Gordon Ramsay left out of world’s top 50 restaurants

The celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has finally encountered his own worst kitchen nightmare: his flagship eaterie, Gordon Ramsay Restaurant on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea, long considered one of the finest in Britain, has failed to make the Top 100 in Restaurant magazine's prestigious annual ranking.

Last year it was 13th - this year it is nowhere. His demotion is all the more humiliating because the ranking is based on the selections not only of writers and critics, but of Ramsay's peers - chefs such as Angela Hartnett and Giorgio Locatelli.

Adding further to the ignominy is the fact that one of Ramsay's former proteges, Marcus Wareing, who opened his restaurant at the Berkeley Hotel after a poisonous split with Ramsay, has entered the list at No 52.

Wareing was delighted: "We've only been up and running for six months so to be just there on the edge of the top 50 is great for me and my team. Gordon's not in the top 100 but I don't feel sorry for him at all.

The 39-year-old stuck the knife in by saying: "In today's world a chef is only going to be successful if he's in the kitchen. People want more than a name."

Wareing joins a chorus of critics who believe Ramsay is spreading himself too thin. What with the TV appearances, the gastropubs and bistros, as well as restaurants from California to Paris, Ramsay has little time to cook in the Royal Hospital Road kitchen.

Peter Harden, publisher of Harden's Restaurant Guide, said: "There has long been a sense, among foodies, that the esteem in which the Gordon Ramsay brand is held has run far ahead of itself."

The news caps an awkward stretch for Ramsay: an alleged affair brought considerable bad publicity, his empire has been hurt by the credit crunch, and just last it was reported that mice and cockroaches had been spotted in his restaurant at Claridge's - a problem now rectified. There has also been criticism that some of his pubs and bistros have been relying partly on pre-prepared dishes.

No such problems for the man who remains at Number One in the Restaurant ranking: the molecular gastronomy pioneer Ferran Adria, head chef at El Bulli, the foodies' mecca on the Spanish Costa Brava.

And to prove that Adria's avant garde cuisine is not just a just a passing fad, Heston Blumenthal, keeps his Number Two spot with the Fat Duck restaurant in Bray. This is despite the recent food poisoning scare at the Fat Duck, which is still being investigated by the Health Protection Agency. Said Blumenthal: "I needed some good news, that is for sure."

Three other British restaurants made the world Top 50: St John, the pigs' trotters and offal joint in the City of London, came 14th; Nobu, one of the A-listers' Mayfair favourites, came 34th, and Soho's cool Chinese restaurant Hakkasan came 36th.

Finally, a word of compassion for Ramsay from the editor of Restaurant, Paul Wootton. "Restaurant Gordon Ramsay continues to be a great restaurant and we should remember it remains the only three-Michelin-star restaurant in London." ·