Rose Lapp (Reporter)
ONE of Spain’s top chefs is threatening to quit the country after the bar of his restaurant was shut down by tax collectors.
Double Michelin-starred Sergi Arola is furious after his popular Madrid restaurant Gastro was raided by six inspectors on a busy Saturday last week.
The team barged into the restaurant’s lunchtime sitting and humiliated Arola in front of his staff.
It comes after it emerged he had been struggling financially, accumulating a debt of around €300,000 over the past few years.
The Valencian chef, who is a keen advocate of responsible eating, insisted however, that he had been in negotiation over a payment plan for months.
While he admits he owes a lot of money, he claims he has presented a payment plan to the tax department and was waiting for it to be accepted.
He even recently put his house on the market in a bid to raise money.
He has now told the Spanish press he is not sure what his next move will be or whether he will even continue running his restaurant.
However, he insists he has a ‘clear conscience’ and is keeping his calm.
