Celebrity chef Anton Dougall targeted in arson

The front door of celebrity chef Anton Dougall’s Swieqi residence was set on fire during the night, and a threatening omen of two dead rabbits and a message addressed to him left on his doorstep.

The message warned Dougall that he would be personally targeted next time around, but the hotelier and chef said he refused to be intimidated by the aggressors.

Dougall, who owns a hotel in St Julian’s on St George’s Road, is believed to have had problems in the past with an entrepreneur. He said he had given “pointers” to the police.

He said he was woken up at 3 a.m. with the sound of breaking glass and saw a blaze on his front door. Somebody, he said, had placed a burning tyre against the door along with the two dead rabbits. Assisted by policemen and the fire brigade, his family quickly doused the flames.

Attacks on Paceville businesses or businessmen are rare but significant: in December 2006, while all Malta’s lap dancing clubs were shuttered after a police raid, the Midnight Cowboy had been gutted by arson.