In a land that accords as much reverence to chefs as rock stars and actors, Ducasse — who has enough Michelin stars to start his own constellation — has inspired a whole generation of adoring imitators.

But not everybody is respectful of a culinary empire which, besides restaurants and inns all over the world, includes cooking schools, cookery books and a consulting business.

Last month two bombs went off at Ostapé, one of his hotels in the picturesque Pyrenean village of Bidarray. Nobody was hurt, but the hotel was thrown into turmoil and had to be evacuated.

There were no claims of responsibility but last week a member of the kitchen staff was arrested on suspicion of involvement. It emerged that the hotel had twice previously been targeted with bombs that had failed to go off. A bomb had also been found at another Ducasse hotel in the same village in southwestern France.

The suspect, who has not been identified, was taken to Paris for questioning by police. They believe that he may be involved in a nationalist group protesting against rocketing property prices in the Pyrenees. The rolling green hills and ancient forests of oak are a magnet for foreign buyers — many of them British — in search of holiday homes.

According to this theory, the Ducasse enterprise had become a focus of local fury over an “invasion” of foreigners that is pushing house prices beyond the reach of locals.

While the rising value of houses might be pleasing to some, many people complain that their children cannot afford to live in the land in which they were born. This is a distressing prospect for the Basque region, which is particularly attached to its identity and has a history of militant action.

From the Alps to the Dordogne, however, it is a familiar lament and British buyers in Brittany claim to have been victims of hateful attacks — including the disembowelling of a horse and the poisoning of goats.

Anti-British graffiti — “Brits out” is the most popular — have appeared on walls in some parts of Brittany and in 2004 several hundred people attended a rally to protest about high property prices and British “colonisation”.

So acute is the problem that in some parts of France the regional governments have tried to limit purchases by foreign investors.

In the Alpine ski resort of Chamonix, the mayor has begun setting aside land and loosening rules to provide affordable housing for locals. This was after complaints that wealthy investors, particularly from Britain, were forcing an exodus of young people who were unable to afford to live in their home town.

Even so, it was difficult to see how Ducasse could have stirred such resentment among the 660 inhabitants of Bidarray in the heart of French Basque country.

A spokesman for Ducasse said that Ostapé had boosted local employment significantly. In the tourist season the hotel and restaurant employ 70 people, two-thirds of them locals. Great care had been taken to integrate the establishment into the local landscape and culture.

The hotel, with its 22 suites named after trees, and a spa with hammam and sauna, were built and decorated by local craftsmen. Ducasse, whose 25 restaurants boast 14 Michelin stars between them, might be too grand these days to slave in the kitchen, but his name attracts visitors from all over the world to Ostapé’s restaurant, considered one of the best in southwestern France.

Visitors can pay up to £375 a night. However, early on the morning of June 11 there were demands for refunds when 47 guests were forced to evacuate their rooms after two explosions within an hour of each other shook the hotel, shattering windows.

The bombs had been made from gas canisters attached to petrol jerrycans and a fuse. A third bomb was discovered under a car and was dismantled.

Similar bombs had been discovered at the site in 2003 and 2004 when the hotel was under construction. In 2004 a bomb was found at the Iparla inn run by Ducasse in the centre of the village.

Last year five members of a French Basque organisation called Iparrettarak were questioned but were quickly released. Eta, the Basques’ main military organisation, has declared a ceasefire in its long war against the Spanish government and was not considered a suspect.

After the first bomb was discovered in 2003, Ducasse said he was willing to discuss any grievances and last week a spokesman said that the offer remained open. “It is hard to know who we should talk to, though,” he added. “No demands are being made. There are no claims of responsibility. So we have no idea who is to blame. It is a mystery.”

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