Gordon Ramsay ends consultancy at Verre in Dubai

Gordon Ramsay is to end his involvement in his restaurant in Dubai after more than a decade.

The celebrity chef opened Verre at the Hilton Dubai Creek hotel as his first overseas restaurant consultancy in 2001.

The restaurant, which was first headed up by Angela Hartnett and then Jason Atherton, has won numerous awards. It is currently being overseen by executive chef Scott Price, who first joined Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) in 2003 and head chef Nick Alvis, who will both continue to run the restaurant following the severance of the group's involvement.

Hilton will relaunch Verre in the near future but further details have not yet been unveiled.

A spokeswoman for GRH confirmed that the consultancy agreement between the company and Hilton was coming to an end. She said: "After a regular review of our commercial operations we have decided with Verre, Dubai, that the time is right to end our consultancy agreement with them. We would like to thank the team at Verre for the partnership; it's a superb restaurant and we wish them all the best for the future."

Stuart Gillies, managing director of GRH, added: "We have had a good look at the business and what's not working. We're now focusing on what will work pound for pound."

Price and Alvis commented: "Gordon gave us a fantastic opportunity to run Verre and we've been very grateful for his and his team's support. It's time for a new challenge as Dubai is a great place with a constantly evolving dining scene and we're now working on an exciting new project which will be unveiled soon."

GRH opened its latest restaurant, Bread Street Kitchen at the One New Change development in the City of London, last month and has announced plans for a new site near Borough Market for next year.

The company also opened its first Canadian restaurant, under a licensing agreement, by taking over the running of Rotisserie Laurier BBQ, which has operated in Montreal since 1936.

Earlier this year, GRH put its two Australian restaurants, Maze and Maze Grill, into liquidation.

Gordon Ramsay puts Melbourne restaurants into liquidation >>

Gordon Ramsay opens Bread Street Kitchen >>

By Kerstin Kühn

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