Telegraph exposes absentee chefs

If Gordon Ramsay, the celebrity c***, has 22 restaurants, from London to Tokyo and Dubai, what are the chances of him, or indeed any other well-known cook, actually cooking in their restaurant the night you book a table? Daily Telegraph staff telephoned around with the following results.

At Gary Rhodes at the Cumberland Hotel, the newest of Rhodes's two London dining rooms, the staff say: "He was here at lunchtime, but now he isn't. We never know when he'll be here."

At Jamie's Italian, in Oxford, they say Jamie Oliver never cooks there.

Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire said, "He is here today and might pop in to say 'hello' to guests, but I'm afraid we don't know in advance."

At Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, the chef's flagship in Chelsea, they say: "Gordon comes in on occasion and oversees the menu, and everything else is looked over by him, too. However, we don't know when he might be here."

At Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, the reservations manager says: "He doesn't cook here, he is not allowed. He creates too much havoc."