Chef behind Famous-Barr's French onion soup has died: His story and the recipe
Manfred Zettl, a master chef renowned for perfecting one of the St. Louis area’s most iconic culinary creations — Famous-Barr’s French onion soup — has died. Zettl, 85, died of natural causes Oct. 30 in St. Louis, but the culinary creations he crafted over a lifetime will live on in people’s memories. At Famous-Barr, he oversaw 32 restaurants and 500 employees as executive chef. He later founded one of the area’s first diet-food businesses. He began his career in Austria and aboard cruise ships, serving Hollywood celebrities and heads of state. Whether you enjoyed the signature soup at Famous-Barr’s Scandia Room at St. Clair Square or in the downtown St. Louis tearoom after viewing the Christmas window displays, chances are you recall its distinctive aroma throughout the dining areas. The rich, velvety beef broth, loaded with sliced onions, was served in an ovenproof brown McCoy Pottery bowl, topped with baguette slices and a thick layer of bubbling Swiss cheese. Zettl didn’t invent the soup, but he was responsible for what he described as “perfecting” it. He told me its backstory when I was food editor at the now-defunct St. Louis Globe-Democrat, which closed in 1986. He was warm, friendly and
