Arthur Mair
The German word bauernkonst specifically refers to the art of farming, in which time and seasons are the keepers and makers of products able to delight those who are fortunate enough to taste them.
A few kilometres away from the Italian borders, in the wonderful scenery of the lively city of Sterzing and its many valleys, more remote perhaps than better-known and mundane places like Val Pusteria, Gardena and Badia, and yet just as scenic, we find a true gem in the crown of the South-Tyrolean Alps: Val di Vizze, with the Mair family’s Pretzhof farmhouse. The historical archive of medieval documents of Brixen’s bishopric seems to place the origins of this farmhouse in the late 1600, founded by the long-lived Mair family, still carrying on this historical gastronomical establishment based in Val di Vizze.
The Pretzhof, characterized by on-site production and processing of raw materials, specializes in excellent and unique charcuterie products thanks to Arthur Mair's expertise. From roasted ham with horseradish marinade to ox roast-beef, all the way to their excellent kaiserschinken, also known as “The Emperor's Ham”, a unique product made out of pork rump: initially processed like any regular ham, as it enters the curing stage it undergoes a cold smoking process using woods from the surrounding forests. That bauernkonst, in a recurring gourmet ritual of sorts, comes to life again in the warmth of the Prtezhof, telling the tale of the centuries-old Central-European culture of charcuterie, kept alive in this fairytale setting by a new Master of Arts and Crafts: Arthur Mair.
