Friederun Köhnen

Friederun Köhnen (née Frege; 22 September 1942 – 16 March 2026) was a German television chef and food industry executive, originally from Saxony, but based in North Rhine-Westphalia.

In 2007, she handed over to her son, Volker Köhnen, responsibility for the daily running of the family business (known in recent decades as "The Food Professionals Köhnen AG") she had built up. By this time, she was responsible for more than 100,000 published recipes. From 1965, she significantly influenced both home cooking and commercial food production in her native Germany.

Life and career The youngest of four children, Friederun Köhnen was born in Dresden during the war. When she was 23, with startup capital of 600 Marks, she launched herself as a freelance experimental chef. Working from improvised premises in the cellar of her parents' home, she quickly made an impression on the German food industry with her innovative ideas. Early on, she successfully approached the owners of the Müller's Mühle food conglomerate, a major producer of dried peas, beans and other pulses, with a proposal that many customers would prefer to buy these products in cans/tins, in order to avoid having to soak the contents overnight before they could be used for cooking. The idea caught on with consumers, and the resulting canned products can be seen as Germany's original "ready meals" ("Fertiggerichte"). right|Friederun Köhnen, interviewed in 2012 The broadcaster accepted the initiative and Köhnen presented her own daily ten-minute cookery show, working alongside the moderator Horst Tempel.

Over the years, the experimental kitchen evolved to become "The Food Professionals Köhnen AG", based in Sprockhövel, and today employing approximately 50 people with annual turnover around 3.7 million Euros. In 2010, Volker Köhnen, the son of the founder (and a qualified photographer and ships' mechanic) took over at the top of the executive board, having already served as chief executive since 2007. Friederun Köhnen switched to the supervisory board. The business model embraces marketing campaigns, the development of new recipes and other food industry innovations. They also publish cookery books and produce product photographs in their own studios. and a Schnitzel suitable for the Toaster.

Köhnen died in self-determined decision on 16 March 2026, at the age of 83.