Soup Nazi
From Free net encyclopedia
Yev Kasem (a.k.a. the Soup Nazi) was a fictional character portrayed by Larry Thomas in the sitcom Seinfeld. The Soup Nazi was a stone-faced immigrant chef with a thick Stalin-esque moustache, who was well-known throughout the city for his delicious soups. He demanded that all customers in his restaurant follow his meticulous (and seemingly arbitrary) soup-ordering instructions to the letter, lest they be refused service by his insistent avowal, "No soup for you!" Some of the soups that he served were cold cucumber, corn and clam chowders, jambalaya, turkey chili, mulligatawny, crab and lobster bisques. He encountered his Waterloo when Elaine discovered his secret recipes. He made a brief cameo in the Seinfeld series finale, where he was called Yev Kasem.
His character was based on an actual New York City soup vendor named Al Yeganeh, who runs Soup Kitchen International in midtown Manhattan. The store is open only part of the year. In the summer, his customers are greeted with a sign indicating he has gone to "Argentina for the winter".
According to an AP Article published April 29, 2005, Yeganeh plans to open a chain of soup stores under the name "The Original Soup Man" across the country. The first franchise was slated to open in Ridgewood, N.J. in the summer of 2005. His company, Soup Kitchen International, plans to open 1000 outlets nationwide. Another franchise of the Original Soup Man recently opened in Princeton, NJ.
Used as a definition
"Soup Nazi" has been used to describe people with the same attitude as the famous chef. In other words a person and/or people (particularly those with a degree of power over oneself, e.g. a boss or supervisor) who make arbitrary decisions or rulings.
Trivia
- Like Jackie Chiles, the Soup Nazi has appeared in commercials after the end of the series. The Center for Consumer Freedom has him denying food to people he considers too fat.
- In the background, one can see a sign in the restaurant reading "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."
- Yeganeh dislikes the Nazi label, but he is renowned both for his excellent soups and for his rude treatment of customers. Cosmo Kramer's inspiration, Kenny Kramer, agrees that Yeganeh's nickname is unfair, and jokingly suggests his nickname be changed to Al, The Soup Rat Bastard."
- Soup Kitchen International's Midtown Manhattan location is at 259-A West 55th Street.
- Larry Thomas appeared in the Scrubs season 3 episode "My Self Examination" as himself. He denies he is the Soup Nazi when asked by J.D. (Zach Braff), who then tricks him into saying the famous catch phrase.
- "No Soup for You!!" was a category on Jeopardy!'s November 30, 2004 Seinfeld-themed episode. This Jeopardy episode is well-known as the one in which 74-time champion Ken Jennings lost for the first time.