maze restaurant

Gordon Ramsay Loses Another Restaurant

Filed under: Dining

More bad news for Gordon Ramsay, he's losing another restaurant. Bloomberg reports that the One & Only Cape Town hotel in South Africa has closed their Gordon Ramsay Maze restaurant. The restaurant opened with star-studded event last April that included Nelson Mandela. The restaurant is still open but doesn't have a new name.

There are no details on what happened. Bloomberg got only a basic email confirmation from the hotel and in an e-mailed statement Ramsay's company, Gordon Ramsay Holdings said that they were only informed of the decision to close Maze very recently. Meanwhile Ramsay has launched a third show in the U.S.: "Masterchef," a sort of American Idol for home cooks.

It seems that the Maze brand has taken some hits lately. Jason Atherton, who created the brand, quit Gordon Ramsay Holdings in April and his successor, James Durrant announced his resignation earlier this month. Maze Prague has already closed, leaving four outlets: London, New York, Doha and Melbourne.

Tags: gordon ramsay, maze restaurant, south africa

Another Gordon Ramsay Protege Leaves The Fold

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Another of Gordon Ramsay's proteges has flown the coop. Bloomberg News reports that Jason Atherton, the chef behind London's Maze restaurant, is leaving the Gordon Ramsay group after nine years. Atherton ran Ramsay's Verre in Dubai before founding Maze in 2005. Atherton was quick to dismiss speculation that he had run afoul of the famously volatile chef and said that he is just ready to start his own restaurant.

On his Twitter Ramsay said: "jason's ready to fly the nest.Time for him to have his name above the door.Who doesn't want that? I wish him every success, an amazing guy." But rumors of discord continue. Atherton won't be moving straight from his Maze to his own venture. He plans to go overseas, most likely Spain, to get a little more experience in friends' kitchens. Atherton was the first U.K. chef to complete a stage at Ferran Adria's famous restaurant El Bulli.

Tags: celebrity chef, chef, gordon ramsay, jason atherton, london, maze restaurant