World Chefs: Keller shares memories, spotlight in latest book

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thomas Keller, one of America's most respected chefs, shares the food memories of his childhood and his time in France in his new book "Bouchon Bakery," which is also the name of his chain of pastry shops in the United States.

Keller is the only American chef who owns two three-Michelin-star restaurants - Per Se in New York City and The French Laundry in the Napa Valley wine region in California.

Earlier this year, Britain's Restaurant Magazine named Per Se, which opened in 2004, the world's sixth best restaurant. Keller also earned the magazine's lifetime achievement award.

Like his four other books, his latest effort is a collaboration. He co-wrote it with his top pastry chefs Sebastien Rouxel and Matthew McDonald along with food writers Susie Heller, Michael Ruhlman and Amy Vogler.

The 57-year-old spoke to Reuters about the book, his pastry chefs and his place in the culinary world.

Q: Why did you collaborate with the leaders of your pastry team with this book?

A: "If you look at my other cookbooks, it's always been a point with me to share these opportunities with those who share their skills and expertise with the general public. That was the reason why I did the book. Sebastien is one of the best pastry chefs in America. His techniques are unparalleled. I'm not trying to pretend that I'm a pastry chef by writing a book about baking and pastries. Nor am I trying to be a bread baker. I have Matthew McDonald, who is one of the best bakers in America. To be able to highlight his skills in the bread section was very important as well."

Q: How did your time in France change your view about pastry and bread-making?

A: "When you are in France, especially in Paris, there were three or four boulangeries of different significance just on the block where I lived because they had pastry chefs with different levels of skills. You went to different ones for different things. To have a fresh baked baguette everyday was extraordinary. Anyone who lived in Paris for any length of time would say eating a fresh baguette is pretty special. Bread plays a real important part in the experience of the diners. To make sure we have the opportunity to significantly impact the experience by controlling the production and style of the bread was very important to me."

Q: Do you have a favorite dessert?

A: "It depends on the day ... There are so many things I love. I think anything that's done really, really well. For me, that's really something I really appreciate. I think one of the things that really resonate with the individual is that idea that eating, and eating through that experience, they have a memory. We are always trying to do something that's good. Why put something on the menu that's not very good?"

Q: The book emphasizes weighing ingredients over measuring with cups and spoons. Could that be difficult for home cooks?

A: "One of the things about pastry ... it's such an exact process. The most exact thing you practice is with weighing. There is an exactness to the execution, which gives you every opportunity to be successful."

Q: French Laundry and Per Se are among two of the best restaurants in the country. Bouchon Bakery is a success. What more would you like to accomplish in the culinary world?

A: "I have accomplished today everything I wanted to accomplish, more than I ever dreamed was possible. Right now, I'm just focused on the restaurants we have and the book I just wrote. Let me enjoy this moment before you ask me what I'll be doing tomorrow."

Pecan Sandies for my mom (Makes 1-1/2 dozen cookies)

1 ¾ cups + 1 ½ teaspoons all-purpose flour (250 grams)

¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans (80 grams)

4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature (170 grams)

¾ cup + 1 ¾ teaspoons powdered sugar (90 grams)

Additional powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

1. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (convection) or 350°F (standard). Line two sheet pans with Silpats or parchment paper.

2. Toss the flour and pecans together in a medium bowl.

3. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium-low speed until smooth. Add the 90 grams/¾ cup plus 1¾ teaspoons powdered sugar and mix for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, until just combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that have settled there.

4. Divide the dough into 30-gram/1½-tablespoon portions, roll into balls, and arrange on the sheet pans, leaving about 1½ inches between them. Press the cookies into 2-inch disks.

5. Bake until pale golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes if using a convection oven, 22 to 25 minutes if using a standard oven, reversing the positions of the pans halfway through. (Sandies baked in a convection oven will not spread as much as those baked in a standard oven and will have a more even color.)

6. Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. If desired, dust with powdered sugar.

Note: The cookies can be stored in a covered container for up to 3 days.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Patricia Reaney and James Dalgleish)

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Inside David Lynch's Paris art-studio hideaway

PARIS (Reuters) - Behind the doors of a 19th-century printworks in south-central Paris, filmmaker and painter-by-training David Lynch takes a cigarette break after hours of etching abstract shapes and twisted limbs onto stone and wood.

