Cannibal restaurant causes outrage in Berlin

One can only guess at the kind of clientele it will attract, but a restaurant in Germany is planning to serve up human flesh when it opens next month. That's assuming it's not all an elaborate joke.

The Berlin eatery, called Flime, has been searching for donors who are prepared to give "any part of their body" to the cause. And, as well as hiring kitchen staff, it is in need of an "open-minded surgeon" to help with the business of preparing the meals.

The restaurant, set to open on September 8, claims it has been inspired by an Amazonian tribe, the Waricacas, and their culture of "compassionate cannibalism" which sees tribespeople eat their own dead.

On its website Flime asks potential members of its dining club to fill out a form that contains questions about their health and Body Mass Index and states: "After the medical check, you can decide which body part you want to donate."

However, adverts for the restaurant running in German newspapers and on the internet, have caused outrage.

Some, however, suspect a ruse. Michael Braun, the vice-chairman of Berlin's Christian Democrat party, said he believed the whole thing was "a stunt". He told the German newspaper Bild: "I'm working on the assumption that this is some sort of a warped joke. But it's disgusting, not least because it wasn't long ago that we had the case of the Berliner who was murdered by a cannibal."

That is a reference to the case of Armin Meiwes, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for killing and eating a computer technician.  Earlier this year a French prison inmate, Nicolas Cocaign (above) was sentenced to 30 years for killing his cellmate and cooking and eating part of his lung.

Whether or not it is a sick joke is hard to tell from the menu, which is vague about the provenance of its ingredients. Most of the dishes simply claim to contain 'meat'. Although it does intend to serve Baiao De Dois, a stew of 'jowls', while another dish is described as 'liver with butter beans' - washed down with a bottle of nice Chianti, no doubt. ·