Gordon Ramsay axes Scholarship due to lack of funding

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has abandoned this year's Gordon Ramsay Scholarship due to a lack of funding.

A spokeswoman for the chef said that the Gordon Ramsay Scholar, which was launched in 2001, "is being rested this year" due to a lack of sponsorship.

But she added that "exciting new plans" involving the scholarship and Tante Marie cookery school in Woking, Surrey, would be announced soon.

Dropping the Gordon Ramsay Scholar is the latest blow for the celebrity chef, who this year has seen profits in his company plummet by 90%, and has given up control of many of its overseas restaurants, including those in Paris, Los Angeles and Prague.

Many of the seven previous Gordon Ramsay scholars have gone on to establish themselves in successful head chef roles, including Tristan Welch at Launceston Place, and Marcus Eaves at the Michelin-starred L'Autre Pied.

Last year's scholar was Stephen Hope, junior sous chef at the Great Room restaurant at the Merchant hotel in Belfast. His prize haul included a new car, £5,000 in cash, a set of Wusthof knives, a £10,000 oven for the Great Room restaurant kitchens, a signature Bragard jacket and a commemorative trophy.

He also won the opportunity to complete a three-city stage, training with chefs in Gordon Ramsay's signature restaurants in London, Paris and New York.