He has said that his four children are not to set in the restaurant until they are at least 15. "I want them to know what junk food is about. I want them to know what a pizza is like and what a croque monsieur is like because I don’t want them to grow up as food snobs."

Ramsay said he did not want his youngsters - Megan, four, twins Jack and Lily, three, and Matilda, 15 months - to get used to fine dining.

He said: "I had a very hard upbringing and very limited food on the table. We never sat down to a starter, main course and pudding."

Ramsay is taking part in this year’s Comic Relief and recently returned from Tanzania, where he cooked for 100 street children. His experiences were filmed for Comic Relief and will be aired this Saturday on BBC1.


Gordon Ramsay launches chocolates - 28/11/02
Gordon Ramsay has given his name to a product on sale in the shops for the first time. The celebrity chef has agreed a deal with a chocolate maker for an upmarket brand due in shops in January.

Gordon Ramsay’s Just Desserts is named after his recent book and will sell for ?5.99 a box. The Gordon Ramsay chocolates are made by Ashbury Confectionery of Corby, Northamptonshire and will be sold through Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

Gordan Ramsay in drink driving charge - 19/11/02
Celebrity Chef Gordan Ramsay was stopped by police for reportedly driving a BMW the wrong way up a one-way street in Central London.

He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, and has been given bail pending a Bow Street Magistrates Court visit.

Ramsay’s rant on rival celebrity chefs! - 12/11/02
Gordon Ramsay is known for being a bit ’fiery’, but during a corporate speech at a charity dinner he really decided to say what he thinks of fellow chefs in the spotlight such as Nigella Lawson and Anthony Worrall Thompson.

"Sexy bitch, but the ladies will know what I mean when I say, only from the neck up." was how the 35-year-old chef described domestic goddess Nigella. Anthony Worrel Thompson and Brian Turner (stars of TV’s Ready Steady Cook) were described as ’Ready Steady Twats’.

Famous French Chef Raymond Blanc faired no better, being called a ’little French Twat’

A spokesperson for the event at a Southampton hotel said the ’audience loved him’ so despite criticising his fellow chefs it seems that Gordon has gone down a treat. Gordan Ramsey’s own spokesman said the speech ’wasn’t meant to be taken seriously’

Gordon Ramsey like Marco Pierre White before him, is the current holder of the position of Top Temperamental Chef in London and the embodiment of that paradox of haute cuisine, under which the most exquisite food emerges from the most furious white-hot hell of the professional kitchen, although it has been said that this doesn’t extend towards the customer.