Delicatessen from Wels

Neo-cabaret artist now enters the kitchen battle

Alex Springer wants to know: A lot is happening for him in September. First he becomes a comedian, then he tries his hand at TV cooking.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

A delicatessen trader with Mühlviertel roots is now fulfilling his dream of "being funny": in September, he will not only be celebrating his long-awaited stage premiere, but will also be heading to Hamburg, where he will be wielding a cooking spoon in a popular ZDF show.

For years, Alex Springer was an institution at the markets in Gmunden, Bad Ischl, Wels and Salzburg. Almost two and a half years ago, he established his second mainstay with a delicatessen store selling Italian delicacies in the center of Wels.

"But I've dreamed of being a cabaret artist for 30 years. In September, my dream will come true," the 49-year-old native of Mühlviertel told the "Krone" newspaper. In his program "Endlich", he tells stories from his life in a humorous way. "Of course, there are also lots of anecdotes from markets," says Springer, looking forward to the premiere on September 21.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Daughter has signed him up
Just two days later, the next highlight is on the program: Springer can be seen on the ZDF show "Die Küchenschlacht". "We watched the show a while ago. As I've been simmering around a lot and thought I could do it too, my daughter spontaneously signed me up".

25,000 euros in prize money beckons
A day later, the phone rang. "When I saw a German number, I didn't want to pick up at first. But it was an editor from ZDF on the other end of the line who told me that I was taking part in the 'Kitchen Battle'." At the end of July, he will go to Hamburg for a week of filming. Wife Petra will accompany her Alex and keep her fingers crossed for him as he competes for 25,000 euros in prize money. The creative Upper Austrian has several menus in mind. He is also preparing intensively for the cooking duels.

He is not worried that the Germans might not understand his dialect. "I'll speak the way I've grown a beak. If they can't understand me, they'll just have to put subtitles underneath."