Although best known for dark, surreal movies such as "Eraserhead", "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive", Lynch was an artist before he began filmmaking and since 2007 has been using the Idem workshop as his studio in Paris, creating some 170 lithographs and engravings.

As three workshop staff clamber onto one of the six giant mechanical presses to print up a fresh design, Lynch - dressed in a blue apron and sporting his trademark white, bouffant hairdo - explains that there is something uniquely inspiring about the Parisian printworks.

"This is totally Parisian. In people's dream of Paris, this place would fit in that dream perfectly," the 66-year-old tells Reuters, speaking above the noise of the whirling cogs and hand-operated cranks that he says remind him of the twisted, industrial world of his debut feature film "Eraserhead".

"Everybody that comes to this place, they feel it...I can feel the past. I can feel the whole art of life going on here."

Artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Chagall and Miro all had their prints produced at the site, a two-floor workshop built in 1880 that is still in use today by artists including Lynch. Encircled by piles of engraving-stones and the odd stuffed toy panther, the presses can also print from digital files.

Lynch's prints - which he says he etches from scratch after "catching" an idea in his mind - vary from Keith Haring-esque red-and-white squiggles and doodles to ghostly Edvard Munch-like humans stranded in desolate landscapes, with titles like "Things In Air Over City" or "Oh, A Bad Dream Comes".

They seem to combine the black-and-white, nightmarish imagery of "Eraserhead" and "The Elephant Man" with the abstract, surreal narratives of Lynch's last two movies, 2001's "Mulholland Drive" and 2006's "Inland Empire".

Lynch has explored other media over the past decade, creating a series of animated shorts posted online called "Dumbland", directing a Duran Duran concert streamed on YouTube and even recording his own solo album called "Crazy Clown Time".

He has even adapted his trademark palette of dark tones and surreal shapes to French tastes, designing a limited edition of Dom Perignon champagne bottles as well as an underground nightclub in the center of Paris called "Silencio".

Despite his obvious enthusiasm for trying out new things, Lynch's affection for Paris comes from its protection of tradition.

"I like the way the French people live. They protect the arts more than any other country," he says. "Here, almost every avenue of life is like an art form."

In a seemingly upside-down world where governments and bankers are suffering from the financial crisis but where big-name artists are fetching higher prices than ever before, Lynch says that he can still separate the urge to make money from the urge to make art.

"It's like Hollywood versus the art way," he says. "I love money for getting things to work and to live. But it's not the reason in my mind to make a film or to make anything."

Asked what his next move is going to be, Lynch says he will continue to work on music and art but adds that there is a movie idea also in the pipeline.

"Music and painting and maybe cinema, but we'll have to wait and see," he says. "Maybe it's going to happen but you need to be deeply in love and, you know...I'm falling in love."

(Reporting by Lionel Laurent, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Legendary Indian sitarist, composer Ravi Shankar dead at 92

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar, who helped introduce the sitar to the Western world through his collaborations with The Beatles, died in Southern California on Tuesday, his family said. He was 92.

Shankar, a three-time Grammy winner with legendary appearances at the 1967 Monterey Festival and at Woodstock, had been in fragile health for several years and last Thursday underwent surgery, his family said in a statement.

"Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as a part of our lives," the family said. "He will live forever in our hearts and in his music."

In India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office posted a Twitter message calling Shankar a "national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage."

"An era has passed away with ... Ravi Shankar. The nation joins me to pay tributes to his unsurpassable genius, his art and his humility," the Indian premier added.

Shankar had suffered from upper respiratory and heart issues over the past year and underwent heart-valve replacement surgery last week at a hospital in San Diego, south of Los Angeles.

The surgery was successful but he was unable to recover.

"Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the surgeons and doctors taking care of him, his body was not able to withstand the strain of the surgery. We were at his side when he passed away," his wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka said.

