Bombs force French chef out of Basque area (original) (raw)

The French master chef Alain Ducasse has quit his Basque country restaurant and resort, which has been the target of several bomb attacks.

The French arm of the radical Basque party Batasuna welcomed the departure of the top French chef from the luxury hillside retreat near Biarritz, set in a 45 hectare (110 acre) estate with five villas, a spa and restaurant surrounding an 18th century manor house.

"The withdrawal of Alain Ducasse should be an example to all other speculators who pillage and folklorise the Basque country with their tourism projects," said Batasuna, which is banned in Spain because of its links to the armed separatist group ETA.

At 33, Ducasse became the youngest chef to win three Michelin stars and later broke records by simultaneously running three different three-star restaurants in Paris, Monte Carlo and New York. He has since sought to expand his empire with country inns, opening the Basque resort, Ostapé in Bidarray near the Spanish border in 2004.

But while the site was being built, there were two bomb explosions. Last June another bomb went off when 47 customers were there, causing damage to the building but no injuries - responsibility was claimed by an anonymous group in December, in a Basque language statement.

The Alain Ducasse group confirmed last week that the chef, 49, had resigned from the board of the Ostapé resort, but declined to give reasons.

Ducasse recently acquired the restaurant at the top of Paris's Eiffel Tower and is soon to open a new London base at the Dorchester Hotel.