Eta targets celebrity chefs

Celebrity chefs have become extortion targets for Basque terror group Eta.

The Basque region is known for its fine cuisine, and the four are veritable cult figures, hosting television programs and owning expensive restaurants.

Spanish news agencies reported that Eta also singled out four high-profile chefs. Jose Luis Beotegui, a suspected Eta member who was arrested last week, told a judge today that he had sent letters to the four – Juan Maria Arzak, Carlos Arguinano, Pedro Subijana and Martin Berasategui – demanding they each pay €75,000.

Arzak and Subijana paid, the suspect said. He said he did not know about the other two. But Arzak told Spanish TV that he received a letter from Eta but did not pay.

Judge Fernando Andreu is considering calling the four chefs in for questioning. Paying extortion money to Eta is a crime in Spain, under laws regulating collaboration with a terrorist organisation.

Eta, which is seeking independence for Spain’s north-west Basque region, has claimed or been blamed for more than 800 deaths since the late 1960s.