Currywurst loses top spot in German company canteens after 28 years
The pandemic has knocked Germany's iconic currywurst fast-food snack from its top position in the country's company cafeterias after nearly three decades.
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For 28 years currywurst - a long and thick pork sausage that is sliced, covered in a spicy ketchup and dusted with curry powder - has reigned as the most popular dish in the canteens of German firms.
But in 2020, when so much of working life was disrupted, classic spaghetti Bolognese hit number one, the giant catering service provider Apetito, which releases an annual analysis of food trends among German patrons, announced on Tuesday.
The change in eating habits did not hurt Apetito's bottom line, however.
Sales of its portfolio of companies, to which the frozen food manufacturer Costa belongs, were at the previous year's level of 1 billion euros (1.2 billion dollars) in 2020.
Some individual business segments were hit hard, especially daycare centres, schools and company cafeterias, while catering for seniors, frozen food and direct online sales saw strong growth.
The currywurst is a cheap and filling meal in Germany, where its sold alongside a bread roll or chips. Its origins remain disputed, however, with historians disagreeing over whether it was invented in Hamburg or Berlin.
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