Our team
Motivated. Creative. Talented.

Teamwork makes the dream work.
Our team is young and imaginative, full of ideas, culinary visions and always on a culinary quest. Each and every one of them contributes special skills and innovative suggestions that our guests can then enjoy on their plates.


Sebastian Leutgeb.
Head chef, managing director & star chef.Born in Mittersill in the deep Pinzgau region and raised on the Postalm, where his parents ran a youth hostel - this is the down-to-earth culinary background of our chef Sebastian Leutgeb. When it comes to enjoyment, it's always about the roots - and for Sebastian, these are deep and earthy. That's why he used to look over his grandmother Paula's shoulder when she freshly mixed the Kaiserschmarrn and seasoned her legendary potato salad à la minute.
This freshness, purism and simple, harmonious flavor combinations influenced Sebastian from a young age and awakened his love of cooking. During his international cooking and kitchen stations, such as the Adlon in Berlin and Schloss Fuschl, he then added the French, the few, the reduction to purism and the multifaceted. He says himself that he learned to cook really well during this time. That's why he not only knows what a real Wiener Schnitzel should look and taste like, he also knows how to spoil his guests with excellent, seasonal menus in his fine gourmet restaurant Paula.
It is precisely in this area of tension between pub and gourmet restaurant, the classics with a touch of modernity on the one hand and the carefully composed and choreographed menus on the other, that Sebastian feels at home. And in his first year as head chef, he also cooked up 3 toques at the premiere of the "Paula", which he could confirm in 2024 with even half a point more in the rating! The icing on the culinary cake is this highly coveted star, which Sebastian was awarded by the Michelin Guide in 2025 as one of the youngest in his profession.

Miriam Grädler.
Restaurant manager and sommelier.As the perfect complement to the hotel and kitchen and with just as much experience in high-class hotels and restaurants, Miriam runs the Weisser Bär inn and the Paula gourmet restaurant. Born in Neuburg an der Donau, she was able to get a taste of gastronomy from an early age in the inns of both her grandparents. After an apprenticeship as a tax clerk, she decided to take a professional step back to her roots.
At Schloss Pichlarn in Styria, she got to know the 5-star gastronomy and hotel industry from the ground up before discovering her love of wine at Schloss Fuschl after a few seasons in Tyrol and the Arlberg in high-end establishments. Here at the Weisses Bär, she always provides the right wine for the right course and is responsible for the finest tableware and elegant, unobtrusive service.
With her passion for the finest wines and her great love of good taste, she always conjures up the perfect wine-pleasure harmony and also creates the multifaceted wine accompaniments in the gourmet restaurant Paula, which really set the scene for our menus.