Manfred: “When Nina first asked if she could do an apprenticeship as a baker with me I said no. Back then she was just a girl. ‘Sorry,’ I said, ‘but the work is too hard for you.’ She didn’t give up and kept pestering me. In the end I agreed to take her for three years. Now she has been with us for 13 years and is a fully qualified baker in her own right.”

Nina: “The boss is a bit like a father to me. I was just 18½ when I started. At that age you are still young and do stupid things. In the meantime I have learned a lot. The best thing about being a baker is the immediate feedback you get. If something doesn’t work then you know that you are either having a bad day or something else is bothering you. You can see it straight away in the products. In this job you can learn a lot about yourself – if you are prepared to open you eyes.

These days a lot of my friends envy me. They come to the bakery at night and watch me work. Then they say, ‘It must be such a cool feeling to make something and then hold the finished product in your hand just a few minutes later.’”

Manfred Holzmayr & Nina Wohlgenannt, Bakers

At the Holzmayr bakery in Reutte, Manfred Holzmayr and Nina Wohlgenannt make bread using regional and – wherever possible – organic ingredients. They are known for their innovative creations such as the Lechzopf, a plaited bread loaf made by Nina with a shape reminiscent of the wild Lech river which runs through the region.