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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Jon Brady

Nick Nairn shares devastating pics of fire-hit restaurant as he teases rebuild

Scots celebrity chef Nick Nairn shared "grim" pictures of the inside of a restaurant that burned down last summer - as he revealed that a rebuild was on the horizon.

The 63-year-old's Bridge of Allan eatery went up in flames in late August 2021.

A fire is thought to have started in a malfunctioning fryer in the kitchen before tearing through the entire complex.

Miraculously, staff and guests alike escaped unharmed despite the blaze taking hold during a busy service period.

In a tweet sent early on Monday evening, Nick revealed he had returned to the scene to remove the handful of items that hadn't been wrecked by the inferno, and shared photos of the scorched interior.

The inside of Nick Nairn's scorched Bridge of Allan restaurant (Nick Nairn/Twitter)

The pictures show that little had been spared by the blaze, with the interior blackened with smoke. A few metal pots appeared to be the only salvageable equipment.

And the chef also revealed that he intended to begin rebuilding the restaurant as soon as possible after local planners signed off on a permit to demolish the wrecked building.

He wrote: "Grim afternoon removing the few salvageable items from Nick’s BofA, prior to the demolition of the rear building.

"On the positive side we finally now have a building warrant and hopefully work on rebuilding can soon start."

Nick Nairn says the Bridge of Allan eatery will be rebuilt (Daily Record)

Have you eaten at Nick's restaurants? Let us know in the comments.

Nick - who made his name as the youngest ever Scottish chef to win a Michelin star in the 1990s - still operates another restaurant under his Nick's brand in the Stirlingshire village of Port of Menteith.

His Cook School, also in Port of Menteith, closed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and was recently damaged by flooding.

He also prepares menus for the posh Hilton Doubletree Dunblane Hydro hotel, and has appeared on shows like Ready Steady Cook and Landward.

The return of the Bridge of Allan restaurant was promised almost immediately after the fire, and a statement on the Nick's website affirms the restaurateur's determination to re-open the venue.

It reads: "We are so proud of the bravery of our whole team, who showed strength we could never have expected, and evacuated a full capacity restaurant in under 90 seconds.

"We're closed on Henderson Street for the foreseeable, but we miss our lovely little village terribly.

"We cannot thank our whole community and beyond for all the kind words and support. We are truly honoured to know such wonderful people.

"We'll be back, we promise. We need to rebuild and restart but we can't wait to welcome you back in 2022."

Little has been left undamaged in the fire at the Bridge of Allan eatery (Nick Nairn/Twitter)

Nick recently told fellow telly chef James Martin that 2021 had been one of the toughest years he had experienced.

Speaking on an edition of James Martin's Saturday Kitchen in March, he said: "The restaurant in Bridge of Allan burnt to the ground. Within about five minutes of it starting it was properly ablaze.

"We were at the other restaurant and they phoned and said 'We're not going to lie, it's not good.'

"Throw in a fairly biblical flood and it was the perfect storm. We have had to adapt and 2022 has got to be better."

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