Fire shuts down Aussie supermodel’s restaurant

Aussie supermodel Megan Gale and partner Shaun Hampson have been forced to shut their Melbourne restaurant after a fire ripped through the kitchen.

Gale and Hampson, who played almost 100 games for Richmond and Carlton and became an Australian Survivor favourite, revealed on Instagram that due to a “serious fire”, the Ascot Food and Wine restaurant would be closed temporarily.

“It is with heavy hearts we wish to inform everyone that we will be closed until further notice,” a social media post stated.

“Everyone is safe and a big shoutout to everyone that came to our aid.”

Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) was called to the Moonee Ponds venue at 4.48pm on Tuesday. It found the kitchen on fire, but no one on the property.

“The fire was quickly contained to an area in the kitchen, preventing further spread. FRV crews had the fire under control at 4.56pm,” Melbourne’s firefighting service said.

The site was attended by police and the City of Moonee Valley’s health inspector, with police treating the fire as not suspicious.

Police confirmed they attended the scene but said the fire was not being treated as suspicious.

Gale and Hampson co-own Ascot Food and Wine with chef Dave Stewart (not of Eurythmics fame).

When it first launched in 2014, Ascot Food and Wine was a breakfast venue before becoming a well-regarded fine-dining restaurant.

Jonathan Jackson - 6-7-23