Ramsay: Women can't cook

His charisma in the kitchen has won him an army of female fans.

But they may be rather less enamoured of Gordon Ramsay after his latest outburst.

The outspoken celebrity chef has claimed that young British women 'can't cook to save their lives' and are lagging behind the men who are 'finding their way into the kitchen in ever-growing numbers'.

Predictably, his remarks - made as he prepares to return to the screen with a new television show called The F-Word - have not gone down well with some high-profile female chefs.

Ramsay, 38, said: 'I have been visiting ladies' houses up and down the country with our film crew and you would be amazed how little cooking the girls are doing.

'When they eat, they cheat - it is ready meals and pre-prepared meals all the way.

'Seriously, there are huge numbers of young women out there who know how to mix cocktails but can't cook to save their lives, whereas men are finding their way into the kitchen in ever-growing numbers. Trust me, I am only telling you what I have discovered.'

Ramsay, speaking to Radio Times to promote his programme, which begins on Channel 4 on Thursday, also issued a challenge to female chefs wanting to prove him wrong: 'If there is some little old lady out there who thinks she can make better Dundee cake than me or has a recipe for Lancashire hotpot that will knock spots off mine then she can come on the show, no problem.

'We will each cook our version of the dish and the judges will do a blind tasting to see which is better.'

Ramsay may have an ally in Nigella Lawson, who has previously complained that British women have not followed in her footsteps, saying: 'Of my friends, it is mostly the men, not the women, who cook.'

However, his outburst has angered some of his fellow professionals, including Clarissa Dickson Wright, who co-presented Two Fat Ladies. She said his views were 'rubbish and about ten years out of date'. She added: 'Young women have read books by food experts and chefs and are now much better informed on what they should eat and how they should prepare it.'

Michelin-starred chef Tessa Bramley, a self-taught restaurateur who has appeared on Masterchef, dismissed his comments. She said: 'It is always women, not men, who do the nitty-gritty work in the kitchen.

'While men do cook, it is usually only ever at the weekend as recreation. They go into the kitchen making grand gestures and using every dish in the house, leaving the cleaning to women.'