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| Culinary career | |
Television show(s)
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Clemens Wilmenrod (July 24, 1906 – April 12, 1967) was the first German television cook. His pseudonym was derived from the municipality Willmenrod in the Westerwald region, where he was born as Karl Clemens Hahn. Wilmenrod is considered the inventor of Toast Hawaii, "Arabian riders' meat" and "stuffed strawberry". He is also credited with making Rumtopf popular in Southern and Western Germany, and with introducing turkey as a typical Christmas dinner.
From February 20, 1953 to May 16, 1964, he starred in Clemens Wilmenrod bittet zu Tisch on the WDR, assisted by his wife Erika, and provided his audience with suggestions for creative cooking in 185 broadcasts. Wilmenrod, also known as "Don Clemente", wore a trademark apron with a caricature by Mirko Szewczuk.
The dishes presented were characterized by the general scarcity of the post-war period, and Wilmenrod was not ashamed to use canned vegetables, instant sauces, and even ketchup. While this may not measure up to the current state of the culinary art, his influence on the post-war generation in Germany should not be underrated: his programmes and cookbooks were blockbusters, and when he presented a cod recipe, for instance, cod would be sold out for weeks.
In one memorable incident, after being accused by a viewer of not having invented the "filled strawberry" himself, Wilmenrod put a long cook's knife against his chest and swore to kill himself if a single viewer who had previously eaten filled strawberry were to call. He committed suicide in 1967 in a hospital in Munich after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.