Shankar lived in both India and the United States. He is also survived by his daughter, Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones, three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Shankar performed his last concert with his daughter Anoushka on November 4 in Long Beach, California, the statement said. The night before he underwent surgery, he was nominated for a Grammy for his latest album "The Living Room Sessions, Part 1."

'NORWEGIAN WOOD' TO 'WEST MEETS EAST'

His family said that memorial plans will be announced at a later date and requested that donations be made to the Ravi Shankar Foundation.

Shankar is credited with popularizing Indian music through his work with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and The Beatles in the late 1960s, inspiring George Harrison to learn the sitar and the British band to record songs like "Norwegian Wood" (1965) and "Within You, Without You" (1967).

His friendship with Harrison led him to appearances at the Monterey and Woodstock pop festivals in the late 1960s, and the 1972 Concert for Bangladesh, becoming one of the first Indian musicians to become a household name in the West.

His influence in classical music, including on composer Philip Glass, was just as large. His work with Menuhin on their "West Meets East" albums in the 1960s and 1970s earned them a Grammy, and he wrote concertos for sitar and orchestra for both the London Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.

Shankar served as a member of the upper chamber of the Parliament of India, from 1986 to 1992, after being nominated by then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

A man of many talents, he also wrote the Oscar-nominated score for 1982 film "Gandhi," several books, and mounted theatrical productions.

He also built an ashram-style home and music center in India where students could live and learn, and later the Ravi Shankar Center in Delhi in 2001, which hosts an annual music festival.

Yet his first brush with the arts was through dance.

Born Robindra Shankar in 1920 in India's holiest city, Varanasi, he spent his first few years in relative poverty before his eldest brother took the family to Paris.

For about eight years, Shankar danced in his brother's Indian classical and folk dance troupe, which toured the world. But by the late 1930s he had turned his back on show business to learn the sitar and other classical Indian instruments.

Shankar earned multiple honors in his long career, including an Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Britain's Queen Elizabeth for services to music, the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, and the French Legion d'Honneur.

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

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Tech guru McAfee's legal appeals win him respite in Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - U.S. software pioneer John McAfee, facing deportation from Guatemala to Belize to answer questions over the death of a neighbor, has bought himself some time with legal appeals, the Guatemalan government said on Sunday.

McAfee's lawyers have filed a request with a local court to grant him leave to stay in Guatemala until his legal appeals against deportation have been settled, which could take months.

"The government of Guatemala respects the courts and we have to wait for them to make a decision," said Francisco Cuevas, a spokesman for the Guatemalan government.

The government initially said it would deport him straight away after rejecting McAfee's request for asylum on Thursday.

Guatemala has been holding the former Silicon Valley millionaire since he was arrested on Wednesday for illegally entering the country with his 20-year-old Belizean girlfriend.

Officials in Belize want to question McAfee as a "person of interest" in the killing of fellow American Gregory Faull, his neighbor on the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye.

The court has up to 30 days to rule on his request, but McAfee's lawyers said on Sunday they expect a ruling in the American's favor as early as Monday.

"We are filing a series of papers with the court to attempt to keep me here long enough for the world to see the injustice of sending me back to Belize," McAfee said in an online news conference on Sunday evening.

McAfee has been evading Belizean officials for nearly a month, saying he fears they want to kill him, and that he is being persecuted for speaking out about corruption in the country's ruling party. Belize's prime minister has rejected McAfee's claims, calling him paranoid and "bonkers."

McAfee's attorney, Telesforo Guerra, said that if his request with the court is successful, McAfee would be allowed to stay in the country until the legal suits have been resolved.

His lawyers have filed several injunctions against government officials, alleging McAfee's rights were violated because his asylum request was not given proper consideration.

McAfee said on Saturday he wanted to return to the United States, and Guerra said he had filed a motion that would require Guatemalan authorities to deport him there and not to Belize.

The eccentric tech pioneer, who made his fortune from the anti-virus software bearing his name, has been chronicling life on the run in a blog, www.whoismcafee.com.

(Editing by Dave Graham; editing by Todd Eastham)

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Australian DJs break silence over UK royal prank tragedy

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Two Australian radio announcers who made a prank call to a British hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Kate broke a three-day silence on Monday to speak of their distress at the apparent suicide of the nurse who took their call.

