Gordon Ramsay's ‘adultery' will boost business, say Michelin chefs

Two Michelin-starred French chefs yesterday claimed that the furore over Gordon Ramsay's alleged extra-marital affair will benefit his business empire.

Richard Harden, co-editor of the Hardens restaurant guide, has suggested that the tabloid accusations would damage Ramsay's multi-million-pound empire because of his media perception as a family man.

But Jean-Christophe Ansanay-Alex, the two Michelin-starred chef who runs the L'Auberge de l'Ile in Lyons and recently opened Ambassade de L'Ile in Kensington, said any publicity is good.

"Ramsay makes money because of the brand," he told the Evening Standard. "This will boost him. It is publicity. Gordon is still here. All his businesses are going very well already, and this may do him good."

Ansanay-Alex was speaking at the Francais of the Year awards, which celebrate the most talented members of London's 300,000-strong French community.

Sketch chef patron Pierre Gagnaire, who runs a Michelin-starred restaurant in France, was also in attendance and said of the Ramsay allegations: "It is good for journalists, and good for him."

Meanwhile, the US version of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares has been cancelled. While the move was immediately linked to the affair reports, Channel 4 insisted it has been cancelled as it clashed with filming schedules in London.

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By Daniel Thomas