TV chef Johann Lafer ("Die Küchenschlacht") has criticized the conditions in starred restaurants. "People in the catering industry have been overwhelmed for too long and paid too little for the overwhelm," said Lafer of the Düsseldorf "Rheinische Post" (Thursday edition).

A major reason why many restaurants can no longer find staff today is bad working conditions. "The treatment of the employees too – you can forget that. You can do that in the Bundeswehr as it was sometimes in the kitchen, but it's not even okay there. Where are we?" said Lafer, who himself more ran a starred restaurant for two decades and has meanwhile been awarded two Michelin stars.

Since he no longer has a restaurant, Lafer himself has learned to know the other side of life. "It was unimaginable for me that I would sit down in front of the television at 7 p.m. in the evening, go out to eat something with my wife or read something," said the 65-year-old. "It's a wealth, a luxury that I don't want to do without anymore. I want to live a normal life like the others. The rhythm I had before wasn't normal." Cooks have a daily routine that is difficult to reconcile with family life.