Herta Heuwer
German chef credited with inventing the currywurst in 1949.
Last updated
Herta Charlotte Heuwer, born in Königsberg, ran a food kiosk in West Berlin and is often said to have created the takeaway dish now known as currywurst, reportedly on 4 September 1949. Her version used a boiled, fried sausage topped with a sauce made from tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, curry powder, and other ingredients.
In January 1951, she trademarked this sauce as Chillup. She later expanded to a larger location at Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße 59, which operated around the clock and had 19 saleswomen at its peak. Heuwer passed away in Berlin at age 86.
Other claims to currywurst
Two authors, Tim Koch and Gregor Lauenburger, argued that currywursts had been sold by Dutch-born Peter Hildebrand since 1936 at Peter Pomm’s Pusztetten-Stube in Duisburg. The curry powder was ordered from Hamburg, as "English recipe curry powder". Other sources claim that currywurst was invented in Hamburg.
Author Uwe Timm contends in his novel The Discovery of Currywurst that he had eaten currywurst in Hamburg as early as 1947, but the inventor of Currywurst in his novel, Lena Brücker, is an admitted literary license. However, that did not prevent the former Hamburg Senator of the Interior Ronald Schill from honoring Lena Brücker in 2003. Food historians such as Petra Foede believe that, as with most culinary creation myths, several rather than a single person were involved in developing this dish, sausage sellers experimenting with various spice mixes in order to replace the tomato ketchup that was unavailable during the immediate postwar years.
Did You Know?
- On 29 June 2003, the day before what would have been her 90th birthday, a commemorative plaque was unveiled by Charlottenburg Mayor Monika Thiemen at the site where Herta Heuwer invented the currywurst.
- The Berlin Currywurst is now a protected commodity, officially and properly recognized by the German Patent and Trademark Office.
- In 2019, the Berlin State Mint minted a commemorative medal to mark the 70th anniversary of the invention of the Currywurst, depicting Heuwer together with two currywursts.
- On 30 June 2013, the centenary of Heuwer's birthday was celebrated with a Google Doodle.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Herta Heuwer born?
Herta Heuwer was born on 30 June 1913 in Königsberg, Prussia, German Reich (now Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia).
When did Herta Heuwer die?
Herta Heuwer died on 13 July 1999 in Berlin, Germany.
More in German Chefs
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Herta Heuwer (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced