Manager of Jamie Oliver restaurant guilty of arson

The manager of one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants torched the building to cover up his soaring gambling debts, a court heard today.

Kevin Stralow held his head in his hands and wept as the jury found him guilty of one count of arson and 16 charges of theft at the Fifteen restaurant. The 34-year-old had built a reputation as a "high roller" in casinos but was struggling to keep up with his gambling debts.

He stole more than 23,000 Australian dollars from the Melbourne restaurant before setting fire to the building and later telling police the cash had been stored under his desk.

The Victoria court was shown CCTV footage of Stralow entering the building on the evening of the fire in June 2008. He claimed he had returned to his office to check emails but just 15 minutes after he left smoke was spotted.

He will be sentenced at a later date.