Chef Tell

Friedemann Paul Erhardt (November 5, 1943 – October 26, 2007) was a German American pioneering early television chef. He was known as "Chef Tell" to his 40 million Baby Boomer fans. He is widely regarded as one of the first chefs to enjoy widespread popularity on American television. Former Philadelphia Inquirer food writer, Elaine Tait, wrote, "Chef Tell is America's pioneer TV showman chef whose food always tastes good." Erhardt's thick German accent reportedly made him the inspiration for the Swedish Chef, a well known Muppet character on The Muppet Show, although this is denied by Brian Henson.

Friedemann Paul Erhardt was born in Stuttgart, Germany on November 5, 1943. He was the son of a German newspaper publisher. Erhardt earned the nickname "Tell" when he played the character William Tell in a school play. Later, when asked by his TV producer, Art Moore, what he would like to take as his TV persona, he replied, "I'm known as Tell, so call me 'Chef Tell.'"

Erhardt began his mandatory, three-year training to be a cook and a chef at the age of 13. Following his apprenticeship and further study and work in several hotels and restaurants in Europe, in 1970, he graduated at the age of 27 as Germany's youngest master chef to that time. That same year, he led a team of chefs to the Gold Medal in the Cooking Olympics in West Germany, and was also named "Chef of the Year." Two years later, invited by a former Miss Philadelphia, Janet Louise Nicoletti, whom he later married, he moved to the United States where he became the Executive Chef at the famed Barclay Hotel in Philadelphia.

Erhardt made his first television debut on a local Philadelphia television show called Dialing for Dollars in 1974. He was employed as a chef at the Marriott Hotel on City Line Avenue at the time. Now more commonly known as Chef Tell, his work on the show later earned him a regular 90-second cooking spot on a nationally syndicated show, PM Magazine. He often used the phrase, with his thick accent, "very simple, very easy" while cooking during his PM Magazine spots. His career led to guest appearances on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and earned Chef Tell time on QVC. He also hosted a show on PBS called In the Kitchen With Chef Tell. Chef Tell was known for his speed, for using humor in his cooking shows, and for his famous sign-off, "I SEE YOU!"

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