Wolfram Siebeck | |
|---|---|
 Wolfram Siebeck in 2004 | |
| Born | (1928-09-19)19 September 1928 |
| Died | 7 July 2016(2016-07-07) (aged 87) |
| Occupations | journalist, author,food critic |
| Years active | 1948–2016 |
Wolfram Siebeck (19 September 1928 – 7 July 2016) was a Germanjournalist, author andfood critic. With his satirical style of writing he used to criticisefast food,TV dinners, subsidised agriculture andintensive animal farming.
Wolfram Siebeck was born inDuisburg to administrative clerk and later landlord Walter Siebeck. He grew up inEssen andBochum. Siebeck witnessed the end of World War II serving as aLuftwaffenhelfer in northern Germany where he was also taken prisoner of war by allied forces. The British Army interned him onFehmarn island for a few months.
During the first post-war years, Siebeck earned his living by painting advertising signs. When theWestdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung was founded in 1948, Siebeck was hired to work as an illustrator. Later, he worked together with his friendRoland Topor.
Due to an inheritance, Siebeck was able to study at a fine arts school inWuppertal from 1950. This was also the time of his first journey to France. WhenWilly Fleckhaus foundedTwen magazine in Cologne, Siebeck got to write a culinary column for the magazine. For many years, he was also a regular writer with a monthly column inStern,Die Zeit, andDer Feinschmecker. Moreover, published books as a food critic. Starting in 2011, his contributions toDie Zeit became fewer. Instead, Siebeck wrote a blog until 2015 calledWo isst Siebeck – Ein Reisetagebuch ['Where does Siebeck eat? – An itinerary'].[1]
Wolfram Siebeck died on 7 July 2016 in Lahr, Germany.[2][3]
From 1959 to 1969, Siebeck was married to his first wife Erika.[4] He married Barbara McBride, née Wilke, in 1969. She had three sons (Shawn, Robin andBrian McBride) from her previous marriage with the American photographerWill McBride.[5]
Siebeck and his family moved to Widdersberg at Lake Ammersee in 1969. From this place, Wolfram and Barbara Siebeck began to start their first 'culinary travels' which were mostly bound to France. In the early 1980s, they moved toSchondorf.
From the end of the 1980s on, Siebeck and his wife Barbara used to live in a castle inMahlberg nearLahr,Baden-Württemberg but spent the summer seasons inPuy-Saint-Martin, France.[6][4]
According to Siebeck, his journalistic columns as well as his books were written to achieve a certain goal: his readership should be sensitised to the idea that food and drink should always be of the highest possible quality. In his publications, Siebeck wrote against fast food, TV dinners,discount store food, subsidised farming and intensive animal production, but also criticised a lack of table manners and theGerman cuisine which he considered bad.[7] His style was satirical and sarcastic, and often deliberately insulting.[8]
In the 1980s, theSüdwestfunk broadcasting corporation produced and aired a 12-episodes television show that was initiated by Swiss documentary filmer Roman Brodmann who was also a gourmet. For each episode, Siebeck would invite top chefs to his home and cook a menu for them. His guests included Marc Haeberlin, Emile Jung, Hans Stucki andHeinz Winkler. The chefs would then rate Siebeck's cooking and presentation of the menu. The series was cancelled when Brodmann died in 1990.[7]
In 1981,Neue Deutsche Welle bandFoyer des Arts dedicated a song to him called "Siebeck hat recht!" [Siebeck is right].
Wolfram Siebeck's work and life was repeatedly portrayed in television documentaries and programmes.
GermanWikiquote has quotations related to:Wolfram Siebeck
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