The 2DayFM Sydney-based announcers, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, said the tragedy had left them "shattered, gutted, heartbroken".

Greig and fellow presenter and prank mastermind Christian have been in hiding since nurse Jacintha Saldanha's death and the subsequent social media outrage at their prank.

Their show, "Hot 30," has been terminated, the station's parent company, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), said in a statement on Monday. SCA also announced a company-wide suspension of prank calls.

Greig told Australian television her first thought when told of Saldanha's death was for her family.

"Unfortunately I remember that moment very well, because I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened," she said, amid tears, her voice quavering with emotion. "I remember my first question was 'was she a mother?'"

"I've wanted to just reach out to them and just give them a big hug and say sorry. I hope they're okay, I really do. I hope they get through this," said Greig when asked about Saldanha's two children, left with their father Ben Barboza.

Saldanha, 46, was found dead in staff accommodation near London's King Edward VII hospital on Friday after putting the hoax call through to a colleague who unwittingly disclosed details of Kate's morning sickness to 2DayFM's presenters.

The nurse's family travelled from their home in the western English city of Bristol to meet with politician Keith Vaz in London on Monday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said news of the Saldanha's death was "shocking".

"I just feel incredibly sorry for her and her family. It's an absolute tragedy this has happened, and I'm sure everyone will want to reflect on how it was allowed to happen," he said.

The hospital at which Saldanha worked told the BBC it had not disciplined her for taking the prank call. On Monday, it announced the launch of a memorial fund in Saldanha's memory to benefit her family.

A post-mortem examination would be conducted on Tuesday, police said.

FIRESTORM

A recording of the call, broadcast repeatedly by the station, rapidly became an Internet hit and was reprinted as a transcript in many newspapers. But news of Saldanha's death sparked a firestorm of vitriolic comments towards the DJs on Facebook and Twitter.

Christian said his only wish was that Saldanha's grief-stricken family received proper support.

"I hope that they get the love, the support, the care that they need, you know," said Christian, who like Greig struggled to talk about the tragedy.

Both Greig, 30, and Christian were relatively new to the station, with Greig joining in March and Christian having been in the job only a few days before the prank call after a career in regional radio.

Greig said she did not think their prank would work.

"We thought a hundred people before us would've tried it. We thought it was such a silly idea and the accents were terrible and not for a second did we expect to speak to Kate, let alone have a conversation with anyone at the hospital. We wanted to be hung up on," she said.

SCA, 2Day's parent company, has received more than 1,000 complaints from Australians over the actions of the popular presenters, who have both been taken off air during an broadcasting watchdog investigation.

"SCA and the hosts of the radio program have also decided that they will not return to the airwaves until further notice," SCA said in a statement.

Shares in SCA fell 5 percent on Monday after two major Australian companies pulled their advertising with the radio station in protest and other advertising was suspended.

The station said it had tried to contact hospital staff five times over the recordings.

"It is absolutely true to say that we actually did attempt to contact those people on multiple occasions," said SCA chief executive Rhys Holleran. "No one could have reasonably foreseen what has happened. I can only say the prank call is not unusual around the world."

Australia's Communications Minister Stephen Conroy sought to deflect calls for more media regulation, telling journalists that a looming investigation by Australia's independent regulator should be allowed to happen without political interference.

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Abbas and Alessandra Prentice in London; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

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Elijah Wood, Aaron Paul rally fans to save north Hollywood taco joint

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Elijah Wood and Aaron Paul are on a mission to save a North Hollywood taco stand.

The actors are rallying fans around Henry's Tacos, which has been on the corner of Tujunga and Moorpark for 51 years and is closing December 31 due to a conflict with the building's landlord.

In an announcement posted on Facebook, the stand's owner, Janis Hood, said that running the restaurant is too much of a burden for her - but the landlord, Mehran Ebrahimpour, isn't allowing "prospective buyers committed to continuing the tradition" to take over the lease.

The reason, Hood believes, is because she "unwittingly" angered him by nominating Henry's to become for a Historic Cultural Monument a year ago. Ultimately, the city council never voted on her request, but the damage was done.

