Gordon Ramsay’s recent autobiography "Humble Pie" ticked all the right boxes for the genre. It charted his escape from a tough working class background and was used as a vehicle to settle scores with people who’d ever dared to cross him. Ian "Pengo" Pengelley was one individual at the sharp end of Gordon Ramsay’s tongue. Never one to mince his words, on page 201 he called his venture with Pengelley called Pengelleys "a total fucking flop". We also read that the kitchen was "in total fucking chaos" and that Pengo "used to wear flip-flops into work". The cad. Well, now Pengo has started the fight back. We hear that when Ramsay was at the ill-fated Pengelley’s restaurant for a pre-launch menu tasting he turned to Pengelley and exclaimed: "This is great, what kind of fish is this?" You’ve guessed it; it wasn’t fish but Chiang Mai Sausage. Apparently Pengo said nothing because he is a "nice guy". Nothing to do with making your new boss look a bit silly then?
December 2006 Archives
New York is clearly a city that restaurateurs should enter at their peril. After all the recent Gordon Ramsay shenanigans, with uppity staff blogging on the internet about measly tips and irked neighbours moaning about pollution, we hear that top-drawer nosh house Daniel (run by chef Daniel Boulud) is the latest site to hit a spot of turbulence.
Last week, seven workers from South America and Bangladesh filed a lawsuit alleging that they were denied promotions because of their "ethnicity, race and national origin". Boulud disputes the allegations but the two recent cases show that New York staff are clearly no pushover.
Just how far is new Compass Group boss Richard Cousins prepared to go in his efforts to make the contract caterer leaner and meaner?
He popped his head above the parapet last week for the first time since joining, and made some prudent financial noises that met with approving nods in the City. In preparation for the announcement, we hear he rallied his top-ranking troops last month at a Fontainebleau château, outside Paris. Ooh la la.
But before you start thinking the worst about untamed corporate largesse, we should point out that the château in question belongs to one of Compass’s clients, so there’s only a minimal whiff of extravagance.
We wonder if Cousins has had a quiet chat with chairman Sir Roy Gardner about cost-cutting yet. Gardner rolls up to Compass Group's Chertsey HQ every day in a Bentley. In this new era of parsimony, we can only presume that it’s his weekend run-around and not a company perk.
I hear that Kate Moss's squeeze Pete Doherty won't be able to stay in Malmaison hotels anymore following the damage he did to his room in the Malmaison in London last week. Apparently the room was well and truly trashed and cost £4k to straighten out. Obviously the damage was enough for Mal boss Robert Cook to put a bar on the Baby Shambles singer staying at the group's properties again.
Apologies for a dearth in Kitchen Rat postings for past two weeks, but KR has been doing what rats do best - breeding and I'm proud to announce the birth of a little KR to help in the quest to unearth more hospitality gossip.
Latest rumour I've just heard is that New York's sushi whizz Masayoshi Takayama is looking for a site in London to expand his restaurant business Masa. I first heard the rumour on Snack and will be digging round to see if I can find out more. I guess it makes sense to open in London given Brits love for sushi and the Londoners deep pockets that will be able to stretch to Masa's prices.
