Shortly before 2 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, Alfons Schuhbeck (73) treated himself to a big cigar to say goodbye…
It was his last day in his gourmet restaurant “Südtiroler Stuben” in Munich. The star chef spoiled his guests there for almost 20 years, including Uli Hoeneß and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
To say goodbye, Schuhbeck had an excellent five-course New Year’s Eve menu for 195 euros, including delicious king prawn ravioli and a juicy filet mignon.
The “Südtiroler Stuben” was Schuhbeck’s realm for almost 20 years
At 10:11 p.m., “Fonsi” entered his restaurant, went from table to table and greeted his guests. As always. He didn’t want to let melancholy arise. He told BILD: “We look back on a wonderful 20 years. Okay, the restaurant exists not anymore, but I still have so many other works, it’s crazy.”
38 months in prison for tax evasion
Schuhbeck won’t be able to do that much longer, because soon he will have to go to jail. At the end of October, the district court in Munich sentenced him to three years and two months in prison without probation for tax evasion.
Until then, he will probably continue to unwind his enormous workload. On New Year’s Eve, around 11 p.m., he went from the “Südtiroler Stuben” to his dinner show called “teatro”, where he performed two songs: “Sweet Caroline” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”.
In the “teatro” Schuhbeck sang two of his favorite songs on New Year’s Eve
Back in the “Stuben” Schuhbeck let the New Year’s Eve end comfortably with a cigar. And looked ahead – despite prison!
Schuhbeck to BILD: “A normal person at 73 would say: ‘You’ve got a bird’. But not me. I still step on the gas because I enjoy it. That’s not all.”
BILD reporter Stephan Kürthy met star chef Schuhbeck on his last evening in the Südtiroler Stuben
That’s what his friend Uli Hoeneß said in 2014 before he entered prison. And Hoeneß returned as Bayern president at the end of 2016.
Maybe Alfons Schuhbeck will make a similar comeback…