Ferdinando's Sheffield: Meadowhead restaurant boss tells of horror as drugs factory crashes through ceiling

Police found a secret cannabis farm had been set up in the flat on the floor above Ferdinando’s, on Meadowhead. The restaurant has no connection to the apartment.

Officers say the fire was due to bad electrical wiring in the drugs set-up upstairs.

The flat above Ferdinando’s is completely separated from the restaurant. The first the well-known chef knew about what was happening was when police told him there had been a fire in the building the following morning.

Now he facing missing the Christmas rush because of the major damage that has been caused.

Mr Rosato said he wanted to make it clear that the flat upstairs has nothing to do with him or the restaurant.

He said: “I was horrified by what’s happened.

“I’m closed, and I don’t know when I will be able to re-open, but the flat is not linked to the restaurant.

“I’ve got a good reputation and I’ve been running a restaurant here for almost 20 years.

“I found out what had happened when the police rang when I was just taking my son to school at about 9am on Tuesday. The fire had started about 6.30pm the night before, they told me.

“My first thought was ‘was it something that happened in the restaurant?’ Then the police and fire brigade told me about what had been going on upstairs.

“There is damage caused by the fire, and water damage too caused when the fire was put out. I feel sorry for the landlord of the flat, too.

“I felt some relief that it was nothing to do with me. But there’s not much I can do now. I’m dealing with the insurance people, and can’t give any dates yet for when I’ll be able to re-open.

“I have great customers who I’m sure will support me when we re-open. People who have a table reservation for the near future should give me a call.

“Of course it’s a terrible time for this to happen with Christmas coming, a busy time for restaurants. I must have had 100 people ringing in the last three or four days.”