BILD, SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany)

Worldcrunch

Miki Nozawa was well-known as a Japanese-Italian fusion chef who had cooked in some of the world’s finest restaurants. Now Nozawa may become more famous in death, following an alleged beating by two guests who reportedly did not enjoy their meal at his newly-opened Asian snackery Nozawa (“A Taste Of Asia To Go”) on the North Sea island Sylt, a fashionable German resort.

The men had complained to the chef that they didn’t like his fried noodles with vegetables and beef and refused to pay for their meal, reports Suddeutsche Zeitung.

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Boardwalk on the island of Sylt Magnus Manske

Later that same evening, the 57-year-old chef happened to be at the same bar as the two guests, both craftsmen aged 36 and 50 respectively. As reported by the newspaper Bild, he is said to have told the men: "Pay your bill. Ten euros for each of you.”

After that, investigators say, a loud verbal exchange took place that escalated when they stepped outside. The disgruntled customers allegedly started beating Nozawa, who died several hours after he was brought to a local hospital. The exact cause of death has not yet been announced.

Before opening his own place on Sylt, Nozawa had worked in Italian entrepreneur Flavio Briatore’s renowned Billionaire restaurant on the island of Sardinia. He had cooked for Mikhail Gorbachev, Phil Collins, Denzel Washington and other celebrities.

Public prosecutor Ulrike Stahlmann-Liebelt stated that the alleged perpetrators were drunk when they attacked Nozawa. The alleged perpetrators are still at large.