Haute cuisine can achieve many things. But without people who think ahead, pitch in and laugh together, it would only be half as good.
Seven personalities. One team
Behind every extraordinary menu stands an exceptional ensemble. Owner and Head Chef Josef Steffner is the creative visionary at the stove. As host, Maria Steffner orchestrates the service, weaving every fine detail into a seamless, perfect whole.
Sous Chef Sebastian Bichler forms the culinary backbone of the kitchen. Apprentice Laura Kaml learns the fundamentals of haute cuisine with tireless dedication, while apprentice Lisa Erber translates our philosophy of service into a warm welcome.
Aagnima Sherpa, as a constant presence in the background, ensures the rhythm of the kitchen. Facility Manager Nusreta Pilav oversees the immaculate aesthetics of our spaces, which only achieve their subtle perfection through absolute precision.
Sous Chef Sebastian Bichler forms the culinary backbone of the kitchen. Apprentice Laura Kaml learns the fundamentals of haute cuisine with tireless dedication, while apprentice Lisa Erber translates our philosophy of service into a warm welcome.
Aagnima Sherpa, as a constant presence in the background, ensures the rhythm of the kitchen. Facility Manager Nusreta Pilav oversees the immaculate aesthetics of our spaces, which only achieve their subtle perfection through absolute precision.
CHEF
Josef Steffner is the culinary mind behind Mesnerhaus. He would rather refine flavours than make grand statements.
Josef Steffner
After training and formative years in Austria and abroad, Josef returned to the Lungau, where he developed his distinctive cuisine from regional produce, modern precision and a generous dose of curiosity. He finds inspiration among producers, while travelling and especially where there is no stove in sight: in the forest, foraging for mushrooms.
In the kitchen, he works with focus, questioning even dishes that have long been successful, and always searching for that one small detail that suddenly transforms “very good” into “just right.” An artist? He would probably deny it. A chef by conviction? Without a doubt.
In the kitchen, he works with focus, questioning even dishes that have long been successful, and always searching for that one small detail that suddenly transforms “very good” into “just right.” An artist? He would probably deny it. A chef by conviction? Without a doubt.
Manager
Maria Steffner is the host of the house. Although “host” hardly begins to describe everything she does each day…
Maria Steffner
As a trained chef, she knows the kitchen inside out; as a sommelière, she knows the wine cellar just as well; and as a manager, she knows every other corner of Mesnerhaus. Her particular strength lies where nothing can be forced: in her instinct for people. Maria quickly senses who wants to talk about wine, who needs a clear recommendation and who simply wants to enjoy a wonderful evening.
She organises, recommends, connects, remembers preferences and ensures that hospitality never feels scripted. Put simply: Josef takes care of what goes onto the plate, and Maria makes guests want to linger just a little longer.
She organises, recommends, connects, remembers preferences and ensures that hospitality never feels scripted. Put simply: Josef takes care of what goes onto the plate, and Maria makes guests want to linger just a little longer.
SOUS CHEF
Sous Chef, right-hand man – and usually one step ahead.
Sebastian Bichler
Sebastian Bichler is Sous Chef at Mesnerhaus, right where the many strands of a demanding kitchen come together. He cooks, organises, thinks ahead, keeps every process on track and ensures that countless individual steps become one coherent plate. As Josef Steffner’s right-hand man, he needs not only skill, but also timing, perspective and the rare ability to know what will be needed next before anyone has to say it aloud. In short: Josef sets the direction, and Sebastian helps the kitchen get there – precisely, calmly and with as little unnecessary kitchen drama as possible.
Facility Manager
The dependable presence behind everything that simply needs to work.
Nusreta Pilav
Nusreta Pilav takes care of all the things at Mesnerhaus that, ideally, no one notices – because everything is clean, orderly, prepared and exactly where it should be. As Facility Manager, she keeps an eye on the house, its rooms and the many processes behind the scenes, ensuring with great reliability that guests feel at ease from the very first moment. Her work is often quiet, but never secondary: while service runs at the front and the kitchen works behind the scenes, Nusreta holds everything together. Put another way: whenever everything at Mesnerhaus feels effortless, Nusreta is very often the reason why.
Chef
Apprentice chef – curious, precise and developing a keen eye for the millimetres that matter.
Laura Kaml
Laura Kaml is learning her craft at Mesnerhaus, where fine ingredients become exceptional cuisine: at the stove, at full pace and with very little room for “that will do”. As an aspiring chef, she is mastering the techniques, processes and precision of a fine-dining kitchen step by step – from the first task to the final detail on the plate. It is not only about learning recipes, but understanding exactly why something is done in one way and not another. Laura brings curiosity, stamina and the right amount of ambition. And she is currently learning one of the kitchen’s most important rules: sometimes three millimetres really are three millimetres.
Restaurant Service Professional
Service apprentice – attentive, warm and with a remarkably good eye for empty glasses.
Lisa Erber
Lisa Erber is learning at Mesnerhaus what truly excellent service is all about: being present without imposing, attentive without seeming hurried, and doing exactly the right thing at the right moment. As a service apprentice, she gains experience every day across aperitifs, menu courses, wine pairings and the many small requests that make an evening special. Above all, Lisa brings something that is difficult to teach: natural warmth. She observes, listens and is steadily developing the sensitivity that turns service into genuine hospitality. And if a glass looks suspiciously empty, chances are Lisa has already noticed.
Steward
The man who keeps everything moving.
Aagnima Sherpa
Aagnima Sherpa works where the pace truly picks up behind the scenes at Mesnerhaus. As a steward, he ensures that plates, glasses, cutlery and kitchen utensils are ready exactly when they are needed – reliably, calmly and with an eye for order even at the busiest moments. Does that sound unspectacular? It is anything but. After only a few courses, it becomes clear just how essential this role is. While service runs at the front and dishes are plated in the kitchen, Aagnima keeps the cycle moving. Put simply: without him, fine dining would eventually come to a halt because there would be no clean plates left.
Together, WE are Mesnerhaus!
Seven personalities, one vision: true hospitality is shaped not only by craftsmanship and precision, but by character, passion and the joy of sharing it together even after service.
