A blaze at Rick Stein's restaurant may have been started on purpose, firefighters said after the fire in a Cornish village where the chef has "many enemies".
An investigation was under way yesterday after the fire ripped through one of the celebrity chef's flagship Cornish restaurants - in a village where he is unpopular with locals.
Multimillionaire Stein was reportedly celebrating his 70th birthday elsewhere when his upmarket eatery caught fire early yesterday morning.
The scale of the damage and the cause of the blaze were still being assessed and arson had not been ruled out.
The incident in Porthleven follows years of bitterness between Stein and the local community where he has taken over many businesses.
He spent a large part of his fortune on a string of fish and chip shops and restaurants in the port of Padstow on the north coast of Cornwall.
The success of the empire in the town led to it being nicknamed "Pad stein".
Three years ago Stein expanded further by taking over an existing restaurant in the tiny port of Porthleven on the south coast - the scene of yesterday's fire.
His move into the village angered many locals - including several fishermen - after he snubbed them despite promoting fresh food from local waters on his menu.
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