Jamie Oliver claims Gordon Ramsay is 'deeply jealous' of his success

Independent

30 Mar, 2015 07:50 PM3 mins to read

The chef-on-chef fracas reaches inflammatory new heights. Photo / File

Jamie Oliver has accused Gordon Ramsay of being consumed with envy over his multi-million success, which sees him worth almost twice as much as his Hell's Kitchen peer.

Last year, Ramsay ignited a feud with Oliver after he criticised him for not attending the launch of his own restaurant, Jamie's Italian, in Hong Kong.

Speaking to CNBC at the opening of Bread Street Kitchen in the city, Ramsay said: "Two British chefs, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, rubbing shoulders together in Hong Kong. At least I'm here, I came to my opening, right? If you're going to open a restaurant in Hong Kong at least turn up."

Oliver appears to have taken his time mulling over a similarly stinging response, but has since been quoted by The Mirror as saying: "Gordon will do anything to try and take the p**s out of me because he is deeply jealous and can't quite work out why I do what I do and why he can't do that.

"He is too busy shouting and screaming and making our industry look like a bunch of shouters and screamers."

Oliver is currently in the No.1 spot on the bestsellers list for his 15th release, Save With Jamie, which brings his total book sales up to 37 million.

In comparison, Ramsay has released 21 books and sold a relatively meagre 3 million copies.

"I think that really, really annoys him," Oliver apparently added.

"Book sales are about having a deep trusted relationship with the public. I really write my books. I don't just turn up for the front cover. I write every word, every letter and I oversee every bit of design.

"You can sell a few books by luck or a moment... But not 15 years and 37 million books. That's not luck."

Indeed, luck isn't something Ramsay appears to have had much of over the past six months.

In November, the opening of his Heddon Street Kitchen restaurant was suspiciously sabotaged by an unknown rival, who made 100 fake bookings online.

Then in January, he lost a high court battle against his father-in-law over a pub contract Ramsay claimed his signature had been forged to sign using a ghost writing machine.

The lease on the York & Albany was signed in 2007 for an annual rent of £640,000, which Ramsay is now bound to pay for the next 17 years.

Meanwhile, Oliver's website has been repeatedly hacked.

The recipe site, which receives millions of visitors per month and is one of the most popular sites in the UK, was broken into and had malware installed into it.