Philip Rachinger wins Chef of the Year 2027

Chef Philip Rachinger has been named Gault & Millau’s Chef of the Year 2027, telling ORF Upper Austria that the news felt “completely crazy”. Rachinger runs the Ois restaurant at the Mühltalhof in Neufelden, in the Rohrbach district.

The 37-year-old said the award reflected the work of his staff as much as his own. “For me, chef of the year means the same as team of the year, because without my team I would never be where I am now,” he said in ORF Upper Austria’s interview series “Auf ein Wort”.

Rachinger said the pressure to maintain standards was the same with or without awards. “It’s about the guests, who want to eat and drink well,” he said. He runs the restaurant in its sixth generation. His father operates Fernruf 7 across the road, and the family is also responsible for the Hopfen & Schmalz brewery inn.

Rachinger trained at tourism school in Bad Ischl and spent two years cooking at Steirereck before working in London and Paris. He returned to the Mühlviertel in 2013. He is also part of the unconventional top-chef trio Healthy Boy Band and is the father of two daughters.

Gault & Millau cited “great culinary artistry combined with love of home and social commitment” in awarding him the title, previously known as Cook of the Year. Ois has four of five Gault & Millau toques. Rachinger has also earned two Michelin stars and four Falstaff forks.