Is Gordon Ramsay in hot water?
TV supercook Gordon Ramsey may be able to rule his kitchen staff but is he is struggling with the combined might of the credit crunch and the taxman?
Star of hit TV shows Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen, has allegedly missed filing his tax returns and is asking creditors to give him ‘more time to pay’.
Reports say that one of his London restaurants, Foxtrot Oscar is shutting down for two days a week. And that another two London eateries, Sloane Street and The Devonshire Pub are up for sale. Although this has been disputed by the great cook himself.
This comes after a series of problems in Ramsay’s personal and business life. Last year he was stripped of two Michelin stars when his Chef Marcus Wareing left taking the Petrus restaurant after the split. Gordon was also replaced as chef at London’s prestigious Connaught Hotel restaurant by French chef Helene Darroze.
In his personal life, he has recently been accused of having an affair and he has fired Garry Farrow, who helped him become the biggest earning chef in the world, with a personal fortune of $83 million.
With 25 restaurants around the world and a business that has expanded so fast its $52 million take in 2006 has since topped $138 million per year, there is growing disquiet about the health of Ramsay’s hastily constructed empire.
“This is an operation which started off with the talents of a great chef, but has become an empire where food is less important than the brand,” said culinary writer James Steen.
And for a man who regularly uses his family to promote books and TV programs, the allegations about his personal life are potentially extremely costly.
It iss also alleged that documents show that eight months back his company was extended $14 million by the Bank. He also allegedly owes two years’ back taxes.
The New York based Blackstone Group, a private equity firm that helped bankroll the international expansion of Gordon Ramsay Holdings, is also wrapped up in the mess.
The culinary world is abuzz with rumors that Ramsay’s restaurants are asking for extended time to pay suppliers – in some cases, as long as six to eight months, though the chef’s reps strongly deny this.
As Ramsay gears up for the season premiere of “Hell’s Kitchen” Thursday on Fox TV, the unpleasant task of restructuring has been left in the hands of Chris Hutcheson, his father in law and the chief executive of Gordon Ramsay Holdings.
The exact impact of the credit crunch on Ramsay’s business empire is no easy task. Figures for 2007 should have been filed months ago, but the company often sends in late returns, which has prompted legal warnings that prosecution is imminent.
The chef has always been renowned for his foul temper and filthy mouth, but if ever there was a time to say F*** it. Then this is that time
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