Chef Horst Pfeifer

Any restaurant menu is the product of the chef's experiences. The dishes at The Foundry bear the imprint of the diverse food cultures that Horst Pfeifer has absorbed during a career that took him from his family's farm in southern Germany to restaurant kitchens in northern Italy, Austria, Texas and New Orleans.

While growing up in the small German farming community of Bächlingen, Pfeifer worked in his mother's garden and often cooked family meals. At 15 he began his formal culinary training, which led to a chef's degree and stints in the kitchens of luxury hotels in the Italian Tyrol and Austria.

In his early 20s, he moved to Austin, Tex., to work at Austin's Courtyard. In less than a year, he became its executive chef.