Once loyal customer Wood heard the news, he immediately took to Twitter: "Los Angeles institution, Henry's Tacos to shut," Wood tweeted. "Please retweet. Very sad situation."

Over 250 followers and counting have heard his cry, including a few famous friends like Aaron Paul, Colin Hanks and "Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig.

"This can't happen. Save LA history," Feig added, after retweeting Wood's words.

But instead of just wishing for a Christmas miracle, Paul has a plan - not to mention a cool opportunity for his fans. The "Breaking Bad" star is asking "the masses" to join him for lunch this coming Sunday.

"We must save @HenrysTacos from closing," he tweeted. "Come join me for lunch this Sunday at 2pm!! Join the masses and eat some tacos!! Tell your friends."

While he may bring Henry's some extra business before serving its last burrito, owner Hood makes it seem like the chances of changing Henry's fate are slim.

"The current prospective buyers have agreed to all the landlord's terms, but he has ceased communicating with them," she wrote. "Therefore, I have given my notice and it has been accepted by the landlord."

Neither Hood nor Ebrahimpour immediately responded to TheWrap's request for comment.

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Billionaire Aldi heir dies aged 58

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German billionaire Berthold Albrecht, heir to the Aldi supermarket chain and one of Germany's richest men, has died aged 58, his family announced on Friday.

Together with his brother Theo Jr, Albrecht's fortune was estimated at $17.8 billion, according to Forbes. That placed them at 32 in the list of Forbes billionaires and second for Germany.

"Berthold was a fighter, and full of hope to the end," his wife, Babette, wrote in a full-page notice published in several German newspapers.

The notice from the notoriously reclusive family said that the funeral had taken place in November, but it did not give further details of the circumstances of his death.

Berthold was the son of Aldi co-founder Theo Albrecht, who died at the age of 88 in July 2010.

After the Second World War, Theo and his brother Karl turned the small grocery store their mother operated in Essen into one of the nation's largest food retail chains, with a focus on a limited range of goods at bargain prices.

Aldi was split into two divisions covering north and south Germany in 1960. Theo took the north and Karl the south. Karl, aged 92, is classified by Forbes as the richest man in Germany with a fortune of $25.4 billion.

The Aldi empire, which has estimated worldwide annual turnover of about 50 billion euros ($65 billion), also owns the Trader Joe's grocery chain in the United States. In Europe it competes with the likes of Tesco, Carrefour and Metro.

Berthold worked on the board of directors at Aldi North. ($1 = 0.7700 euros)

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by David Goodman)

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British TV astronomer Patrick Moore dies

LONDON (Reuters) - British astronomer Patrick Moore, who helped map the moon and inspired generations of star gazers with decades of television broadcasts, died on Sunday aged 89.

Moore presented BBC television's landmark "The Sky at Night" program for more than 50 years, making him the longest-running presenter of a single show in broadcasting history.

His old-fashioned appearance and rapid-fire delivery endeared him to television viewers and captured the imagination of future astronomers who paid tribute to the presenter and prolific author.

"Patrick would just sit in front of the camera for a whole episode ... and just tell you about a constellation, about the stars, their names, their history," British astronomer David Whitehouse told Sky News.

"It was captivating and the best example of communication and an expert sharing his enthusiasm that I have ever experienced."

A space enthusiast from his early childhood, Moore's television career coincided with the start of the space race between Russia and the United States.

"He was broadcasting before we actually went into space and he saw a change in our understanding of the universe," British space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock told the BBC.

Moore, rarely seen without his trademark monocle, was also an enthusiastic musician and xylophone player and once accompanied a violin-playing Albert Einstein on the piano.

He never studied for a degree, building up his expertise through his own, single-minded enthusiasm, constructing an observatory in the garden of his southern England home.

His television show marked many astronomical landmarks, and he was broadcasting live when the first picture of the far side of the moon were returned by a Russian satellite.

Television schedulers were not always sympathetic to the significance of developments in space.

During the NASA Apollo 8 mission, Moore told viewers they were about to hear the voices of first men round the Moon in "one of the greatest moments in human history," only to be interrupted by BBC switching the broadcast to a daily children's show.

