Dr. Oetker Stories
Every year in August, Dr. Oetker Austria's hometown hosts the country's largest traditional festival. Dr. Oetker supplies recipes and products for the festivities for Villacher Kirchtag.
2.8.2023 • Company and Culture
"Villacher Kirchtag" is cult in Villach and also in the rest of Austria. Actually it is not just one day, but a whole week of festivities. Culture and customs are then on the agenda in the town in Carinthia. Our colleagues in Villach are part of the festivities and Dr. Oetker has also been involved for years with products, recipes and know-how. There is even a special soup, the so-called "Kirchtagssuppe", that has been immortalized in Dr. Oetker recipe books, among others.
Some of the Dr. Oetker Austria colleagues in 'Villacher-Kirchtag'-Look (v.l.): Guntram Huber (Product & Category Manager DOP), Christian Kogler (Sales & Support JTMM), Petra Hofstätter (Team Lead Supply Chain & Quality Management), Franziska Michenthaler (Financial Accounting), Erhard Klug-Hudritsch (Master Confectioner), Manuela Puschan (Consumer Service), Selina Nikola (Marketing Assistant), Melanie Müller (Head of Sales), Andrea Kreuzer (IT Professional Project Manager), Daniela Knapp (HR Manager) und Markus Fritz (Digital Marketing & Sales Channel Manager).
The Villacher Kirchtag has been celebrated annually since 1936 and continues to grow year after year. Today, almost half a million people visit Austria's largest traditional event. Visitors and participants from all over the world stream through Villach; traditional costumes, jankers and dirndls dominate the cityscape. Approximately 4.000 traditional costume wearers in total can be admired here during the parade on Saturday. The whole festival is decorated by garlands that connect the well over 100 attractions and make a route of about 15 kilometers.
There is not only something for the eye, but also for the ears and the palate: on these days there is a lot of folk and party music, both at the traditional parade and concerts. Also the food is special on these days...
"Culinary delights are also important during the festivities for Villacher Kirchtag: they're crowned by the classic ‘Kirchtagssuppe’ " emphasizes Erhard Klug-Hudritsch, master confectioner at Dr. Oetker Austria.
Dr. Oetker's recipe for the soup, which can be prepared in a variety of ways, comes with sweet Carinthian cake and contains four types of meat as well as saffron. The required yeast dough is easiest to prepare using the baking mix Buchteln offered by Dr. Oetker Austria or Dr. Oetker Germany.
If you prefer bread with the soup, you'll also find something from Dr. Oetker in the form of various sourdough products.
The national company Dr. Oetker Austria is located in Villach and 55 employees work on selling products. In addition to baking mixes and baking products, the product range also includes frozen pizza, decor, muesli, desserts and sweet treats.
The bulk consumer business Dr. Oetker Professional is also active in Austria.