One of the realities of working in the food service industry is that sometimes you have to deal with dissatisfied, angry customers. Every server, cashier, or chef in the world could probably tell you horror stories about customers who have reacted poorly to a meal or service they found less than satisfactory. Almost never, however, do such incidents come to violence, and even more rarely do they end in a death.
Unfortunately, though, once such incident on the German vacation island of Sylt came to just such a tragic end. Two as-yet-unidentified men ate in a restaurant owned by 57-year-old Miki Nozawa, a highly-regarded chef known primarily for his particular Japanese-Italian fusion style. For unknown reasons, they were unhappy with the beef and fried noodle dish Nozawa prepared. After a brief confrontation, they left the restaurant without paying.
Ordinarily, that would be the end of such a story – frustrating for all parties, but neither tragic nor newsworthy. Unfortunately, however, it seems that Nozawa encountered the two men later that evening in a bar. The men exchanged words, and then blows. Nozawa suffered at least one blow to the head and was rushed to the hospital, where he died of trauma to the brain and internal bleeding.
Nozawa was, according to his ex-wife, good-natured man who would not have started a fight with the two men. She said that the men asked for a refund on their meal and believes that the attack was racially motivated.
No charges have been filed against the two men, as authorities on the island are still investigating the incident.