Suspected arson attack on Oliver's Fifteen Melbourne HQ

The headquarters of Fifteen Melbourne, the Jamie Oliver inspired initiative in Australia, have been destroyed after a fire ripped through the office block in which they are housed.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of starting the blaze, which took around 50 fire fighters 40 minutes to control.

Two other offices and nightclub The Cherry Bar were also damaged, although The Fifteen restaurant, which launched in Australia in 2006, was not affected as it is a few doors down the road.

Jamie Oliver opened his first Fifteen restaurant in east London in 2002, with the aim of both opening a top class restaurant and giving disadvantaged young people the opportunity to gain professional training.

The Fifteen Foundation now has four outlets in London, Cornwall, Amsterdam and Melbourne. A fifth site for Leeds is in the pipeline.

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By Kerstin Kühn

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