Lars "Kuprik" Bäckman (born 5 June 1945) is a

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

who lives in

Leksand Leksand () is a locality and the seat of Leksand Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 5,934 inhabitants in 2010. Sport Leksand is famous for the Leksands IF ice hockey team, who have won 4 Swedish Championships, although the team is curren ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Bäckman was brought up in the Swedish town of

Rättvik Rättvik is a locality on the eastern shore of the lake Siljan and the seat of Rättvik Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden, with 4,686 inhabitants in 2010. Its bandy club IFK Rättvik has reached the highest division Elitserien and has bu ...

, where, as a child, he helped out in his parents' hotel. His interest for food led him to attend restaurant training, after which he worked in numerous

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s around Sweden. When he was 21 years old, he left for the United States to help his friend start a restaurant called "Viking Horn" and known informally as "the horny Viking". It was situated in the outskirts of

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

. After the "Viking Horn" he became head chef of a

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

and later, head chef at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. Bäckman was asked to do a commercial for Swedish food in a show that later became ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

''. It was supposed to be a live show, where he cooked and explained his

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...

to a program host who was supposed to ask questions and guide the process along. However, the host never showed up and Bäckman had to attempt the taping on his own. In his words: :"I was so nervous. I was shaking and didn't know what to do. And all the time I was mumbling strange words. At first the audience was surprised of the idiot that, sweating like a pig, stood before them. But after a while they started to laugh."The Swedish Chef - Hurdch burdi hurdchi burr
Soma Currently, Bäckman is travelling around Sweden while cooking, telling jokes and singing in shopping malls, at company parties and similar arrangements. He also records TV-commercials for Siljan Food, and working on his own

logotype A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

. Additionally, Bäckman does promotions with

IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. According to his own site, Bäckman believes that he was the inspiration for the Muppet character "The

Swedish Chef The Swedish Chef is a Muppet character that appeared on ''The Muppet Show''. He was originally performed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz simultaneously, with Henson performing the head and voice and Oz performing the character with real hands. The S ...

"; however, Bäckman acknowledges that Muppet writer

Jerry Juhl Jerome Ravn Juhl (July 27, 1938 – September 27, 2005) was an American television and film writer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Biography Juhl was born in St. Paul, Minnesota; his family moved to Menlo Park, California, when ...

denies this contention.

References

External links

Lars "Kuprik" Bäckman Official SiteBäckman's official site, in partnership with IKEA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backman, Lars Swedish chefs Living people 1945 births