The story
Currywurst is credited to Herta Heuwer, who ran a snack stand on the corner of Kantstrasse and Kaiser-Friedrich-Strasse in Berlin's Charlottenburg district. On 4 September 1949, the story goes, she mixed tomato paste, curry powder and Worcestershire sauce, reportedly obtained from British soldiers, and poured the sauce over grilled sausage. It became a cheap favourite of workers rebuilding the bombed city. Heuwer later registered the name Chillup for her sauce but kept the recipe secret until her death in 1999. A plaque now marks the spot, and the snack has become a symbol of the city.
Rival claims
Hamburg honours a 1947 origin story, but it comes from Uwe Timm's 1993 novella about a fictional stand owner, Lena Brücker; the Ruhr region also claims the snack. The documented 1949 Berlin account is the mainstream view.
Also known as curry wurst, Berliner Currywurst, curry sausage.
On the Meridish menu
Currywurst was the street food course on menu No. 5 on October 5, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Sliced sausage under ketchup spiked with curry powder. A snack-stand owner first sold it here in 1949.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
- dpma.de/english/our_office/publications/background/food-drink/spirit-currywurst/index.html
- thelocal.de/20130630/50605
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herta_Heuwer
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
