Cuckoo’s story of rags to riches

By Tania Martin
A DESIRE to recount the rags to riches tale of the Cuckoo Restaurant has led Belgrave writer Nick Anchen to release a book on the history of the iconic eatery.
However, Mr Anchen said it was just by chance that he was chosen to write the book.
The book simply titled The Cuckoo comes six months after Mr Anchen released a book about another one of his other passions – Puffing Billy.
“The staff at the Cuckoo saw my book on Puffing Billy and wanted me to write something similar for them,” he said.
“It was a coincidence that I was interested in writing the history of the restaurant at the time they were getting ready to celebrate their 50th anniversary.”
For the past six months Mr Anchen and his creative director, Jonathon Newton, have been working on the book.
The book contains some interesting facts about the owners and how they built the restaurant up from nothing into what it is today.
Mr Anchen said it was this rags to riches story that drove him to write the book.
“It amazing to see how Karen (the owner) built the restaurant up from nothing to become one of the iconic restaurants of Melbourne and the Dandenongs,” he said.
The Cuckoo’s history also held Mr Anchen captive because he worked at the restaurant as a teenager.
“I have always loved the atmosphere of the Cuckoo and I’ve had a soft spot for it and I think that shows in this book,” he said.
The book starts by explaining the humble beginnings of the restaurant in 1914 as the quaint Quamby Café, which served afternoon tea, strawberries and cream to travellers and locals.
The Quamby Café was closed down in the 1950s, which is when German chef Willie Koeppen and his wife Karen stumbled across the venue and fell in love with it.
Mr Anchen’s story follows how the Koeppens opened the Cuckoo and brought it up from nothing to a world-renowned restaurant.
But he said what was most interesting about researching the history of the Cuckoo was finding out that Willie had become Melbourne’s first celebrity television chef in 1957 with his show The Chef Presents.
“But the sad part about this story is that Willie went missing in 1976 and has never been seen since,” Mr Anchen said.
The book not only has the history of the restaurant but also features a pictorial of the past.
He said anyone interested in finding out about the history of the iconic restaurant can buy the book from the Cuckoo or from the Belgrave Book Barn, or from Rainy Day Books in The Basin.
The book is also available from Sierra Publishing by calling 0405 530 323 and costs $16.95.
Mr Anchen is now hoping to start working on a book highlighting the history of the Dandenongs.