Gordon to open his own catering school

The restaurateur known for his fiery temper wants to establish a rival cooking school in central London to generate the Michelin-starred chefs of the future.

The academy will award unique Gordon Ramsay diplomas and offer apprenticeships of up to two years.

Ramsay unveiled his plans at the launch of Maze Prague last week, the European version of his successful London restaurant, saying it would be "his next big thing", Caterer magazine has revealed.

He said: "I'm fed up not just with the NVQ standards, but with what's coming out of our catering schools.

"I want to set up my own modern day apprentice scheme where students will experience everything from a most amazing pub to a one, two, or even three Michelin starred establishment.

"And if they want to spend three months in a florist, followed by a two month stint with one of our bakers, or a stint in New York, then we will arrange it.

"I'm not talking about fast-track courses here - I'm talking about six months, to 18 months, to two-year courses, issuing our own diplomas."

The decision will not be warmly welcomed by some chefs, particularly his former mentor turned arch nemesis Marco Pierre White, who last year labelled catering colleges "a waste of time".

Pierre White, who famously made the foul-mouthed Scottish firebrand cry during his early years as a chef, said that learning on the job was the only way to develop the necessary skills.

He said: "College is the biggest waste of time. It gives you a false sense of security. In the real world they struggle. Get into a good kitchen, stay for five years, keep your head down, take the b*ll*ckings and learn your trade."

Ramsay, who has been criticised for "spreading himself too thin" with the number of gastropubs and overseas restaurants he has opened recently, will hope his newest venture can be as much a success as rival Jamie Oliver's Fifteen foundation.

His latest venture, which is due to open later this year, is the transformation of the Warrington Hotel in Maida Vale into a gastropub at an estimated cost of £6 million.

It is his third pub, after the successful opening of The Narrow in Limehouse and The Devonshire in Chiswick.

Ramsay is also to open a less expensive and more casual sister restaurant to Maze in Mayfair, which pioneered his "modern tapas" under head chef Jason Atherton. The 85-seat Maze Grill will be housed in the Marriott Grosvenor Square hotel when it opens on 1 March.

In addition to this, Ramsay plans to open another Stateside restaurant, London Hotel in Los Angeles, later in the year.