Jamie Oliver restaurant manager 'torched office to hide theft'

Let’s eat: Jamie Oliver’s family home is above the two-bedroom rental property in Primrose Hill
Frank Thorne12 April 2012

The former general manager of Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant in Australia has been accused of setting his office ablaze to hide a string of thefts.

Kevan Stralow, 34, who denies arson and 16 charges of theft from the Melbourne restaurant, claims more than £7,000 in takings he had left in a file under his desk was destroyed the night the office burned down, 200 yards from the restaurant.

He is accused of stealing almost £15,000 in takings over several months in 2008 and gambling it away, then starting the fire, which caused £700,000 damage, to disguise the theft.

Celebrity chef Oliver set up the Fifteen Foundation to encourage disadvantaged youth into the food and hospitality industry.

A Melbourne court heard today that Stralow went home sick one day in June 2008, but returned hours later to start the blaze. The court heard that soon after starting work at the restaurant in January that year, he began missing regular banking dates for the takings.

The trial continues.

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