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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.

French über-chef Alain Ducasse yesterday opened a new cookery school in Paris aimed at mere mortals wanting to improve their culinary skills.

The Ecole de Cuisine Alain Ducasse, which is located in the French capital's posh 16th arrondissement, is designed to let amateur cooks recreate his multi-Michelin-starred cuisine at home. Well, maybe not quite.

According to Emanuelle Perrier, director of PR, one of the most important aspects of the school is that "you can honestly be completely useless in the kitchen".

The Ecole caters for all different types of wannabe chefs and offers two different levels: experienced and inexperienced. There are ten different courses on offer with topics ranging from "traditional" to "escapist" and "gourmet cuisine", with classes lasting half a day or a full day depending on the subject.

And that's not where it ends: the Ecole de Cuisine Alain Ducasse also offers wine-appreciation and pastry-making courses and there are even English-speaking chefs for the non-French-speaking students.

Hoorah!