Gordon Ramsay apologises for Cape Town Cock Up.

Gordon checks his make up before appearance.

An apology has been issued to diners who attended a charity dinner last friday at the Maze Restaurant in the One and Only hotel in Cape Town.      

In a statement issued by Christine Cashmore of Gourmet SA, they apologise to all guests who attended and attempted to explain some of the bizzare goings on.      

So what happened??      

Read on.       

Gordon Ramsay has had to cope with quite a few ups and downs last week.      

He flew into Cape Town from Cambodia to meet adoring fans at the Good Food and Drink Show.      

On the flight here he was so exhausted that he fell asleep while sitting on the loo and, somehow, accidentally flushed it. The vacuum suction effect woke him up in a hurry and, as      

The Gord waves to his guests.

he said himself, “I nearly lost my f***ing crown jewels!”.      

There have been a few South African’s that wished he did, so infuriated were they at the dinner put on by Maze at the One and Only hotel last Friday night.      

220 people paid R1,500 per head to attend a gala dinner in aid of charity in Maze. The meal was billed as an opportunity to eat food prepared by Gordon himself, have a Q&A with him and generally get up close and personal with him. Great anticipation preceded the event, and it was a sell out, with diners renting tuxedos, and flying in from other cities to stay in local hotels.      

What actually happened fell far short of the promised high society event.      

Charles from Durban was especially peeved, as his wife had treated him to this dinner, and had flown down from Durban to be at it. His e.mail sums up the evening, and I’ll quote excerpts here (as the original is 900 words long).      

On arrival: “The first hint of trouble was that there was no parking at the best hotel in Cape Town. We were relegated to a lot next door used for delivery vehicles”      

Charles parks and makes his way to the reception with his wife. More trouble ensues as his name is not on the list of 220.      

Guests begin to feedback about their evening.

“We were not the only lucky ones not to be on the list. There was another group who had collected their tickets from the organiser the day before who were also not on the list!”      

Eventually, they get a seat,“perched on our barstools we eagerly awaited the rest of the evening”.      

Bar stools Charles?? For R1,500?? I’d be spitting bullets at this stage!      

So on to the main event. “Well the evening got underway. Gordon arrived and read the menu to us. He went behind the pass and fussed around a bit”      

Finally, do we get to see The Gord wield his flashing blade in the kitchen?      

No, unfortunately not. As Charles from Durban comments, ” He never cooked a damn thing. In fact half way through the evening after not walking amongst his diners handing out gems of advice and making the ladies swoon, he disappeared not to be seen again. The advertised Q&A never materialised”.       

So look Charles, did you at least have a drink? “I was told it was finished. Well at this stage I lost it and with some words which Gordon would have been proud of, told the manager of Maze that he had 2 minutes to rectify the situation”.       

And no more Gordon?; “We spotted Ramsay sitting in an adjoining conference room chatting on his cellphone all alone, while he should have been interacting with the guests.”      

And was your evening ruined? and was your wife left feeling very cheated after the flights from Durban, the car rental, the overnight accommodation? ” No, I absolutely enjoyed myself. We had a wonderful group at our counter and we weren’t about to let a lout like Ramsay spoil our evening. Anyway, with so many from the press about, it was fun pretending to be one of them and slinging a camera about my neck and taking members of our table for kitchen walkabouts during the evening”.  What Charles?? Would this have annoyed the Gord a bit??, maybe just a bit?    

So we might see you again next year then? “Not a damn. The organising company couldn’t organise a proverbial pissup in a brewery. As for Mr.Ramsay? He gets the Plonker of the Month award for being a jerk. Give me Anthony Worral-Thompson anyday”.      

Maybe Charles from Durban is just a fussy guy? No. We’ve had quite a few letters like this. Charles’s 900 word tome ( and he did take the trouble to sit and write a well constructed, well written letter) was the most representative.      

But there’s more.      

You could be forgiven for thinking that poor Gordon was dog tired after flying in from Cambodia and working himself to the bone at the Good Food and Wine Show. Unfortunately, he was spotted at a few night clubs, and after being refused entry to one for being badly dressed, he got into Tiger Tiger in Claremont, where he partied until 4am in the morning.      

Hardly the mark of an exhausted chef?      

But there’s more still……….      

Gordon has apologised, along with the One and Only and Gourmet SA. Fair enough……..what for?      

1. For leaving early. He says he “felt harassed” by two guests that snuck into the kitchen with cameras (hello Charles from Durban, would that have been you by any chance?) and television cameras and microphones upset him. According to the press release he did a runner and, like Elvis Presley, ” with his well known fiery personality, he left the venue”.      

Gordon upset by a few cameras stuck in his face? Oh you poor baby lamb, NOT!   

It’s how the guy makes his living!! Are we supposed to believe this?        

2. For guests not seated at a table, they are getting a FULL REFUND.  Hey Charles from Durban, you lucky guy.      

3. The red wine ran out, well, apparently this didn’t happen, as Maze replenished wine stocks from their own cellar.   

The guests did not come for the food, or the wine, or the cocktails in the lobby of the One and Only. 

They came for Gordon, and he let them down. All he had to do was remember the phrase “It’s showtime!”, and get himself out there to meet his fans. 

Instead he ran for it, on the pretext that he was hassled by a few cameras. 

This is such a laughable excuse as it comes from someone who makes his living from hassling people in kitchens on camera. 

Something else must have happened to put his blood pressure into the red zone. Something earlier on……. before the guests filed in and the camera lights switched on. 

A big thank you to Charles from Durban, who gave us a blow by blow eyewitness account of the reality from the guests side. Most importantly a big thanks to The Gord, for making a complete show of himself and storming out. 

Don’t you just love a storm in a teacup?