Gordon Ramsay nightmare as public slam his cooking

How long can Gordon Ramsay continue his television career as a super celebrity chef when the food in his own restaurants is constantly being criticised? That's the question being asked by some senior TV executives after the new edition of the Harden's London Restaurants guide came out this week with serious complaints about four of his restaurants - among them "disappointing cooking", "dreary" atmosphere and "outrageous" prices.

The reputation of his flagship Restaurant Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, where the "menu prestige" costs £120 a head without wine, is said to have gone down "faster than the stock market" in the past year. Along with three others - Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's; The Warrington pub in Maida Vale; and Maze in Mayfair ­ it appeared in Harden's list of the 10 restaurants offering the most disappointing food.

What makes the criticism galling, and raises questions about Ramsay's television career, is that the attacks come from the customers themselves, not food critics. The respected Harden's guide is based on reports by more than 8,000 London restaurant customers.

"The moaning about prices doesn't bother me," a senior TV producer told The First Post last night. "You expect that. But the fact that so many of these people are complaining about disappointing food is serious. And though you have to acknowledge that a handful of diners at top-end London restaurants don't represent a mass TV audience for a series like Kitchen Nightmares, the anger and sheer dislike for Gordon that appears to be coming out of these reports is not good news."

Richard Harden, co-editor of the guide, said his readers' critiques suggested Ramsay was suffering from "imperial overreach".

"He wants to be almost an international film star and be accorded almost Beckham levels of international fame," said Harden, "and yet he wants to run this internationally recognised group of restaurants. There is a deep unwillingness to accept that you can't have it all."

Harden said it was clear there are "deep-seated problems" at Gordon Ramsay Holdings, where, it emerged last month, profits had fallen by almost 90 per cent. As a result, Ramsay had to inject £5m of his family's own money into the business and put a halt to some of his worldwide ventures.

This followed bad news in April when Ramsay failed to get a mention in the important San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants awards.

There was one positive note for Ramsay in the Harden's guide: his Italian-influenced Murano restaurant in Mayfair was voted the capital's best new restaurant, praised for "simple Italian dishes, beautifully executed". But Ramsay is not in charge of the food at Murano - the chef is Angela Hartnett. ·