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Is Austria discriminating against kebab, pizza with subsidy for ‘traditional food’ menus?

  • Village tavern welcomes what critics have labelled the ‘schnitzel bonus’. We’re saving centres of community life, right-wing lawmaker says

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Kitchen chef Eva Leimer poses with a plate of schnitzel at Gasthaus Stich in Pfoesing, Lower Austria. Rural inns and restaurants that serve such ‘traditional food’ are being given a subsidy by the Austrian government. Photo: AFP

Staples of Austrian cooking such as schnitzel, roast pork lung and boiled beef have proved particularly vital for Gasthaus Stich, a restaurant in the village of Pfoesing.

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They have helped the struggling business to survive by earning it a subsidy from right-wing state authorities in a controversial programme that benefits only traditional Austrian cuisine.

The subsidy for restaurants that serve regional and “traditional food” has been derided in the media and by opposition parties as a “schnitzel bonus”.

It excludes restaurants serving less overtly authentic Austrian fare such as kebabs or pizza, for example.

Chef Eva Leimer prepares meat for a schnitzel in the Gasthaus Stich kitchen. Photo: AFP
Chef Eva Leimer prepares meat for a schnitzel in the Gasthaus Stich kitchen. Photo: AFP

As a typical Austrian staple, schnitzel – a boneless piece of meat that has been pounded thin to make it more tender and then coated and fried – qualifies for the cash.

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