Ramsay wins libel action against Evening Standard

by Joanne Oatts, Brand Republic 20-Jun-06, 12:30

LONDON - Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay has recieved £75,000 libel damages for claims in the Evening Standard that he faked his TV show 'Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares'.

The case related to a story by the Standard critic Victor Lewis Smith about an April 2004 edition of Channel 4's 'Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares', set in Bonaparte's restaurant in Silsden, West Yorkshire.

The article alleged Ramsay and production company Optomen were guilty of "gastronomic mendacity" and had installed an incompetent chef and fabricated culinary disasters.

Ramsay's solicitor Keith Schilling said: "No scenes had been faked [and] 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."

Ramsay, speaking outside the High Court, said: "I won't let people write anything they want to about me.

"We've never done anything in a cynical, fake way."

Ramsay said Optomen, which also produces 'The Naked Chef', 'Two Fat Ladies' and Ramsay's show 'The F-Word', had a reputation for "unprecedented quality".

The Evening Standard apologised for the distress and embarrassment caused by the article, which the newspaper has accepted was without grounds.

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