Johanna Maier (August 23, 1951 in

Radstadt Radstadt (Central Bavarian: ''Rodstoud'' or ''Rodstod'') is a historic town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Geography The town is part of the Salzburg Pongau region. It is located in the valley of the ...

, province of Salzburg) is an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

. She is the first and so far only female chef to be awarded ''Four Toques'' by the

Gault-Millau Gault et Millau () is a French restaurant guide. It was founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Points system Gault Millau rates restaurants on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Restaurants giv ...

restaurant guide and two stars by the

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

Career

Johanna's father was a bricklayer and her mother ran a small laundry. Johanna completed an apprenticeship as a cook and waitress in the sports hotel in her home town of Radstadt. At an apprenticeship competition in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

in 1968, she met her future husband, military serviceman Dietmar Maier from

Filzmoos Filzmoos is a town within the district of St. Johann im Pongau in the state of Salzburg, Austria. Its main income comes through tourism: skiing in winter and hiking in summer. The town is approximately 1 km above sea level. Location Filz ...

. Johanna and Dietmar Maier went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

together in 1969. Johanna initially worked as an

au pair An au pair (; : au pairs) is a person working for, and living as part of, a homestay, host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family’s responsibility for child care as well as some homemaking, housework, and receive a monetary ...

, Dietmar as a trainee in a restaurant. They both returned to Austria in 1971. Their first child (Simone) was born, Johanna and Dietmar Maier married in a civil ceremony and, after the birth of their second child (Tobias), in a church wedding in 1973. They moved into the Gasthof Hubertus in Filzmoos, which was run by Dietmar's parents. Dietmar and his mother ran the kitchen, Johanna took care of the service and the guest rooms. Their third child ( Ditmar) was born in 1983. When Johanna's mother-in-law died in 1984, Johanna took over the kitchen. After their first season, the couple celebrated with a meal at the Obauer brothers' home in

Werfen Werfen () is a market town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is mainly known for medieval Hohenwerfen Castle and the Eisriesenwelt ice cave, the largest in the world. Geography Werfen is located in ...

; this became a key experience for Johanna Maier. In 1984, she attended a cooking seminar lasting several days with

Dieter Müller Dieter Müller (né Kaster; 1 April 1954) is a German former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. He achieved his greatest success playing for 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga in th ...

Bischofshofen Bischofshofen () is a List of cities and towns in Austria, town in the district of St. Johann im Pongau District, St. Johann im Pongau in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. It is an important traffic junction located both on ...

, assisted

Hans Haas Hans Haas (17 October 1906 – 14 May 1973) was an Austrian Jewish weightlifter who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was born in Vienna. In 1926, he became Austrian champion for the first time a ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, André Jaeger in

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

and Jean-Georges Vongerichten in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. In 1987, the year her fourth child was born, she was awarded her first toque by

. The hotel has since been renamed ''Das Maier''.

Awards

* 1987: One toque in

Gault Millau Gault et Millau () is a French restaurant guide. It was founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Points system Gault Millau rates restaurants on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Restaurants given ...

* ''1989: Trophée Gourmet'' of the

Gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...

magazine ''A la Carte'' * 1993: Two toques in Gault Millau * 1996: ''Chef of the Year'' in Gault Millau * 1998: Three toques in Gault Millau * 2001: Four toques in Gault Millau * 2005: Two stars in the

* 2010: Great Decoration of Merit of the State of Salzburg * 2013: Three toques in Gault Millau * 2021: ''Lifetime achievement'' by Gault Millau Austria for Johanna and Dietmar Maier

Publications

* ''Johanna Maier.'' Cookbook, 2003, ISBN 3899102088. * ''Meine Kochschule.'' Cookbook, 2005, ISBN 3899102746. * ''Himmlisch gut!'' Cookbook, 2009, ISBN 3899104358.

External links

*
Web presence ''Das Maier''

Entry in the restaurant rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maier, Johanna Austrian chefs 1951 births Living people