Fire at Heston Blumenthals’ restaurant

Fire crews were called when a blaze broke out at Crown Casino last week.

The small blaze broke out at celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal's Melbourne restaurant at Crown.

As a result, sprinklers were set off and witnesses saw smoke billowing across the Yarra River.

It sent firefighters rushing into the blaze on Whiteman St after it started about 10.30am.

The small fire started in the kitchen of the Dinner by Heston Blumenthal restaurant on Thursday.

The restaurant later told the media the blaze was in the extraction system above an oven.

The restaurant service, they said, was not interrupted.

Because the fire broke out in the morning, there were no injuries and no serious damage to the service.

Dinner by Heston service during the week runs from 12 noon to 3pm and from 5.30pm to 11pm which was well outside the time of the blaze.

An MFB spokeswoman said it was quite clear it had started in an eatery, without identifying which one.

“It was in one of the restaurants’ kitchens ... and the cause was a build-up of different materials in the kitchen,” the spokeswoman told the Herald Sun.

However a person identified only as Vicki was more forthcoming when interviewed by Melbourne radio station 3AW.

She said the fire saw clients at Crown’s day spa getting evacuated.

“It looks like it’s coming from Heston’s area, the restaurant there. I was at the gym and I could smell it coming through the pipes,” Vicki told the radio station.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal is located on Level 3 at Crown Towers.

Blumenthal, the multi-award winning, British celebrity chef and owner of the three Michelin star restaurant, The Fat Duck in Bray, is well known to Melbourne foodies.

 Crown had been contacted for comment but at the time the story was going to pres, nothing had been said.

by Leon Gettler, November 24^th 2017