The ability to offer fresh fish from Lake Constance at restaurants throughout Vorarlberg sounds like a matter of course. And yet varying levels of availability and prices based on factors such as quality and quantity play a decisive role in leading many restaurateurs to look for easier ways to source fish. That’s why model partnerships, such as those between professional fisherwoman Regula Bösch from Gaißau and top chef Gabi Strahammer from Krumbach, are so important.

Every day, Regula and her son Albert take steps to ensure the viability of this delicious symbiosis with freshly caught varieties such as perch and whitefish. Gabi does her part in her popular restaurant “Schulhus” in Bregenzerwald, offering the catches of the day. Her delicious dishes prove that this relationship is no simple buyer-seller-customer relationship, especially when it comes to Roach fish. This less-than-well-known variety is delicious but full of tiny bones. Unlike many other fishers who toss back hundreds such fish, Regula has a plan. She and Gabi have developed a fermentation system together. Marinated in vinegar, the bones dissolve and voila! – the Vorarlberg “Rollmops” fish dish was born.