Cornish extremists threaten celebrity chefs

Life in Cornwall is not so pukka for celebrity chef Jamie Oliver after his restaurants were targeted by Cornish extremists.

Jamie runs one of his charitable Fifteen restaurants in Watergate Bay on the north Cornwall coast, but he was described by extremist group the Cornish National Liberation Army (CNLA) as "another incomer who has caused the inflation of house and other living costs at Cornish expense".

Clients and customers of Jamie's restaurants are also targets of the CNLA, according to an email sent by the group to Plymouth-based newspaper Western Morning News.

The Fifteen restaurant chain trains 15 disadvantaged young people from local areas to work in the hospitality industry, with the setting up of the first business in London having been documented in 2002 TV series Jamie's Kitchen.

But Jamie isn't the only chef to have been threatened by the CNLA, with the extensive businesses of Rick Stein in north Cornwall also targeted.

Food Heroes presenter Rick owns a restaurant, a hotel and a fish and chip shop in the port of Padstow, but the CNLA said that local residents had approached the group for "assistance" in dealing with "this English newcomer".

Devon and Cornwall police said they take "very seriously any threats to commit criminal offences" and that they "have made immediate contact with proprietors of various businesses and are actively working together, with a view to ensure that appropriate crime prevention measures are maintained".

© Adfero Ltd