Alumnus Bob Nieland Featured in Chicago Tribune for Competing on German TV Cooking Show

In September 2018, Drinker Biddle alumnus Bob Nieland appeared on the German television cooking show “Die Kuchenschlacht” (translated to “Kitchen Battle”) and won the first round! In each set of five episodes, six amateur cooks battle each other in the kitchen and one wins. The winners from each set of episodes return later to compete to become the grand prize winner.

Bob, currently Vice President, Associate General Counsel at LSC Communications Inc. and a self-proclaimed “hobby cook,” began watching the program to brush up on his German speaking skills for his planned vacation to the country in the summer of 2018. On a whim, he got in touch with a prior contestant from New York, who told him how to apply for the show. Bob was later accepted, and was available to appear because the taping coincided with his planned trip to Germany. Bob won the first round and later returned to Germany for the semifinal round, which aired earlier in November. While Bob wasn’t the ultimate winner of the competition, he’s certainly a winner in our book!

After graduating from law school, Bob moved to Germany and worked at the Max Planck Institute for Patent, Copyright and Competition Law in Munich for 18 months. He returned to the United States in 1980 and joined the Chicago office of Gardner Carton and Douglas as an associate. Bob transitioned in-house to RR Donnelly in 1983. LSC Communications, Inc. (where Bob is currently employed) was spun off from RR Donnelly in 2016.

Read more about Bob’s experience in this Chicago Tribune article and view photos here.