Recently in Hell's Kitchen Category

Marco Pierre White has no shame. After fronting a high profile ad campaign for Knorr stock cubes (surely any self-respecting chef would make his own stock?!?), the erstwhile three-Michelin-starred chef has now sold out completely.

He has agreed to appear in a £10m ad campaign for Norfolk-based turkey brand Bernard Matthews - the company responsible for bringing the world products such as the notorious Turkey Twizzler.

Entitled 'Marco Meets', the TV ad sees MPW tucking into turkey with EastEnders star and Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp, who can't believe that turkey isn't just for Christmas. But MPW comes to the rescue explaining that turkey is indeed "great all year round" and, of course, "never dry if cooked properly".

Bernard Matthews Farms marketing controller, Raj Sahota, is super excited about the collaboration: "We love the ads and think they highlight just how passionate Marco is about turkey and will show consumers why they should put turkey at the top of their shopping list."

Tim Payne, head chef at Paradise by Way of Kensal Green, is leaving the west London restaurant to join forces with Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace.

Wallace is setting up a greengrocer-cum-café concept in Putney together with former Elbow Room owner Justin Carter. The duo has bought the old Red's site on Upper Richmond Road and will relaunch it as Wallace & Co before Christmas.

Payne is understood to be joining Wallace & Co as executive chef after three years at Paradise.

He was executive chef for Marco Pierre White's restaurants for seven years and appeared alongside the fiery chef in his two series of ITV's Hell's Kitchen.

Payne also did a stint with Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl and as consultant chef for Oliver Peyton's restaurants.

Wallace & Co will feature a range of branded grocery items as well as fresh fruit and vegetables supplied by Secretts Direct, owned by Wallace and business partner Vernon Mascarenhas.

Paradise is owned by Steven Ball and Riz Shaikh, the team behind other London gastropubs, the Old Queens Head in Islington, Queen Boadicea in Clerkenwell and the Westbury in Kilburn. The duo last month launched restaurant and live music venue the Blues Kitchen in Camden.

Marco Pierre White (MPW) has returned to our TV screens in charge of ITV1's Hell's Kitchen and last night's opening show kicked off with a record five million viewers.

The series opener saw the celebrity contestants faced with their first challenge, which was making a sandwich, and MPW said the task would give him "great insight" into their technical ability and personalities.

"If they make it simple and honest, that's who they are. They make it flash, they're flash," he explained allowing us a glimpse into his profound culinary genius.

But, of course, not all of the celebrities were up to scratch and MPW took a very swift disliking to Linda Evans and Ade Edmondson, whom he "demoted to waiters" after they failed to impress with their culinary skills. Nice message he's sending out to the front of house division of our industry there but then we'd expect nothing less from Marco.

But, of course, the true scandal always takes place behind the scenes, and according to the Mirror  MPW dumped his girlfriend ahead of Hell's Kitchen in a bid to "find his fourth wife by wooing female fans" who last time round sent him bras and knickers. Lurvely stuff.

Furthermore, in a headline-grabbing move that shouldn't really surprise anybody, MPW has yet again hit out at fellow celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.

"Everything Gordon does is contrived, unnatural, derivative," he told the Daily Mail before calling Jamie Oliver "a fat chef with a drum kit". "When he gets his first Michelin star I'll take him seriously."

I wonder how seriously they take him.

MPW's US TV career bombs