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Gordon Ramsay |
Ramsay faces food fight over boozing at York and Albany
GORDON Ramsay may be used to getting his own way when it comes to bossing around commis chefs in his trademark X-rated style, but Camden’s licensing chiefs are refusing to be bullied.
Two brave councillors turned down part of the TV chef’s application for the York and Albany in Parkway, Camden Town, which is due to open in September.
Councillors Don Williams and Faruque Ansari said no to the fiery Scot after warning that his bid to allow punters in the hotel’s restaurant to drink without having to buy a meal risked causing a public nuisance.
Mr Ramsay’s company had been trying to remove a stipulation from its licence that stated alcohol must be “ancillary” to food, effectively stopping customers from just turning up for a drink.
The licensing panel said that without the condition, the 200-plus capacity restaurant, which will be spread over a basement and ground floor, and which already has a licence for live music, could be used as a bar.
Mr Ramsay wasn’t at the meeting to hear the refusal, but denied his intention is to create a bar.
His solicitor Anna Mathius said: “The Gordon Ramsay brand is not interested in running bars in basements. This is a special operation, it’s good for the community.
“It’s not going to be a nightclub or a bar, it’s about food.”
Mr Ramsay’s trading company Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited bought the Grade II-listed building in February, reportedly for more than £4 million. Ramsay protégée Angela Hartnett – already a Michelin-starred chef in her own right – is set to run the restaurant.
James Partridge, the York and Albany’s manager, told the panel if the condition was not removed, plans for a “chef masterclass”, which would see people sipping glasses of champagne as they watched Ms Hartnett or Mr Ramsay cook, would have to be cancelled.
But Cllr Williams said: “I’m concerned that by relaxing the drinking without a meal condition until 1am, there is a potential for this turning into a public nuisance. It could become a bar.”
Other parts of the application were approved. Non-guests will be admitted until midnight and the hotel can also serve alcohol to non-guests until midnight, Monday to Thursday, and 12.30am over the weekend.
Guests, however, will experience the “five-star service” of a 24-hour licence.
Ms Mathius said: “The binge drinking that there may be in Camden Town will not be encouraged to come to the York and Albany – that is not what the Gordon Ramsay brand is about.” |
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