Küchmeister was born in Silesia, as a son of Saxon nobility. He was the procurator of Rastenburg (Rastembork) (1396–1402) and the "Großschäffer" of Königsberg (1402–05). After the Peace of Raciąż of 1404 he held the position of Vogt of Samogitia and from 1410 the Vogt of the Neumark (Nowy Targ). After the Battle of Grunwald, he tried with his army of mercenaries and vassals to re-take the regions lost by the Teutonic Order. In September 1410, Küchmeister lost the Battle of Koronowo and was captured by the Polish army, and was not released from prison until the summer of 1411. The defeat prompted the signing of the Peace of Thorn (1411).