. In this interview, he talks about the importance of his fish farm, how he treats his employees and what he would do differently today if he were 20 again. Find out more about his exciting career, his green projects and why decarbonization is much more than just a buzzword for him. An inspiring look behind the scenes of a pioneer of the Austrian culinary scene.
Foundation through work-life balance
ALEXANDRA GORSCHE: Sustainability is a very, very big issue for you personally. Tell us why?
DIDI MAIER: Well, for one thing, I always learned it from my parents, even from my mom. And I was very lucky that my parents thought 40 or 50 years ago that we should build a hydropower plant. And then we also had a fish farm. And of course the fish have thrived over the years. And now I can supply my businesses with our own fish. And for me, that is of course a huge source of happiness plus relaxation, because when I'm looking after the fish farm, I'm out in nature. We all have enough stress all the time, so that's good too. And that's why I'm extremely happy about fish farming.
Dear Didi, I am an absolute fan of your “Didilicious”. Tell us a little more about your business.
In total, I have the “Didilicious”, the “Bakery” and, until recently, the “Wernbacher”. And of course I have many cooperation partners, such as Interspar, Stiegl, Red Bull and BMW. And you always have to have time for all these cooperation partners. Chefs Culinar is a brand new addition, and I'm really enjoying it because we're really looking at where we can get the products and where we can provide added value for the food service industry. And I actually make sure that everyone is happy. And I also want my employees to be happy, because it wouldn't work without them.
Employees - an important topic. How do you ensure that your employees are enthusiastic about their work?
Of course, I could lie and say that all my employees are always super happy with me. Of course, I also have employees who, with my management style, are not a perfect match for me. But the majority are happy. We have a total of 45 employees, 35 of whom are super happy and 20 of whom form the foundation. You need that to make sure everything always works. I can rely on them. And what we also do, it may sound trite, but work-life balance is important. We have our own coach who takes care of these issues. It's important that employees feel good, that they enjoy coming to work and we pay a lot of attention to that.
If you had one piece of advice for your 20-year-old self, what would it be?
When I was 20, I was a wild dog. I was really good at hooking, but I also liked to go out. What I would do differently now would be to go to El Bulli. El Bulli wasn't so famous back then, I would have liked to work and study there. I went to Provence in France back then. And if I could do it again, I would go a little further to Spain and learn from him there. I've always been fascinated by molecular cuisine. We always used fewer ingredients and emphasized them. I've never really learned molecular cuisine yet, so I'd be interested to learn more.
I've always been fascinated by molecular cuisine.
About Didi Maier
A passionate chef and creative visionary on the Austrian culinary scene. As the third child of the renowned star chef Johanna Maier, he completed his training in the traditional family business, the Hotel Hubertus in Filzmoos. He then gained valuable experience at top international addresses – from Dieter Müller at Schlosshotel Lerbach to the legendary “La Cabro d'Or” in France and the renowned restaurant “De Librije” in the Netherlands.
In 2014, he opened his first own restaurant, “Didilicious” in Salzburg's Europark – a restaurant that was awarded a Gault Millau toque after just one year. “The Bakery” concept soon followed. From 2020 to 2024, he took on another culinary challenge and took over the legendary Salzburg café “Das Wernbacher”. As a versatile talent, Ditmar Maier is not only a chef, but also a cookbook author, presenter of TV cooking shows and entrepreneur with his own line of spices.
Back in the 1980s, his father built a hydroelectric power plant in order to focus on green energy. This was followed by a sustainable fish farm, another small hydroelectric power plant and a constructed wetland. Didi Maier continues to run these operations and is thus committed to decarbonization.
Editor's comment:
Decarbonization stands for sustainable development and refers to the process of reducing carbon dioxide and CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases in various sectors in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus combat climate change.
I've always been fascinated by molecular cuisine.
Cover photo by Carolina Auer Photography
