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Home > Blogs > Taste: Dayton food and restaurants > Archives > 2009 > November > 01 > Entry
Friends gather to say ‘Auf Wiedersehen’ to Dieter Krug
Friends shared both laughter and tears Sunday, Nov. 1 at a memorial service for Dieter Krug, co-founder of l’Auberge restaurant and mentor to several Dayton-area chefs.
More than 150 people gathered at the Tobias Funeral Home Far Hills Chapel to reminisce and pay tribute to Mr. Krug, who died of an apparent heart attack Oct. 10, during a trip to visit family members in his hometown of Eisenach, Germany. He was 77.
“The friendships and respect that he gained throughout his life are a testament to the kind of man he was,” said Keith Taylor, chef-owner of Savona Restaurant in Centerville who started working under Mr. Krug at l’Auberge in 1992. “He was a father figure to me, and the best mentor anyone could ask for.”
Taylor recalled being “completely terrified” of his mentor on his first day of work, but gradually gaining his approval and trust, and admiring his gentle humor, top-notch culinary skills and legendary work ethic.
“He worked like a man possessed. He outworked people half his age,” Taylor said. “And he could take the simplest of ingredients and get the most flavor out of them. It was something to behold.”
Dominique Fortin, chef-owner of C’est Tout in Oakwood, said Mr. Krug “was a joy to work with in the kitchen,” and marveled as his friend’s ability to “make you laugh when you were down and out.
“If everyone was like Dieter, there would be peace in this world,” Fortin said.
Father Joseph Goetz, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and a good friend of Mr. Krug’s, presided over the service, noting to audience laughter that he was “not quite sure what religion Dieter was,” in part because during his visits to l’Auberge, “I was too busy enjoying his delicious food” to discuss religion.
Mr. Krug “had a gift of making people feel welcome,” Father Goetz said.
Mr. Krug left Germany in 1953 and worked in hotels in Rome and Madrid before moving to the U.S. in 1956. He served as sous chef at The Maisonette in Cincinnati and later as executive chef for the King Cole in Dayton before co-founding l’Auberge in 1979. He retired from l’Auberge in 1999, but was a frequent presence at Savona, C’est Tout and DiSalvo’s Deli in Kettering, where he would collaborate on special dinners and menus.
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