Ramsay's kitchen nightmare over after £75,000 libel win

CELEBRITY chef Gordon Ramsay and the makers of the hit TV show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares yesterday accepted libel damages of £75,000 after a newspaper claimed the programme was cynically faked to make average restaurant kitchens look like "public health hazards".

The libel action followed a story in the London Evening Standard last November by television reviewer Victor Lewis-Smith. The newspaper claimed that an episode of the series set in a West Yorkshire restaurant had been guilty of "gastronomic mendacity" by installing an incompetent chef and engineering various kitchen disasters.

The High Court in London was told the article suggested Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares "specialised in cynically faking scenes to make average restaurants look like public health hazards, driving some out of business".

However, the newspaper yesterday apologised to the fiery Glaswegian chef and Optomen Television, makers of the programme, after admitting the article was untrue.

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares became a TV ratings hit as, in each episode, the chef arrived at a struggling restaurant to dispense his managerial advice, generally couched in typically colourful language. The Evening Standard article published in November 2005 centred on one episode at Bonapartes restaurant in Silsden, West Yorkshire.

Keith Schilling, Ramsay's solicitor, said both the 39-year-old chef and Optomen's managing director, Patricia Llewellyn, suffered a great deal of distress in respect of the article which he said directly attacked their integrity and credibility.

He said that Associated Newspapers and Mr Lewis-Smith now accepted that the allegations were untrue and that the Bonapartes programme, broadcast in April 2004, portrayed throughout an accurate picture of the restaurant and its operations.

"No scenes had been faked, the kitchen was indeed untidy and a health hazard, the restaurant was already in financial difficulty before the programme was filmed, and the chef was not installed by the claimants," Mr Schilling said. The court was told the chef had in fact contacted the programme makers with a view to appearing in it.

Ramsay, holder of three Michelin stars, appeared at the High Court in London along with Ms Llewellyn to hear the settlement.

Outside the court, Ramsay said: "I won't let people write anything they want to about me. Even I have limits and on this occasion the line was crossed. I am satisfied with today's apology and am looking forward to future series of Kitchen Nightmares."

Ms Llewellyn said Optomen Television was "extremely happy" with the outcome of the case.

"We pride ourselves on the programmes we produce. We felt an obligation to make a legal complaint when false allegations about one of our programmes were published," she said.

Mr Schilling said the newspaper had agreed to publish a prominent apology and pay substantial damages and legal costs.

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is about to enter its fourth series and earlier this month it emerged Ramsay had signed a four-year golden handcuffs deal with Channel 4, reportedly worth more than £8 million.

His other high-profile TV shows include food show The F-Word and his role as a team captain in the ITV celebrity football charity show Soccer Aid.