A chef working at a Venezuelan restaurant in Florida is now facing felony charges after surveillance footage revealed him stealing valuable recipe books that contained sensitive trade secrets of his employer.
Carlos Francisco Gottberg Marquez, 50 years old, was taken into custody on Monday and hit with charges of third-degree felony theft of trade secrets. Authorities reported that he took three recipe books from Mordisco Miami, as detailed in his arrest report by WSVN.
The restaurant’s owner, Cesar Gonzalez, expressed feelings of betrayal over the theft. “It’s the heart of the restaurant,” he said, reflecting on the impact of losing the confidential recipes.
In a statement given in Spanish, Gonzalez detailed how the stolen books included crucial information for making the eatery’s signature dishes, including precise cooking temperatures and special spice mixtures unique to each recipe.
According to Doral’s Police Chief Edwin Lopez, the stolen recipes had significant value, stating that some recipes could be worth “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Investigators discovered that Gottberg Marquez had only been employed at Mordisco for around a month. The surveillance footage captured him taking two cookbooks from the kitchen on October 12, and allegedly a third book on October 19.
Leyland Police apprehended him with the stolen recipe books at his second job in a nearby smoothie and sandwich shop, according to WSVN. When questioned, he reportedly responded in Spanish, claiming, “It’s in my bike.” Local10 covered the incident.
Lopez mentioned that authorities are still probe the motives behind this theft. “We’re unsure whether he was acting on behalf of another criminal entity for a fee, but he was certainly caught with these cookbooks in his possession,” he noted.
Carlos Francisco Gottberg Marquez was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and later released on a $2,500 bail. The good news for the restaurant is that the stolen recipe books have reportedly been returned.
The Daily Caller has reached out to Doral Police for more insights on this case but hasn’t received any comments by the time of this report’s publishing.
