German convicted of stealing buffet

A jobless German has been handed a five-month suspended jail term for stealing a buffet for 60 people and eating it with friends, authorities said.

Using a false name, the 46-year-old from the western city of Dortmund ordered the 3,700 ($A6,232) feast to be sent to the club house of a garden allotment colony.

Shortly after the caterers delivered the food, he called the company to say they had made a mistake and he would return the order. As puzzled club house guests looked on, he loaded the buffet into his car and sped off.

The food was never seen again - but the man was recognised one day by one of the club house guests, who told the police, the presiding judge at the court in Dortmund said.

"The man said he wanted to treat his friends to something special," said Judge Gerhard Breuer. "I told him his story would make a good movie."