Sarah Wiener (born 27 August 1962) is a German-Austrian entrepreneur, television chef and politician who served as a member of the European Parliament for Austria from 2019 to 2024. She is a member of The Greens – The Green Alternative.
Career Wiener was born in Halle, West Germany from the Austrian writer, cyberneticist and restaurateur Oswald Wiener and the German-Austrian visual artist Lore Heuermann and raised with her mother in Vienna, Austria. At the age of seventeen Sarah Wiener left a girls' boarding school and then hitchhiked through Europe. After opening her first restaurant in Berlin in 1999, Wiener established a number of additional restaurants and cafés in the city, including at Hamburger Bahnhof (2003), the Academy of the Arts (2005), the Museum for Communication (2009) and Futurium (2019). She also operated restaurants at German Museum of Technology in Berlin and Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.
From 2007 until 2012, Arte and ORF produced Wiener's first cooking show. From 2018, she had a weekly radio program on Deutschlandfunk Kultur.Neue Kolumnistin: „Besser essen“ mit Sarah Wiener, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, press release of 22 March 2018.
In 2007, Wiener set up the Sarah Wiener Foundation, a non-profit organization to promote healthy eating habits among children and teenagers. She has since been increasingly active as a campaigner. She was also involved with food quality group Foodwatch.Sarah Wiener und Peter Lohmeyer trennen sich Die Welt, July 28, 2014. Since 2015, she has been operating an organic farm in the Uckermark region.Stéphanie Grix (June 17, 2018) Sarah Wiener: „Viele Menschen hier haben kein Geld, um sich bio leisten zu können“ Berliner Zeitung.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Wiener had to file for insolvency for her restaurants and catering business.Zosia Wanat (July 27, 2020), Celebrity chef-turned-MEP aims to stir up EU food policy Politico Europe.
Political career As Member of the European Parliament, Wiener served on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. In this capacity, she was the parliament's rapporteur on regulation of pesticides in the European Union.Eva Achinger and Marco Lehner (26 January 2023), Pestizidrecherche: Südtiroler Apfelwelt in Aufruhr Bayerischer Rundfunk.
In addition to her committee assignments, Wiener was part of the Parliament's delegation to the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee, the EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee. She also chaired the MEP Interest Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)MEPs join forces to boost European Parliament actions to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), press release of February 19, 2020. and was a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Anti-Corruption,Intergroup on Anti-Corruption European Parliament. the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT RightsMembers European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights. and of the European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals.Members European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals.
In January 2024, Wiener announced that she would not stand in the 2024 European elections but instead resign from active politics by the end of the term.Sarah Wiener verzichtet auf erneute Kandidatur fürs Europaparlament Der Spiegel, 9 January 2024.
Other activities Cradle to Cradle, Member of the Advisory BoardAdvisory Board Cradle to Cradle.
Recognition
2006: Herforder price — the German gastronomy price (honor price) 2007: Order One 100 ("Best Sceneco"), from Magazine Bunte 2007: Trophée Gourmet (Honortrophée), from the Austrian gourmet leader à la carte 2008: Golden Cloche, Austria 2008: Woman of Exception Award in the category Lifestyles for Germany, by Parmigiani Fleurier, Switzerland 2008: Les Trophees de l'Esprit Alimentaire / French Food Spirit Award for the Arte series The culinary adventures of Sarah Wiener (France) 2008: Flair de Parfum (Prize of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce) 2010: Blue Hearts Award 2012: Fairness Price (Fairness Foundation) 2012: Gourmet of the Year (Gault Millau, Austria) 2013 – Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite
Personal life Wiener has a son. From 2008 until 2014, she was married to German actor Peter Lohmeyer; during the relationship, she lived in Hamburg's Ottensen district.Sarah Wiener und Peter Lohmeyer trennen sich Die Welt, July 28, 2014.
References
External links