Welcome to Hütte Küche

A taste of Bavarian mountain hut cuisine

Today’s journey begins as it always seems to with me… with a train ride. This time, we’re rolling out of Munich and heading towards Aschau im Chiemgau, a mountain village about 80 kilometers or 50 miles southeast of Munich––a mere Brezel’s throw from the Austrian border. Not that you should throw Brezel. Only when provoked!

Our goal is Stubn in der Frasdorfer Hütte, a renovated alpine hut sitting on a plateau that, as far as I can tell, you can only reach by foot. There’s supposedly just one person with a license to drive up there (arrow) and that was it.

The hike is a steep slog straight up through the forest with a mix of spruce, pine, and fir trees offering shade from the sadistic heat of the sun. Seriously, it felt like old Apollo up there was melting us like those equally sadistic kids melting ants with a magnifying glass. Wonder what happened to them… Probably state senators or something.

Frasdorfer Hüttee or “Frasi” as those in the know call it, is a long-standing hiking favorite for its rustic romanticism. A little over a year ago, Frasi was renovated with the works, like solar panels and larch timber shingles, becoming “Frasi-Chic.”

Finally, we emerge from the forest to a sun-baked field with curious horses and free-range cows just outside of the Hütte. The highlight for me is the food from Chef Max Müller, a Bavarian-born cook who earned his stripes in Berlin, most recently as the sous chef at the Michelin-starred Nobelhart & Schmutzig.

From Nobelhart, Max brought the kitchen motto “Brutal lokal” to Frasi, prioritizing ingredients that come from right outside their front door. The older cows out on the Alm––or mountain pasture––provide the meat as well as the dairy for Frasi’s wildly luscious, creamy butter served with some of the crispiest, tastiest sourdough bread I’ve ever had the pleasure to nosh on.

I go to bed early with the intention of taking advantage of the location and going on an early morning hike. But it didn’t happen. Not because of any early morning laziness, but because a massive storm came through. Okay, I know it doesn’t look like it in the video. But I swear! At six in the morning, Zeus was peppering the fields like was playing whack-a-mole with lightning!

Nonetheless, I’m able to do a short jaunt in the morning. The wind is a refreshing breeze, the cowbells are ringing, and I’m the only one crunching along the gravel trail. Although I would’ve loved to see more of the surrounding nature, I leave grateful for a little bonus time in the Bavarian mountains with a taste of a refined spin on Hütte Küche mountain hut cuisine.

Things, as always, could most definitely be worse.

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