The knives are out as rival chefs battle over £500,000 wine cellar

A bitter feud re-ignited today between Gordon Ramsay and his former protégé Marcus Wareing over a £500,000 wine collection.

The world-famous cellar of the Pétrus restaurant, which the two men spent nine years building together, is the latest source of antagonism between the former friends.

Ramsay is taking the collection with him to his new venture.

Ramsay, 43, is said to be stung after losing the lease to run his Pétrus hotel at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge, and seeing it handed to Wareing.

Wareing, 39, whose star has continued to soar since splitting from Ramsay last year, now runs Wareing at The Berkeley in the premises.

He is said to have been keen to buy the contents of the cellar for the grand reopening, only to be knocked back by Ramsay.

Rather than leave the vintage wine where it was and recoup some cash, Ramsay had it moved to a makeshift cellar in preparation for the opening of his own new establishment, which will take the Pétrus name, in Knightsbridge this summer.

Sources close to Ramsay were reported to have said he was motivated by the desire to "get one over" his rival.

A spokeswoman for Ramsay tried to play down the spat, saying that Ramsay had always intended to keep the wine.

She said: "It is the property of Gordon Ramsay Holdings, the wine cellar, so they have retained that."

Wareing could not be reached for comment.