Arson suspicion after major fire at Stein’s Cornish restaurant
Celebrity chef has faced criticism by some locals for forming eatery empire across the South West
FIREMEN are investigating whether a “severe” blaze at one of Rick Stein’s flagship Cornish restaurants was started deliberately.
An investigation was under way yesterday after the celebrity chef ’s upmarket eatery in the tiny port of Porthleven came within minutes of being completely destroyed. It has been claimed that Stein’s move into the historic village has allegedly angered many locals – including several fishermen – after he apparently snubbed them despite promoting fresh food from local waters on his menu.
He also has an uneasy relationship with the community in Padstow, on the north Cornwall coast, where he has developed a network of seafood restaurants.
Stein was reportedly belatedly celebrating his 70th birthday elsewhere when the Porthleven property caught fire. Firemen were called when smoke was seen escaping from the front door shortly after 1am and feared a huge explosion due to the presence of cylinders. They managed to prevent it from spreading.
Katherine Billing, the incident commander for Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, confirmed that all possible causes were being considered.
“Whether it was arson or not is something that is still being investigated,” she said. “Because of the severity of fire damage, it is difficult to say at the moment, which is why we have specialist teams there doing their investigations.”
She added: “We were a maximum of 15 minutes away from the fire destroying the whole of the main restaurant. This would have meant a prominent business owner losing the opportunity to trade over the summer and would have spoilt the beauty of Porthleven and affected the economy of the whole village for the summer season.”
She said a bin store where the blaze had apparently started had been rendered “a shell” but the damage to the main restaurant was “minimal” and it should be able to reopen within weeks.
Staff at Rick Stein Porthleven were unavailable to comment, but a tweet from the restaurant account said it was just thankful that no one was hurt.
Stein spent a large part of his fortune on a string of fish and chip shops and restaurants in Padstow. The success of
‘We were a maximum of 15 minutes away from the fire destroying the whole of the main restaurant’
his empire in the town led to it being nicknamed “Padstein”.
He opened his Porthleven restaurant three years ago.
Despite regularly promoting Cornwall on his many television appearances and shows, Stein – who spends a lot of time at his Sydney home – has struggled to win over the local community.
In one row, centred around his plans for a new accommodation block next to one of his hotels there, Stein wrote to a hotelier accusing him of failing to appreciate the “rosy glow of publicity” his celebrity status has brought to the resort and demanded “recognition” for his contribution to the area.