People
Leading by Example
Leading by Example
Leadership begins where you set the standard yourself.
Monika’s journey from the kitchen team to co-director is shaped by passion, responsibility, and the courage to move forward every day.
Some paths begin exactly where you grow up. And, step by step, become something entirely your own.
A journey shaped by passion, responsibility, and the drive to keep moving forward—every single day.
Monika, born in 1985, is the second of four children. Before her came Maria, the eldest of Martin and Margareth, who chose her own path away from the hotel—within the world of education. Monika, on the other hand, was drawn to the universe she grew up in. She chose hospitality school, where she discovered what would become her greatest passion: the kitchen. After graduating and gaining experience in Italy, Germany, and Austria, she returned home. Within less than two years, she took over the hotel kitchen. And began to shape her own culinary identity—together with her team, her ideas, and a growing network of producers and suppliers.
Growing Together
Monika’s kitchen evolved alongside the people she worked with. With chefs who came to learn—and stayed to grow. And with local farmers, who helped her understand what truly lies behind every ingredient and every product.
A kitchen never comes to life on its own.
It grows with the people who shape it, day by day.
Passing It On
For the past year, Monika has been guiding the next generation within the house: Marion Mahlknecht, who began her journey twelve years ago as an apprentice at Cyprianerhof. With talent, passion, and under the guidance of a strong mentor, she has grown step by step.
Leadership
Anyone who has worked in a kitchen knows: there is only one way to lead. By showing, every single day, what you are capable of. And by setting the example yourself. For many years, Monika has been a colleague, a guide, a mentor, and an authority all at once. She has shaped not only a kitchen, but above all the people within it.
Leadership reveals itself in action.
In setting the standard—day after day.
A New Chapter
Today, a new chapter begins for her—as co-director of the hotel. Her focus now expands to the bigger picture of Cyprianerhof. With experience and a deep sense for quality, she helps carry this family project forward into its third generation. And shapes a kind of hospitality that lasts: authentic, genuine, and exceptionally refined.
