TV Land

Former Studio Cook Claims He’s the Real Swedish Chef

Former Hollywood studio chef Lars Kuprik Backman is convinced The Muppets’ Swedish Chef is based on him. The puppet personification must have been inspired while the red-haired Scandinavian was cooking on the 20th Century Lot where show creator Jim Henson worked in the Muppets’ early years. ABC International floors us with a hilarious retelling of Chef Backman’s failed TV appearance while on break from long-gone restaurant The Viking Horn. Not expecting a live audience, Backman claims he “couldn’t remember any English or any Swedish…it was unintelligible, and I was still holding that silly pastry bag, shaking with fear.” Though a show writer denies Backman’s influence on the floppy character, that story no doubt reminds us of a certain cook we know who likes to put the “chickie in thee pot.”

Is This the Man Behind The Muppet Show’s Swedish Chef? [ABC]

Former Studio Cook Claims He’s the Real Swedish Chef