The restaurant of famous French chef, Marc Veyrat, has sustained heavy damage in a fire.

Firefighters say they have put out the fire inside the restaurant, but they were still grappling to bring the blaze under control on the roof of the wooden structure.

Officials say the blaze apparently broke out in the restaurant’s kitchen, and from there it moved to the dining area.

La Maison du Bois, opened in 2013 by Veyrat, is located in the Manigod commune in the French Alps, near the border with Switzerland.

Veyrat, who is said to be the best chef in the world, opened the restaurant after a four-year absence due to illness. The restaurant’s wooden chalet measured to 1,800 meters (6,000 feet) and held several pieces of antique furniture which were all scorched by the blaze.

Veyrat told media after the fire that the place was not just a restaurant, but also a kind of museum of popular art.

“This is a life and a piece of French cultural history that has just gone up in flames,” Veyrat said.

The famous French top cook is known for roaming all over the countryside to find wild herbs to enhance his dishes.

In 2009, Veyrat stopped cooking following a serious ski accident. He claimed he could no longer tolerate the physical stress of working in the kitchen. He also handed back the six Michelin stars he had won – for two separate three-star restaurants - one star is considered ‘very good,’ while two is ‘excellent’ and three is rated as ‘exceptional cuisine’.

Veyrat re-entered the food business in 2013 by opening La Maison du Bois. He specializes in traditional cuisines made with lots of wild herbs, as well as, chemistry-inspired dishes made out of new food textures. The 64-year-old gastronomical genius’ elaborate cuisines do not sell for a low price. The top 12-course tasting menu at Veyrat’s restaurant would cost the diner 325 euros (about USD 344).

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