Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall last night spoke of his shock after the 17th century barn which housed his cookery school kitchens was destroyed in a fire.

The chef was out of radio range filming in the Southern Ocean on Tuesday evening when staff at the River Cottage headquarters in Axminster on the Devon-Dorset border were trying to contact him.

The celebrated West Country chef said: “I’m so shocked to hear the news. I’m filming a long way away right now and it’s just impossible to imagine. Obviously it’s a huge relief that nobody’s been hurt, and I’m very grateful to the local fire brigade.”