Gordon Ramsay Calls Marco Pierre White "Sad," Criticizes His "Taliban" Headgear

The weary, decades old feud between British chefs Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White has been trotted out by the media once again, this time in the context of White's show Marco's Kitchen Burnout. (The fighting between the two began in the 1980s; before their falling out, White was Ramsay's mentor.) Ramsay told the Radio Times that he changes the channel to avoid the program, adding "When I see him sat [sic] there looking like someone from the Taliban with that rag on the top of his head it makes me laugh. But then I want to see him cook."

It doesn't sound like White is doing much cooking on Kitchen Burnout, which is something of a cross between Ramsay vehicles Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef. (White took over hosting duties on the British version of Hell's Kitchen in 2007, no doubt adding to the tension.) By most accounts, Burnout is mediocre at best; the Guardian calls it "a handful of barely-recognizable celebrities [who] have to cook restaurant-quality meals in a professional kitchen while Marco Pierre White spectacularly misappropriates quotes from Sun Tzu's The Art Of War at them." Says Ramsay, "Having been there and worked with him I know that he was an amazing chef, so when I see him philosophizing, as opposed to cooking his arse off - being the real Marco - I find it a little bit sad."

Ramsay should perhaps think about getting back into the kitchen himself. The 2011 London Zagat guide just came out, and his flagship restaurant was booted from the number one spot by double Michelin-starred restaurant The Ledbury. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay had the best rated food the past two years, while The Ledbury only managed to rank 13th last year. Meanwhile, the Ramsay-owned Murano, led by chef Angela Hartnett, jumped from 27th place to third this year.

· Gordon Ramsay: Marco Pierre White is 'A Little Bit Sad' [Telegraph]
· Ramsay's Flagship Restaurant Toppled in Zagat's London Guide [Bloomberg]
· All Marco Pierre White coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Gordon Ramsay coverage on Eater [-E-]