FIERY TV chef Gordon Ramsay has set his sights on opening a new restaurant in Edinburgh.
Mr Ramsay – famous for shows such as Hell's Kitchen and The F Word – has told how he would jump at the chance of returning to the country of his birth.
And he has already visited the Capital looking for a possible site.
His plans centre around
opening a new venue similar to his two newest restaurants in London – The Berkley Hotel's Boxwood Cafe in Knightsbridge and Maze in Mayfair.
Mr Ramsay said: "I was recently in Edinburgh looking at a site to do a Maze-style grill and I would never turn down the possibility of opening up again in Scotland. I just wouldn't do fine dining. It would be cross-Maze/Boxwood."
Boxwood bills itself as "an oasis to unwind from the action of Knightsbridge", while Maze is described as having "style in abundance" with its contemporary design by American architect David Rockwell.
However, staff at Mr Ramsay's company Gordon Ramsay Holdings said they had not been made aware of any firm plans, so the form of the new restaurant and who will be involved in its design and implementation will remain a mystery at present.
The possible move, however, came as a surprise to Malcolm Duck, chairman of the Edinburgh Restaurateurs Association.
He added: "I heard he was in Edinburgh looking at sites around four or five years ago but ruled out opening a restaurant here. I haven't heard the jungle drums beating about his imminent return but it would be great if he did. I would certainly welcome him to the city.
"Edinburgh's a very competitive market to break into, and there are more restaurants per head of population than anywhere in the UK, and perhaps in the whole of Europe.
"The running costs are going up and sometimes you can do everything right and it still fails, but sometimes you can do everything wrong and it's a success.
"Perhaps in the past Mr Ramsay has felt that he couldn't make it work, but he's a great guy, a good chef and if he comes to Edinburgh I'm sure he'd find a very welcoming market."
Although born in Renfrewshire, Ramsay was brought up in England after his parents moved to Stratford-upon-Avon. His first career break came whilst playing football for Oxford United where he was spotted by a Glasgow Rangers scout in a youth match.
After completing trials he was signed at the age of 15, but within three years he had given up professional football and gone back to college to complete an HND course in hotel management.
The Evening News told earlier this year how Mr Ramsay had given young Edinburgh chef India Innes, 23, a job in one of his London eateries after she appeared on the Kitchen Nightmares programme. Ms Innes, who formerly worked at Shaw's Bistro, in Fishmarket Close, said it was a dream come true.
The full article contains 501 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
