Cuisine Royale

There is a hiss in the pan at Skarhult Castle in southern Sweden: Baron Carl Johan von Schwerin is frying a fallow deer fillet. Together with his wife Alexandra, he invited friends and family to a summer party at the castle. As a passionate hobby cook, the baron prepares his three-course menu himself, supported by his wife. Alexandra is responsible for dessert. She prepares a pavlova, a meringue cake with lots of cream, lemon cream and fresh berries. While the fragrant meringue grounds cool down, a group of visitors leads them through their nationally recognized exhibition, which deals with the powerful women at Skarhult Castle over the past 500 years.

“Cuisine Royale” gives insights into the kitchen secrets and celebrations of the nobility. Anita Hohenberg and her family live at Artstetten Castle in Lower Austria. The fairytale-like castle was the seat and summer residence of the House of Habsburg and is the resting place of the former heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who was murdered on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo. For the birthday of her daughter Alix, Princess Johann Lafer has the Habsburgs' favorite recipes reinterpreted with ingredients from the region.