The snail is used as a delicacy in many parts of the world particularly in France. This year, it will be introduced in Viennese cuisine through an event called the Escargot Festival.
Farmer Andreas Gugumuck who has been breeding snails in Vienna for years now is behind this festival scheduled for September 29 to October 5. For this event, chefs from different restaurants will be invited to create a special dish containing the so-called escargot.
Gugumuck’s fields in the outskirts of Vienna’s 10th District is home to some 200,000 Roman snails. But while other Austrian farmers consider them a nuisance, Gugumuck turned it into a profitable business.
Unknown to many, the escargots were used as a popular Lenten food in Catholic Vienna as they were not considered meat. Old Austrian cookbooks have also shown that escargots were a popular meal especially under the K.u.K monarchy. They were boiled, baked or fried with bacon and sauerkraut and served as a snack. In fact, there were more snail recipes in Austria back then than in France. Additionally, a snail market used to exist behind the St. Peterskirche.
It was in 2007 when the use of escargots in Austrian cuisine was revived. This encouraged Andreas Gugumuck to start breeding snails in his fields and after five years, his business has flourished.
Today, an estimated 60 restaurants in Vienna have snails in their menus.
