Alexander Rabl
Austria Ambassador
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Born in Vienna and raised on the outskirts of Vienna, Rabl succumbed to the magic of good restaurants at an early age. His culinary passion was sparked off by two language stays in France, which he first learned to love because of the cinema, then because of the good food and wine. When he – at the age of 17 – read about the large restaurants on the Côte d’Azur in a French GaultMillau magazine, he realized: “I want to go there!” As a pupil with a limited budget, this was an impossibility, but five years later the time would eventually come. In addition to studying at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Alexander Rabl worked as a copywriter for the most well-known advertising agency in the country, where he earned the money he urgently needed for his hobby: expensive and exclusive restaurants.
He also worked as an inspector for the Austrian restaurant guide GaultMillau and within a few years got to know the entire Austrian gastronomy scene. He spent his money on food and wine, and travelled to southern France, Paris, Burgundy, but also to Tuscany, Rome and southern Italy. At some point the advertising ended and Alexander Rabl went into journalism, working for an Austrian daily newspaper on the topics of food and drink. The permanent position brought in money, but restricted freedom of movement.
Alexander Rabl has now been a freelance journalist and author for several years, working for German and Austrian daily newspapers and culinary magazines. He has also been writing books for a few years. His topics are cooking, restaurants and chefs, wine, culinary culture and travelling. His latest book about the famous Viennese coffee house "Café Landtmann" was published in July 2023.