Willi Koeppen

Willi Koeppen was born in Berlin, Germany, on 22 June 1929.^[6] He began his culinary career with an apprenticeship at the prestigious Hotel Adlon, and continued following his emigration to Australia in the 1950s when he became the executive chef at the Chevron Hotel in Melbourne.^[5] Koeppen married his wife, Karin Lantzsch, on 30 April 1957.^[6]

Around the time of their marriage, Koeppen and his wife purchased a café on Mount Dandenong Tourist Road in the town of Olinda, Victoria, located within the Dandenong Ranges. The couple converted the establishment into the Cuckoo, a Bavarian-themed smorgasbord-style restaurant. The Cuckoo's success made Koeppen a prominent figure in the Melbourne area, leading to Koeppen presenting The Chef Presents, a five-minute cooking program, on the local Channel Seven station between 1957 and 1959. Koeppen also presented a radio program on Melbourne station 3XY.^[6]

• List of people who disappeared mysteriously: 1910–1990