Chef, restaurateur and television personality Gordon Ramsay has decided to quit the UK and move to Los Angeles, according to an article in the Mirror on March 24, 2011. The multi-Michelin-star chef who is renting a £5-million mansion in Beverly Hills is reportedly fed up with financial woes and legal nightmares in the UK and has said he is ready to leave London.
Ramsay's three US television shows, Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares and Master Chef are flourishing and have been recommissioned, requiring Ramsay to spend more and more time away from his family in the UK. Moving to LA makes sense for the 44-year old chef who would be able to spend more time with his family rather than away from them. Ramsay has reportedly hooked up with friends Victoria and David Beckham for support and advice about schools for his four children. According to the Mirror, Ramsay has already looked into applying for visas for his family.
Business Nightmares
The past few years have been "hellish" for the Ramsay empire. Profits for Gordon Ramsay Holdings plummeted by almost 90 percent in 2009, forcing the chef to inject £3.5-million of his own money into the business, said BBC news in a 2009 report. At the same time, debts more than doubled from £4.06 million to £9.48 million. Two of Ramsay's restaurants were closed, The Savoy Grill and the Connaught, accounting for a sizable drop in revenue. As a result, in 2008 about 25 of Ramsay's staff lost their jobs as part of the restructuring efforts. In October 2010, Ramsay and business partner, Chris Hutcheson, who is also Ramsay's father-in-law and CEO of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd, departed amidst allegations of a 1.5 million betrayal on Hutcheson's part. As if that weren't enough, last year Ramsay's restaurant in Claridge's lost its Michelin star.
