Gordon accused of faking scenes for TV - June 20 2007
Gordon Ramsay has been accused in a lawsuit of faking scenes for an American version of his reality TV show Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

The lawsuit was filed yesterday in US District Court in New York by Martin Hyde, a former general manager at Dillons, a restaurant in Manhattan.

Hyde claimed Ramsay, known for his foul-mouthed outbursts on screen, humiliated him.

Hyde said Ramsay forced him to quit his job to avoid further abuse.

The lawsuit said Ramsay featured the restaurant as part of a new US show, to be distributed this autumn by the Fox Broadcasting Co.

Ramsay was supposed to makeover failing restaurants in a week’s time as his confrontations with staff were captured by hidden cameras and microphones, according to the lawsuit.

But, in reality, he staged events, falsely claiming meat was spoiled, using a defective chair to imply Dillons’ furniture was shoddy and even hiring actors to pose as customers to make the restaurant look busy at the end of the week, the lawsuit said.

Hyde asked for millions of dollars in damages and a court order to stop the show airing.

James Curich, a Ramsay spokesman, said he couldn’t comment on the lawsuit because he hadn’t yet seen it.

As for allegations about fabrications, Curich said: "It is a reality show and as far as I know it’s not something they do."

Jennifer Sprague, a Fox Broadcasting spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said she couldn’t comment.

Andrew Blackmore, a manager at Dillons, said he’d signed a release stating he couldn’t talk about the show to the media.


Gordon in ’buffalo herding’ crash - June 11 2007
TV chef Gordon Ramsay has crashed a car while trying to herd water buffalo in Scotland.

He got behind the wheel of a rented 4x4 while filming an episode of his Channel 4 show The F Word.

He was visiting farmer Steven Mitchell at his home in Fife to make Scottish buffalo mozzarella.

The pair went out into the field to round up the buffalo in two vehicles - and collided.

"They went charging around in two 4x4s to herd the animals, and there was a point at which they met," a spokeswoman for the star said.

"Luckily Gordon wasn’t hurt and the 4x4 wasn’t too badly damaged," she added.

The embarrassing scene has been left out of tomorrow night’s show.

It is not the first animal-related incident to beset the series.

One of the lambs which Ramsay had been keeping at the home of David and Victoria Beckham was apparently found savaged to death by a mystery beast.

And demonstrators dumped a tonne of horse manure on the pavement outside his restaurant at London hotel Claridge’s after the show carried a feature on eating horse meat.


Ramsay ’goes commando’ in kitchen - June 4 2007
Gordon Ramsay has revealed his big secret - he has cooked while going commando.

The abrasive chef, who is trying to win over New York diners with his new business, said it was common practice in the restaurant world.

He told Friday Night with Jonathan Ross that stripping off his pants was the perfect way to cool down during a hot shift while training with Albert Roux in London eaterie La Gavroche.

The 40-year-old said: "I’ve gone commando, everyone does it. You don’t want to cook in hot, sweaty pants. It’s a chef thing."

Gordon added of his Manhattan venture: "It’s a tough place. They want to discover you, not confirm you. They’re hard to please."