Gordon Ramsey

That is still someway short of the $50,000 that City traders occasionally splash out on a lunch in his London establishment, just voted the Best Restaurant in the UK by fellow restaurant owners.

For Gordon Ramsey is no ordinary chef. This January he won his third Michelin star, propelling him into the super-league of world cuisine. His Chelsea restaurant has a waiting list for which patience is part of the menu, and his newly opened restaurant in Claridge's Hotel in London has been an instant hit. So why come to Dubai for his third restaurant?

'I was offered the chance to open a restaurant with an unlimited budget to create the best kitchens in the world,' he tells AMEInfo. 'It was an irresistible challenge, plus Dubai seems to be becoming a sort of mini-Monaco and it is wonderful to be in such a dynamic place at a time like this'.

Mr. Ramsey is a tower of energy and creative ability. In his spare time he runs for two hours, three times a week, the only time he can really get away from work. And in three weeks he is off to South Africa to compete in a double marathon for charity. That means running almost 100km in hot weather.

'As a chef I tend to eat a lot, and so running is my way to keep fit,' explains Mr. Ramsey, who is in his mid-30s and opened his first restaurant 'Aubergine' in Chelsea at the age of 26. He was previously a professional footballer for Glasgow Rangers before heading off to Paris to train to be a chef. There he served under the great maestros before becoming one himself.

But how does he manage to run three top restaurants at the same time and cope with the distance between London and Dubai?

'It is a matter of organization, and no chef can be in his kitchen all the time. You have to rely on the teams and getting the system to work to perfection when you are not there. I find the trip between Dubai and London very easy. There is no jet lag.

'For example, this Friday I will stay for the evening sitting in Verre (his Dubai restaurant in the Hilton Creek Hotel), and then catch the 2.45am plane to London, and be back for most of Saturday. I am here regularly to supervise the kitchen and will be conducting a chef master-class for 50 ladies tomorrow'.

However, Gordon Ramsey's Dubai venture has not been without its problems. Launching last September was not the best moment to choose given the two-month slump in tourism that followed September 11th. How is Verre doing now?

'For Friday we have 87 bookings, which is a problem because we have 85 covers and will have to hope that somebody cancels,' he says. 'It is true that we are not booked out like London yet, but I am very confident that it will be just the same in Dubai within a few years.'

Certainly Gordon Ramsey is eagerly anticipating the development of Dubai as a financial services centre over the next few years, and sees banks, IT companies and multinationals as his target clients.

'When we did our market research we identified a niche because international visitors generally come to Dubai for two to three days, that gives them time for one good lunch and one dinner, and hopefully that would be with us,' he says. 'Dubai is already attracting our clients and so it is right to be here'.

The author of the book 'A chef for all seasons', what would Gordon Ramsey recommend for the Dubai summer? Never lost for words on any question related to food, he immediately answers, 'our cooking is very light and not laced with butter, and the fish is very good here, so we have no trouble coping with the climate'.

Dubai is very lucky to have secured one of the world's top dozen chefs to really put its gastronomy on the map, and anyone staying in the beautiful new Hilton Creek Hotel has the added bonus of Gordon Ramsey's cuisine as room service and a bistro offering such 'simple dishes' as lobster and chips.