French critic blasts Ramsay's restaurant

France's top food critic has accused Gordon Ramsay of churning out 'karaoke cuisine'.

François Simon, whose reviews in newspaper Le Figaro are renowned for their harsh put-downs, urged diners to give the chef's new restaurant near Paris a miss.

The eatery at the Trianon Palace Hotel in Versailles opens next week and will have just ten tables.

Simon speculated that the food would be "utterly predictable" and accused Ramsay and his fellow "super cooks" of being too busy to spend enough time in the kitchen.

He said: "It is like going to the dentist and having the secretary pull your teeth out - it is very dangerous.

"He is just like pop artists these days, who steal ideas for songs and lyrics from all over the place.

"It becomes karaoke cuisine or, in the language of Gordon Ramsay, bulls***."

He added: "I like Ramsay's cooking very much. It's very fine, agreeable, with lots of energy. But quite frankly, if I go to Versailles I'd prefer to go to a local bistro."