A review of the Dumpling Festival 2025

Since the early 1980’s, the weekend before the Gardefest has been all about dumplings in Radstadt. The famous dumpling festival took place again this year - for the 43rd time. Don't ask me why they decided to hold their own festival in honour of this dish - I wouldn't have an answer for you. But what I do know is that I like dumplings - whether as a side dish, soup garnish or main course, whether they are sweet or savoury, and that's why I'm grateful and even happier every year that my hometown has its own festival in their honour. The great thing about dumplings is that there is something for everyone - as was the case again at this year's dumpling festival in the heart of Radstadt.

The weather forecast for the last few days leading up to Sunday was varied, with rain on and off and temperatures dropping to a pleasant 20 degrees. As you can see, I'm not a big fan of hot summer temperatures, just like nature, I'm happy about the rain that plants and animals so desperately need. Even on Sunday morning it was still pouring with rain, but the clouds cleared just in time for lunchtime - even the weather gods must have a weakness for dumplings. Even though rain is a good thing, I prefer to eat my dumplings in the dry. This rain-free phase will not only have pleased the visitors to this year's festival, but also the caterers, who were busy preparing countless dumplings in the days leading up to the event in order to cater for everyone. Preparing the dumplings not only required a lot of time, but also many hard-working, helping hands and this effort definitely paid off. But it's not just the preparation of the dumplings that takes up a lot of time every year, but also the setting up of the benches and tables, and this year there were also tents and umbrellas, as nobody could really predict what the weather would be like in the afternoon. I think it's definitely worth saying a big THANK YOU to all the helpers. On the menu that day were savoury dumplings such as beef dumplings, venison dumplings, brewery dumplings, spinach dumplings, flat cheese dumplings and sweet dumplings.

And the audience was definitely delighted! I went to the dumpling festival with my friends this year and despite the different tastes in my circle of friends, everyone was delighted with the dumpling variations. Of course, the right background music had to accompany the food and so the Radstadt town band provided the best entertainment from 11 am, before the afternoon continued in the sunshine with hearty folk music. We tasted our way through the different variations, each of us ate a savoury dumpling at lunchtime before we went for a sweet dumpling in the afternoon after a walk around the town wall. None of us had ever eaten a baked mouse dumpling before, so we were excited to see what we would be served. As the name suggests, the baked mouse dumplings are a variation of baked mice, a dessert with a filling of sultanas soaked in rum, topped with icing sugar and strawberry sauce. We were really fascinated by how creative the hosts are when it comes to ‘inventing’ new dumpling variations. We had a lovely, cosy afternoon with lots of dumplings and drinks and are definitely looking forward to seeing what culinary dumpling innovations there will be next year.

If you now in the mood for dumplings, here's a recipe from my colleague Julia for a roasted dumpling, which includes the basic recipe for a bread dumpling. You can find a recipe for my personal favourite dumplings, apricot dumplings, here. I hope you enjoy cooking them and maybe you'll come to the dumpling festival in Radstadt next year! As soon as the exact date for the 44th Dumpling Festival in 2026 has been finalised, you will find it here on our website.

photo credits: Angelika Pfuner, Radstadt Tourismus