An oversized, three-level period apartment with four-foot-high ceilings, art collection on the walls, and only the occasional designer furniture with carefully arranged accessories. Three spiral staircases that lead to just as many kitchens on a roof terrace with a breathtaking view of the Styrian metropolis and the neighboring mountains. A husband, a cat and a five-month-old baby.
But all this does not seem to be enough for the well-trained hostess Verena (39), dressed in perfect understatement black. “My husband simply registered me for the ‘Perfect Dinner’,” explains the PR manager on maternity leave: “I’ve been awake since four in the morning, but I’m happy,” she says with obvious tension. Here’s what your guests can look forward to:
But Verena is not only concerned with her lack of sleep, but also with concerns about the guests: “Maybe there are strange people who don’t like chocolate, for example.” She herself is “not so meaty, but rather sweet”. You can’t see it, and guest Christoph (37), who travels as a drag queen in his free time, exclaims enthusiastically when he sees her: “You must have a personal trainer”.
Not at all, says the style-conscious Verena and continues to devote herself to what she calls her “boss”. It actually has a delicate shape: veal cheeks in red wine, vegetable broth, veal stock and reduced port wine with blackberry jelly. She skilfully lets the arrangement stew for hours. It’s only when the mixture for the mushy peas shows dramatic signs of boiling over that the kitchen studio ambience (even the hand blender is a design object) begins to crack. “This hotplate is cursed,” believes Verena, who also works as a hand model.
Her enthusiasm for all things culinary is no coincidence. Before her time as a PR manager, she worked for a gourmet magazine: “I interviewed many award-winning chefs and learned tricks from them.” Maybe even for exquisite baby food? In any case, she knows the physical state well: “It’s wonderful to be a mother,” she says, not without self-mockery: “You deal a lot with bodily fluids, not with projects.”
In any case, she can not only delight her guests with champagne on the nightly roof terrace. Childminder Bella (62) raves about the view of Graz as a city “with a lot of historical history” and tries to make Christoph flirt with the married Niclas (35) with a wink (“Do you want to be my future husband?”).
On the palate of the colorful group it is rather solid: Verena’s chocolates made of deer mince on chestnut foam, the finally all convincing veal cheek “final boss” and the chocolate cake and pear ice cream composition as dessert bring her 29 points. Entrepreneur Lisa (32) promises something more exotic: “You need a little courage for my dinner.” What does she do professionally? “I have an insect breeding farm.”
As the American “Vogue” reports, the supermodel Tatjana Patitz died. She was 56 years old.
When I read the police report today, I was honestly shocked: It said there were families with small children among the occupiers of the lignite town of Lützerath. Small children? In the battle zone against global warming! Are you crazy?
The original of this post “In a luxury apartment with three kitchens, Verena cooks the “The Perfect Dinner” menu” comes from Teleschau.
