Jean-Christophe Novelli has told of how a fire broke out as he was leading a festive cookery class at his Hertfordshire home.

The Michelin-starred Frenchman said a fuse box burst into flames on Thursday at the Novelli Academy, which is part of his 14th-century farmhouse.

"It was quite scary, I have to be honest with you. If there was not an immediate reaction it would have a been a disaster," he told The Telegraph.

"It happened so quickly. I was just taking the Christmas turkey out of the oven and on the other side of the kitchen smoke, sparks, flames came out. At first I thought it was the turkey exploding. I looked back and it was the fuse box. Everything went dark.

"We were just about to call 999 but the staff took over and put the fire out."

Novelli said his baby son was asleep upstairs but was immediately moved to another part of the building, while students in his Seasons Greetings class were evacuated. Novelli has now been forced to close his cookery school for a month while the kitchen is refurbished.

Two years ago, Novelli accidentally started a fire in his kitchen when he fell asleep while making a pasta meal. The chef had been exhausted after juggling his busy schedule with filming for X Factor: Battle Of The Stars.