Restaurant Manager & Wine Director

Lukas Gerges, born 1991 in Lienz (Austria) and grown in a small guesthouse with annexed bakery in located in eastern Austria he was in contact with gastronomy from an early age. After hotel school and various work experiences in Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Ireland he joined the team at the St. Hubertus as Chef de rang and assistant sommelier. After a few seasons in this position he became assistant Maître. His actual position of Restaurant Manager and Head Sommelier was achieved in Summer 2018.

Lukas’ great passion are wines: he is IHK Sommelier and has been educated at the Wine Academy Rust in Austria getting his WSET Diploma and the title ‘Weinakademiker’. Furthermore, he is Certified Sommelier of the prestigious Court of Master Sommeliers.

Aside from work he loves to practice various sports and you may encounter him by chance on one of the several hikes both in summer and winter.

Head Sommelier

Elmar Hofer was born and raised in the northern part of South Tyrol, Italy, close to the Austrian border. As a child growing up in the mountains, very early he found his passion for skiing and by the age of 14 he became a professional athlete. During his career he competed in several World Cup downhill races, such as Val Gardena, Bormio and Wengen, additionally winning the Italian downhill championship.

After quitting his career as a professional athlete in 2011, he was looking for new passions and challenges. He found himself embarking on a new career in the wine industry, which came naturally growing up in a family with passion for food and wine. Elmar became a certified AIS Sommelier in 2016.

Additionally, he is an Italian Wine Ambassador through the VinItaly International Academy and a WSET L3 holder. He gained special experience in the beauty of Hungarian wines while living abroad.

Elmar still has the attitude of a professional athlete and believes in lifelong learning and improving. Therefore, he began his studies at the Court of Master Sommeliers with the Introductory Sommelier Course and the Certified Sommelier Course. He joined the St. Hubertus team in 2019 as a Sommelier becoming Head Sommelier in 2022.

 
 
 
 

The service – Welcome and refinement

Counterpart to the kitchen crew is the service team in the restaurant: always kind and with a balanced approach of attention and discretion, the service team guides the guests through the evening. The sommeliers complete the culinary experience with interesting wine suggestions.

Morning - Meeting

9:00 am: Meeting concerning the last evening service takes place between the service team and the kitchen crew and afterwards they start the respective mise-en-place.

Mise-en-place

The restaurant is brought to high gloss: cutlery and glasses are polished, the tables are set up, pillows shaken, lampshades dusted, flowers are arranged.

Evening

Before starting the service, a briefing is held between the kitchen crew and the service team to give a quick outlook of the evening.

A chef's assistant in the kitchen during a meeting A waiter carries a plate during the service Chef's assistant prepare plates at the Restaurant San Cassiano A waiter carries a tray in the Restaurant room

OWNER & FRONT OF HOUSE

Ursula jumped in at the very deep end in 2004 when she got married to Hugo Pizzinini, owner of Rosa Alpina and Restaurant St. Hubertus. With a university degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from University of Trieste / Gorizia branch, a Master in Marketing Management from the Sapienza University Rome and an experience from an internship in the Department for external relations for Perfumes & Hotels & Resorts at Bulgari Headquarters in Rome, she introduced a different view to run both the hotel and also the restaurant: As such, the primary strategic idea and the principle declaration of the ‘Cook the Mountain’ concept was brought in by Ursula. Norbert then took it on developing it further as his philosophy. This vision and farsightedness proved to be a winning concept for the future of the local gastronomy and beyond. 

Ursula, a passionate team player, implemented an effective team building spirit among the kitchen and service team. Ursula is not only an active part of the service team, but also the creative mind behind the graphic concept of the print material. During the first lockdown in 2020, she came up with the idea of ‘St. Hubertus Unplugged’.

Ursula, mother of three kids, loves to spend her time outdoors in the Dolomites with her family. She has been a passionate singer since a very young age and is an active member of Vokalensemble 2000.

The Salty Magazine Vol 14 – 2022 |The Essence of Hospitality