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He once ran some of Auckland's top restaurants and is now behind a posh new eatery in Parnell - but disgraced restaurateur Philip Sturm is banned from having any contact with his customers.
Sturm, who set up restaurants Cibo and Ottos and the Coast bar in Auckland, was jailed in 2006 for sexually violating four young men after plying them with alcohol and drugs. Now out on bail, Sturm is behind the revamp of iconic Parnell restaurant VBG, which opened last week.
When the Herald on Sunday visited, Sturm was hanging menus outside but he has also worked on the restaurant's construction, menu, staff hiring and interiors.
A Corrections spokeswoman said Sturm was prevented from having any contact with customers, and had to leave the premises by 4pm each day.
Sturm, who twice unsuccessfully appealed against his convictions, said his time in prison had made him somewhat of a recluse. He told the Herald on Sunday he tried to keep to himself inside - but that his job running the kitchen at Mt Eden prison had its benefits.
"I would eat fillet steak and scallops every week."
Sturm, who was once a regular on the Auckland social scene, said he would go to bed at 7.30pm each day in prison, taking icecream to his cell and watching TV.
He said the worst thing was living with a toilet at the foot of the bed. The only time he was careful while locked up was "in the showers".
Dinner time was like feeding at the zoo - he described other inmates as "like gorillas".
The new VBG, which opened to a select group of foodies on Tuesday, has a menu Sturm describes as "homely but sophisticated" but the pressure of opening had left Sturm "knackered - mentally, physically. I've lost a stone. I'm just tying to be low key," he says. "I'd be more than happy to go and hide under a rock."
