It’s the end of a great career. Since yesterday, Thursday, it has been clear that the popular celebrity chef and restaurateur will probably spend the next few years in jail if he doesn’t go into revision within a week. The court considered it proven that Schuhbeck had evaded taxes amounting to millions over the years and imposed a prison sentence of around three years. Schuhbeck tried to pull his head out of the noose until the end. “I know what I did was wrong,” he said in court. He had largely admitted to the allegations, but he did not agree with the amount of money that was being charged to him. To the end, he asked for another Test.
Alfons Schuhbeck has built up his gastronomic empire over decades. On the Platzl in downtown Munich alone, he ran a number of restaurants and shops such as an ice cream parlour, a multi-storey spice shop, a tea and chocolate shop and a cooking school. His dominance on site earned Schuhbeck the nickname “Platzl-Hirsch”. In addition, there is the gastronomy in Munich’s Prinzregententheater, a party service, “Schuhbecks Teatro” and so on. There are more than twelve companies around Schuhbecks Holding GmbH & Co. KG, plus others with partners. Then last year, suddenly, the big bang.
First bankruptcy, then jail
Schuhbeck filed for bankruptcy in mid-July 2021. In an accompanying message, he described himself as “The next Corona victim” and explained, “After the government aid that was announced so generously has not come to me to this day, I have to file for bankruptcy for my company”. It is a difficult step, but he has no other choice. The restaurants on the Platzl and the party service were affected. At that time he was still quite optimistic about the future: “I’ll manage a new start for myself.”
At that time, it was already known that the Munich public prosecutor’s office was investigating the cook for tax evasion.