(Reporting by Tim Castle; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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Australia royal hoax radio station to review procedures

PERTH, Australia/LONDON (Reuters) - An Australian radio station under fire over a prank call to a hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Kate said on Sunday it would review its procedures after a nurse's apparent suicide.

New South Wales Police said they were in contact with London's police force and were ready to assist in any investigation, as the incident sparked fresh soul-searching over the behavior of the media.

Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found dead in staff accommodation near London's King Edward VII hospital on Friday after putting the hoax call through to a colleague who unwittingly disclosed details of Kate's morning sickness to 2DayFM's presenters.

A recording of the call, broadcast repeatedly by the station, rapidly became an internet hit and was reprinted as a transcript in many newspapers.

Public amusement at the prank turned to disgust after news of Saldanha's death swept around the globe. The station's owners pulled presenters Michael Christian and Mel Greig off the air as leading companies canceled advertising.

The station's parent company, Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), said it would fully cooperate in any investigations in a letter to the head of the King Edward hospital.

"I can assure you we are taking immediate action and reviewing the broadcast and processes involved," SCA chairman Max Moore-Wilton said.

"We are all saddened by the events of the last few days. They are truly tragic... The outcome was unforseeable and very regrettable," he added.

The station's presenters have come under attack from around the world on social media sites and were "extremely distressed", an SCA spokeswoman said.

Both were keen to speak publicly about the incident, but were in too fragile a condition to do so, the spokeswoman added.

The hospital's chairman Lord Glenarthur had described their actions as "appalling" in a letter to SCA on Saturday.

Saldanha, married with two children, was originally from India and came to Britain around 10 years ago.

Her husband's family in the southern Indian state of Karnataka said she had spoken regularly to them but neither she or her husband had mentioned the hoax call, they told Britain's Observer newspaper.

A post mortem into the cause of her death will be held early next week, possibly as soon as Monday. An inquest will follow, and London police may want statements from the two presenters, although they had yet to make a formal request.

"It's been indicated that the London Metropolitan Police may wish to speak to the people involved in the matter from 2DayFM," said New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas.

"But we haven't been asked to do anything yet, and we certainly have not been asked to interview anyone, or line up any interviews for the Met," he added.

The tragic fallout from the radio stunt has rekindled memories of the death of William's mother Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 and threatens to cast a pall over the birth of his and Kate's first child.

The couple's baby will be third in line to the British throne after William and his father Prince Charles.

The royal family are enjoying a boost in popularity in Britain after a period when they were seen as dated and out of touch.

William and Kate's wedding at London's Westminster Abbey last year rekindled public enthusiasm for royalty, which has been sustained during this year's jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth's 60 years as monarch.

(Writing by Tim Castle; editing by Jason Webb)

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Billionaire Aldi heir dies aged 58

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German billionaire Berthold Albrecht, heir to the Aldi supermarket chain and one of Germany's richest men, has died aged 58, his family announced on Friday.

Together with his brother Theo Jr, Albrecht's fortune was estimated at $17.8 billion, according to Forbes. That placed them at 32 in the list of Forbes billionaires and second for Germany.

"Berthold was a fighter, and full of hope to the end," his wife, Babette, wrote in a full-page notice published in several German newspapers.

The notice from the notoriously reclusive family said that the funeral had taken place in November, but it did not give further details of the circumstances of his death.

Berthold was the son of Aldi co-founder Theo Albrecht, who died at the age of 88 in July 2010.

After the Second World War, Theo and his brother Karl turned the small grocery store their mother operated in Essen into one of the nation's largest food retail chains, with a focus on a limited range of goods at bargain prices.

Aldi was split into two divisions covering north and south Germany in 1960. Theo took the north and Karl the south. Karl, aged 92, is classified by Forbes as the richest man in Germany with a fortune of $25.4 billion.

The Aldi empire, which has estimated worldwide annual turnover of about 50 billion euros ($65 billion), also owns the Trader Joe's grocery chain in the United States. In Europe it competes with the likes of Tesco, Carrefour and Metro.

Berthold worked on the board of directors at Aldi North. ($1 = 0.7700 euros)

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by David Goodman)

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