FORMER Randolph Hotel Maitre D’ Giuseppe Vurchio said he was shocked by Friday’s devastating blaze.

He worked at the hotel for eight years until he left in 2012 for health reasons.

The Maitre D’ was a popular figure among guests and was renowned for making colourful cocktails.

Mr Vurchio, 61, who now lives in Lymington, Hampshire, said: “I had a bad heart – that was the reason I left.

“I saw the fire on the news and it was a shock – working at the Randolph was a big part of my life.

“The pictures of the Randolph came on the TV and my wife called me in to watch it.

“When I worked at the Randolph there were regular fire drills and if there was a false alarm we would get everyone out.

“I keep in touch with my ex-staff and I know they were very upset.

“My customers also keep in touch with me.”

It has emerged that Friday’s fire is thought to have been caused when flames from flambé cooking were sucked up by an extractor fan in the ground-floor kitchen.

The fire then spread through ducts before setting the roof and front gable alight.

Mr Vurchio, who used to write a blog for the Oxford Mail, added: “We used to do flambé cooking but there was never a fire as a result.”