Recently in Marcus Wareing Category

It's the next chapter in the never ending saga that is the fallout between Gordon Ramsay and erstwhile protégé Marcus Wareing.

The former best mates famously fell out last summer when Wareing left Gordon Ramsay Holdings to run the Petrus restaurant at the Berkeley Hotel as his own.

Afterwards Wareing spoke out about the rift with Ramsay saying he would rather kill himself than work with the "sad bastard" again. "If I never speak to that guy again for the rest of my life, it wouldn't bother me one bit. I wouldn't give a f***," he raged then.

But it seems Wareing's had a change of heart and in his most recent interview the chef-patron of his eponymous two-Michelin-starred restaurant at the Berkeley, admitted that he was more to blame for the rupture than Ramsay.

He said he'd wanted to "engineer a break" that would allow him to set up on his own. "I didn't want to be in another man's world any more. I was stubborn and I dug my heels in," he told the Sunday Times.

"I picked a fight to engineer the break. I don't really think he did anything wrong -- it was just me feeling how much I wanted to be on my own."

But he admitted he felt freer now with "no political battles to fight" or anger inside, even saying he missed Ramsay's friendship. "I don't bear him any grudges. He's a fabulous character and I miss his friendship."  

With all the hardship Ramsay's had to deal with of late, I bet he could do with a friend.

You might recognise head chef Tristan Welch from this year's Great British Menu series where he impressed judges with his rhubarb and custard crumble ice cream (pictured below).

He joined Launceston Place in autumn 2007 from the former Pétrus where he worked under Marcus Wareing. The move saw the young chef not only front his own restaurant but also switch from modern French to modern British cooking.

Launceston Place is perched among rows of quaint multimillion-pound housing - all stucco frontages and cherry blossom gardens - and there's certainly no lack of loaded local custom here for Welch to woo. Interiors include chocolaty walls, white tablecloths and a convivial, chic feel that maintains a formality to suit the moneyed Kensington crowd.

Welch's menu is littered with seasonal British produce - nettle, peas, asparagus, rhubarb - a springtime Top of the Crops.

Gordon Ramsay was in the headlines again today and unsurprisingly it was bad news again for the chef.

For last night saw the announcement of the San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants Awards and Gordon Ramsay's three-Michelin-starred flagship restaurant on London's Royal Hospital Road wasn't on the list. In fact, despite being in 13th place last year, it didn't even make it into the Top 100.

The consensus among the 800-strong judging panel of food writers, restaurant critics and chefs was apparently that Ramsay is "spreading himself too thin" to be included.

The national media has unsurprisingly jumped at Ramsay's exclusion (especially given that erstwhile protégé and former best mate Marcus Wareing made a dramatic entry at 52 winning the Breakthrough Award) and I can't help but wonder whether he hasn't been used to grab the necessary column inches to promote the awards. 

Another week, another scandal for Gordon Ramsay. But this time it's nothing to do with the fiery chef being accused of infidelity, lying about his football career or feuding with arch rivals former mentor Marco Pierre White or erstwhile protégé Marcus Wareing.

No, this time his company, Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH), has had to admit that it has been forced to renegotiate a multimillion-pound loan after breaching agreements with its lender, the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The group, which acts for 11 of Ramsay's multi-Michelin starred restaurants in the UK as well as his pub in London's East End, disclosed the breaches in its most recent financial statement. Released last week, the accounts were filed eight months late.

However, GRH did not specify what covenants were breached, neither did it clarify whether it breached the covenants in the financial year reported (2007) or whether the breaches are ongoing.

Naturally, the development has had a lot of interest from the media.

The Times reports on the matter as Ramsay facing his own Kitchen Nightmare.  

According to the Financial Times, although GRH's "accounts are for the 2007 financial year, the fact that they were signed off last month implies the discussions between the group and its lender are ongoing". 

Meanwhile, The Guardian discovered that GRH has lent £4.4m to Ramsay's US venture, and granted loans to Ramsay and his father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, of £80,000 and £530,000 respectively.

The Telegraph found that the two directors in GRH, Ramsay and Hutcheson, were paid salaries of more than £2m in 2007. 

GRH's turnover increased £3.5m to £41.6m in 2007. Its operating profit was £3.3m, an increase of £2.3m.

However, as the Hardens point out, as recently as six months ago Hutcheson told the Evening Standard that turnover for 2007 was £46m, £5m more than the accounts reveal. 

While tomorrow night sees Heston Blumenthal, John Campbell, Marcus Wareing, Angela Hartnett and Phil Howard strut their stuff at South Downs College in aid of The Ark, an arm of Hospitality Action (HA) which focuses on educating people in the industry about the dangers of alcohol dependency and drug misuse, May brings a different kind of fundraiser for the HA in the form of a once-in-a-lifetime Great British Menu dinner involving all the finalists from the 2008 BBC2 hit series.

How? Well Jason Atherton, head honcho at Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant in London, has pulled together all his Great British Menu mates to create a six-course meal for 300 people to be held at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square on 18 May.

Another weekend, another host of Gordon Ramsay exposes. One wonders if sacking publicist Gary Farrow was the wisest move in the world.

Right, if you're comfortable, we'll kick off. The People reveals that Gordon Ramsay Holdings is being chased for thousands of pounds in unpaid bills.

The newspaper claims that GRH owes £50,000 to meat suppliers; £25,000 to seafood producers; £30,000 to a wine company and £3,000 to poultry suppliers.

Meanwhile, today's London Evening Standard claims that a "bitter feud re-ignited today" between Gordon Ramsay and his former protégé Marcus Wareing over a £500,000 wine collection.

It claims that Ramsay has blocked Wareing's request to buy the contents of the cellar of the former Petrus restaurant, now called Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley since the pair split.

Finally, in a rather tired piece in the Daily Express, Marco Pierre White once again slams Ramsay (he must be bored about talking about their feud by now?)

For the record, the Express quotes Marco thus: "When I did Hell's Kitchen it was because I did not like the way certain people were portraying my industry.

"I joined the show and didn't shout and I didn't swear. I didn't do any of that. I went on there and I did my job to the best of my abilities. I think they were shocked. I honestly believe if Gordon was made of chocolate he would eat himself."