Jamie Oliver's Manager Charged With Burning Down Chef's Melbourne Office

MELBOURNE (AFP) - The manager of British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's chic Australian restaurant was charged Friday with stealing thousands of dollars and burning down the company's offices.

Thirty-two-year-old Kevin Stralow ran Fifteen Restaurant in Melbourne for the foundation Oliver set up to help disadvantaged young people enter the restaurant business, a court heard.

The fire at the charity's offices near the restaurant on June 5 caused about a million dollars (950,000 US) in damage and destroyed two other offices in the building before firefighters managed to bring it under control.

Stralow, who has been sacked, was also accused in the Melbourne Magistrates Court of stealing some 23,000 dollars of the restaurant's takings between April 14 and June 2.

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