Cook Caught On Video Stealing Secret Recipes From Celebrity Chef, Police Say

A cook at a Venezuelan restaurant in Florida has been charged with a third-degree felony after police say surveillance footage captured him stealing recipe books containing his employer’s trade secrets.

Carlos Francisco Gottberg Marquez, 50, was arrested Monday and charged with theft of trade secrets. Authorities say he took three recipe books from Mordisco Miami, according to WSVN, citing an arrest report. The restaurant’s owner and chef, Cesar Gonzalez, described the alleged theft as a personal betrayal.

“It’s the heart of the restaurant,” Gonzalez told WSVN.

Gonzalez explained that the books contained detailed instructions for the restaurant’s signature dishes, including exact temperatures, spices, and other key ingredients. Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez emphasized their value. “Recipes are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said.

Investigators said Gottberg Marquez had worked at Mordisco for about a month before the alleged thefts. Surveillance footage reportedly shows him taking two books from the kitchen on October 12, followed by a third on October 19. Police later discovered the cookbooks in his possession at a second job, a nearby smoothie and sandwich shop. When questioned, Gottberg Marquez allegedly told officers in Spanish, “It’s in my bike,” according to Local10.

Authorities are still probing the motive behind the theft. “We don’t know if he was sent by another criminal enterprise to take this for a fee, but this person was in possession of these cookbooks,” Lopez said.

Gottberg Marquez was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and later released on $2,500 bail. The recipe books have been returned to Mordisco Miami.

The Daily Caller reached out to the Doral Police Department for comment but did not receive a response by publication.

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