For decades, currywurst – sausage with curry – was a favorite dish in workers' canteens. But it seems that Germany’s love for the dish is cooling off, as international meals are pushing aside the country’s most popular sausage.
Officially, currywurst was invented by Herta Heuwer, who claimed she enriched the German sausage with a special sauce made of tomatoes and a spice blend in September 1949, and offered it in her Berlin shop, writes DW.
Other cities such as Duisburg and Hamburg have their own versions of the story, their urban legends claiming that the famous German dish – fried or boiled sausage topped with tomato sauce and curry – was invented there.
In any case, currywurst conquered German hearts and stomachs after the war and became the nation’s number one dish. For decades, it reigned supreme in workers' canteens.
The major supplier of German canteens and ready meals producer Apetito has been compiling a list of favorite German meals based on sales data since 1992. For 28 out of 33 years, the most popular lunch was currywurst. But then, its popularity slowly began to decline. Currently, currywurst ranks fourth.
“Our sales data show a trend toward international dishes and more conscious eating habits,” says Apetito’s CEO Jan-Per Labs.
At the top is the Italian hit spaghetti bolognese, followed by "chicken korma" with rice in second place, and the Indonesian dish "bami goreng" in third. Workplace meals are becoming more international.
The number of vegetarian meals is also increasing. Among the top 10 are the German dish with noodles and cheese “käsespätzle” and “chili sin carne” – black beans without meat – writes N1.
Cooking Your Own Meals – An Outdated Model
There are still company canteens that cook their own meals, where chefs use partially prepared ingredients but also bring their own ideas and cook on-site. One example is BMW’s canteen in Munich, which, with eight million visitors annually, is the most visited in Germany.
In general, self-cooking is outdated. More and more companies are outsourcing catering. A study by the German Institute for Communal Catering (DIG) states that “only in this way can growing challenges be met.”
Marcel Klinge from the Institute believes that the shortage of skilled labor caused this trend: “Part of the offering consists of frozen ready meals delivered to canteens, and auxiliary workers can prepare them, compensating for the lack of chefs.” Germany’s gastronomy sector is missing 40,000 chefs.
The largest portion of this applies to big canteens. In German company and business restaurants, 17 million meals are served daily.
Apetito Sees Growing Revenue
Labs, Apetito’s CEO, emphasizes that their advantage is in being able to meet demand where it is growing. He says they supply one million people in nine German states.
Last year, the company, based in the town of Rheine in North Rhine-Westphalia, recorded a turnover of 1.35 billion euros – an 8.5% increase over the previous year. Around 55% of the revenue comes from Germany. Labs is confident that growth will continue.
What Future Awaits Currywurst?
The European Union has now entered the canteen scene. A working group has been set up in Brussels to deal with food safety, hygiene, sustainability, and labeling. Until now, this was regulated by general food service laws.
Also on the group’s agenda is the regulation of “flavor diversity in canteens.” The goal is to standardize the taste and appearance of spices, as well as portion sizes. Brussels experts are even considering currywurst.
They’ve raised questions like: How large should the sausage be in the future? Does the yellow color of curry meet EU standards? What amount of mayonnaise makes a worker happy?
Workers' Councils to Monitor Currywurst
Marcel Klinge, a former Bundestag member, believes such proposals can only be an April Fools' joke. Apetito CEO Jan-Per Labs laughed when he read the news. He says that after all, there is already a “German Government Nutrition Strategy” that hasn’t been very successful in practice. He fears the EU regulations will end up the same way.
Product control for items like currywurst should be taken over by workers’ councils. In Brussels, this is seen as part of their responsibilities, alongside regulating working hours and occupational health. Jose Martinez from Apetito’s workers' council thinks this is excessive.
He doesn’t believe it’s his job to oversee food products or analyze the canteen menu in detail. He’s not the only one hoping the Brussels working group will drop such plans. “Honestly, we have bigger problems than how much mayonnaise goes on fries.”
