Es muss nicht immer Kaviar sein is a TV adaption of a novel of the same name by Austrian author Johannes Mario Simmel. Directed by Thomas Engel Siegfried Rauch walks in the footsteps of O. W. Fischer who played the protagonist "Thomas Lieven" already in 1961, just one year after the bestseller had been released. The series is unique for providing a little cooking show at the end of each episode. The book also includes recipes because "Thomas Lieven" is an accomplished amateur cook.