Sepp Schellhorn
Austrian hotelier, entrepreneur and politician
Biography
Sepp Schellhorn (Josef Schellhorn, born in Goldegg in 1967) is an Austrian hotelier, entrepreneur and politician affiliated with the liberal party NEOS. He matters to the history of Austrian food mainly for his work as a restaurateur in a family tradition and for his advocacy of the hotel sector, which he represented as president of the Austrian Hotel Association.
He grew up in a family of restaurateurs in Goldegg, in the state of Salzburg. After training in hotel management, completing military service and working abroad in the United States, France and Italy, he took over his parents' business, the Seehof, in Goldegg am See, in 1996. From there he built up a group of restaurants in Salzburg and in the ski areas of Bad Hofgastein and Bad Gastein. He headed the Austrian Hotel Association from 2003 to 2013. He also pursued a political career: after years in the ÖVP, he joined NEOS before the 2013 federal election and entered the National Council in 2014, a seat he has held in several periods.
In the cultural field he is known for his admiration for Thomas Bernhard, to whom he dedicates the annual Disturbances festival, and for the scholarship bearing his name, awarded to writers and artists. He continues to run his establishments.
Key contributions
- Management of the Seehof restaurant in Goldegg, the family business he has run since 1996.
- Presidency of the Austrian Hotel Association (2003-2013), with an active role in defending the sector.
- The Disturbances festival, devoted to Thomas Bernhard and launched in 2012.
- The Sepp Schellhorn scholarship for authors and artists, since 2011.
- A generational cookbook (2017), written with his mother and son, featuring Alpine recipes.