Regions-Originale: The Heis Family & the Hens

The question of who came first – the chicken or the egg – is easily answered by Tamara and Mathias: The rooster! They received him from friends as a wedding gift. And because "Hansi" shouldn’t be lonely, 6 hens joined him. This is how the egg started rolling – 18 years later, a total of 2,000 chickens live on the organic farm. In winter, there are even double that number. The couple could never have imagined, even in their wildest dreams, that it would come to this. However, over the years, the once cow farm has transformed into a family-run organic chicken farm and pasta factory.

The chickens on the organic farm in Leutasch are doing really well. Their run is almost paradise-like: A huge meadow lies in front of the spacious stable. Colorful mountain flowers bloom as far as the eye can see. Some hens are pecking in the knee-high grass, while others prefer to lie in dirt hollows in front of the stable: "For them, it's like a shower," explains Tamara. "They love it!" The only time the chickens are disturbed in their idyllic life is when a bird of prey or a helicopter flies over the pasture and scares them. Then it can even happen that they stop laying eggs for a week out of shock – a big loss for the farm. Fortunately, this happens only rarely, and so the hens happily peck their way through the mountain meadows.

For the Heis family, providing this organic farm standard for the chickens means a lot of work. The workday starts early, first the animals are fed. In the mornings, it's also the peak laying time, so the hens lay the most eggs then. Although they are collected by machine, they need to be sorted by hand. Afterwards, they are packed and the orders are delivered. "Often I handle an egg ten times from laying to sale", Tamara says. "Unfortunately, you often don't see how much work goes into it."

The Heis family from Leutasch also produces pasta and egg liqueur from their eggs. The reason: The hens do not always lay uniform, large eggs, but sometimes also small and "ugly" ones. But nobody wants to buy those. A fact that Tamara and Mathias could not bear: "It cannot be that we have to throw away fresh food every day just because no one wants to buy it!". So they came up with the idea to produce pasta from the less beautiful, but just as good eggs. This resulted in delicious creations and over 100 different varieties. Not only the classic spaghetti is available from Leutasch, but also culinary highlights like basil pasta, turmeric pasta, spelt gnocchetti, beetroot pasta, and much more. And for a "nightcap" after the meal, there's specially made egg liqueur.

The pasta production is handcrafted and a significant effort: At 6 pm, when the farm shop closes, Tamara begins production. She is busy until 2 am, three to four times a week. The fettuccine and spaghetti are laid out and cut by hand, which takes time. Once the pasta is properly dried, it is painstakingly packaged. In addition, the family has a guesthouse. “There’s always work to do!”, laughs Tamara in a deep Leutascher dialect. But fortunately, the family is there; everyone often pitches in wherever needed.

"We wish for local products to be appreciated more," says the Heis family at the end. The farm and the noodle factory involve hard work, which many are not aware of. The Heis family uses exclusively the best ingredients for their products, such as high-quality semolina. All of this naturally affects the price – but anyone who has tried the noodles gladly pays for them. The eggs come from chickens that are truly well cared for, supporting a regional business and doing something good for one's health with high-quality organic products – this is hardly comparable to supermarket noodles.

"In my next life, I will be a chicken on the organic farm in Leutasch!" With this thought, one leaves the Heis family farm. Fresh mountain air, plenty of space to roam, the best feed: This is not just a marketing slogan, but the reality in Leutasch. That makes the eggs and noodles taste even better!