Wareing out?

Whispers of Marcus Wareing's dissatisfaction with his lot at Gordong Pansy Holdings started doing the rounds not long after Petrus finally, following much whingeing, whining and handwringing on 'Wetty' Wareing's part, secured its second Michelin star at the end of January this year. 

At first this seemed an unlikely story as Wareing had always seemed to have had a very tight relationship with Gordong going all the way back to 1993, when he started as sous chef at Aubergine. But then Gordong was MPW's sous chef back in the day and look how that turned out… 

Gordong's people recently denied Wareing was leaving The Savoy Grill or rather denied that he would not return to its kitchen after it closes in December for 16 months as the hotel undergoes a £100m revamp. 

Speculation intensified during the course of the London Taste of London festival at the end of June when Wareing told anyone that would listen that he wanted to do something on his own and didn't fancy returning to the Savoy after the refurbishment.   

One thing's for certain the days of Wareing as Ramsay's right hand man or - to borrow from prison parlance, as some have in the past to describe their relationship - 'bitch' are long gone. The days when they used go to boxing matches and ballroom dancing together - ancient history. 

Jason Atherton over at Maze is seen as the brightest culinary talent in the group while Mark 'Sarge' Sargeant of Claridge's has taken Wareing's place at the right hand side of Gord. 

Go to Gordong's home page and amongst the rotating gallery of photographs you'll find Atherton appears once alongside Ramsay, while Sargeant appears three times - Gordong's daughter only appears once for Christsake. The one where 'Sarge' and him are sharing a joke and a coffee together is particularly precious. 

No sign of Wareing's mug anywhere.