January 5, 2005
Creator of Popular Bundt Pan Dies at 86
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 2:05 p.m. ET
EDINA, Minn. (AP) -- H. David Dalquist, creator of the aluminum Bundt pan, the top-selling cake pan in the world, has died at 86.
Dalquist, who died at his home Sunday of heart failure, founded St. Louis Park-based Nordic Ware, which has sold more than 50 million Bundt pans.
Dalquist designed the pan in 1950 at the request of members of the Minneapolis Chapter of the Hadassah Society. They had old ceramic cake pans of somewhat similar designs but wanted an aluminum pan. Dalquist created a new shape and added regular folds to make it easier to cut the cake.
The women from the society called the pans ``bund pans'' because ``bund'' is German for a gathering of people. Dalquist added a ``t'' to the end of ``bund'' and trademarked the name. So all Bundt pans and Bundt cakes stem from Dalquist.
For years, the company sold few such pans. Then in 1966, a Texas woman won second place in the Pillsbury Bake-Off for her Tunnel of Fudge Cake made in a Bundt pan. Suddenly, bakers across America wanted their own Tunnel of Fudge cakes.
The Bundt pan is the biggest product line for Nordic Ware, which sells a variety of pots and pans and other kitchen equipment. More than 1 million Bundt pans are sold each year.
Dalquist founded Nordic Ware after returning from duty with the Navy during World War II. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in chemical engineering.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Margerite Staugaard Dalquist, four children and 12 grandchildren.
What better way to understand how a professional works? I'm watching Reservoir Dogs to pick up tips on team-work. It was raining in the Lower Haight, so I took a bus to work.