Franz Sacher (19 December 1816 – 11 March 1907) was an Austrian

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categorie ...

, best known as the inventor of the

Sachertorte Sachertorte (, , ) is a chocolate cake, or torte of Austrian origin, invented by Franz Sacher, supposedly in 1832 for Prince Metternich in Vienna.Michael Krondl, ''Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert'', , 2011, p. 290: "my best gues ...

Biography

According to Sacher's son Eduard, in 1832

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

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, Prince Metternich, ordered his court's kitchen to create a special

dessert Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and most parts o ...

for a dinner to be attended by high-ranking guests. ''Dass er mir aber keine Schand' macht, heut' Abend!'' ("Let there be no shame on me tonight!"), he is reported to have declared. Unfortunately, on the day of the dinner the chief cook of Metternich's household was taken ill, and the task of preparing the dessert had to be passed to Franz Sacher, then in his second year of

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

at the palace. The result would be the chocolate cake devised on the spot by the 16-year-old trainee. The story was probably invented by Eduard many years later, to appeal to "Viennese nostalgic for their imperial past".Michael Krondl, ''Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert'', , 2011, p. 290-291: "my best guess is that the Metternich creation story originates with Eduard Sacher" Sacher was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and died in

Baden bei Wien Baden (German for "Baths"; Central Bavarian: ''Bodn''), unofficially distinguished from other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria. It serves as the capital of Baden District in the state of Lower Austria. Loc ...

, where he was buried in the Catholic Helenenfriedhof (Saint Helena Cemetery). Eduard opened the

Hotel Sacher Hotel Sacher is a five-star luxury hotel in Vienna, Austria, facing the Vienna State Opera in the city's central Innere Stadt district. It is famous for the specialty of the house, the Sachertorte, a chocolate cake with apricot filling. There is ...

in 1876, near the State Opera House in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The Sachertorte is said to be instrumental in spreading the fame of the hotel; or perhaps the other way around. The exact recipe as created by Sacher himself is a closely guarded secret.

Personal life

Franz Sacher and his wife Rosa b. Wieninger had three sons. * Franz († 1889; Age: 48/49) took over the business of his father in the 1860s, and later became the restaurateur and hotelier in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, then Head of Marine Casinos in

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the ...

; * Eduard (1843–1892) founded the

in Vienna in 1876; * Carl (1849–1929) founded Sacher's Hotel & Curanstalt in Helenental in 1881.

Tribute

On December 19, 2016,

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celebrated Sacher's 200th birthday with a

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacher, Franz 1816 births 1907 deaths Austro-Hungarian people Austrian chefs Confectioners Businesspeople from Vienna People from Levice District People from Baden bei Wien