Smoking banned at Ramsay's

Gordon Ramsay is to ban smoking in his London restaurants, he announced yesterday.

The celebrity chef, a non-smoker, said the ban would be introduced from September 1 at all seven establishments within the Gordon Ramsay group.

'As a chef with a sensitive palate, I have always found it unpleasant to be surrounded by smoke whilst eating in a restaurant,' said Ramsay, 38.

'I believe that all my customers deserve maximum enjoyment from their experiences of my restaurants and for most people that includes breathing clean air.'

Ramsay made his decision after he was urged to impose a ban by both non-smokers and smokers, who wrote to him complaining that their dining experience had been marred by smoke.