Gordon Ramsay is taking on the Bordeaux wine industry by serving English bubbly at his new restaurant in the city, it was revealed last night.
The 48-year-old celebrity chef will be providing sparkling wines from counties including Kent, Cornwall and Sussex at Pressoir d’Argent in the Grand Hotel in the centre of the French city.
Ramsay is also planning to serve Scottish venison with local Landes foie gras as he aims to ‘wake up classic French cuisine’ – which he describes as an ‘immobile monument’.
The father-of-four told Decanter wine magazine: ‘We are working with several local winemakers, but it’s hard to single out a particular growth or wine – this is an oasis of magical growers that can’t be matched anywhere in the world.
‘My objective is to have the wine to become our epicentre. The wine list will be mainly from Bordeaux, but we have gone outside the region also. And we had to include English sparkling wine. We haven’t had a riot yet.’
Among the English wines included are those from the Gusbourne Estate in Kent, Coates & Seely in Hampshire, Ridgeview in Sussex and Camel Valley in Cornwall, where Ramsay recently bought a property.
The wine list has been developed by his team in Bordeaux, led by buying director Frederic Rouglan, while there has also been input from Ramsay and his London buying staff.
The Scottish chef’s new restaurant on the city’s central square, Place de la Comédie, officially opened to the public last Friday.
Ramsay, of Johnstone, Renfrewshire, has already been ruffling feathers in Bordeaux by taking over the restaurant directly opposite another which is welcoming new chef Philippe Etchebest.
Etchebest also has celebrity status in his home country and presents the French version of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.
He is also 48 and they share a sporting background – Etchebest played professional rugby, while Ramsay had a stint at Glasgow Rangers.
Ramsay will run Le Pressoir d’Argent in the five-star Grand Hotel de Bordeaux Hotel and Spa.
We had to include English sparkling wine. We haven’t had a riot yet
Gordon Ramsay
Etchebest insisted earlier this year that they would not be competing for the same diners, since Le Café Opera is a brasserie and Le Pressoir d’Argent is one of the most chic establishments in Bordeaux.
The French chef won two Michelin stars at his former restaurant in Saint-Emilion. He began presenting Cauchemar en Cuisine (Kitchen Nightmare) four years ago.
The Gordon Ramsay Group runs 25 restaurants around the world, including his flagship establishment in London, which boasts three Michelin stars.