Gordon Ramsay leaves Montreal, gives Torontonians one less reason to be jealous of the city

Torontonians have never had trouble finding reasons to envy Montrealers: cheaper rents, ubiquitous perfect croissants, cold beer at corner stores. In 2010, we added “having your very own Gordon Ramsay restaurant” to the list, when the perpetually potty-mouthed chef announced he was getting on board with Montreal restaurant Laurier BBQ. Sure, our envy was mitigated when the opening of the restaurant was marred by a fire alarm. Now we learn that Laurier owner Danny Lavy has ended his business relationship with Ramsay, who he says acted more like an infrequent visitor than the consultant he was supposed to be (the Gazette says Ramsay originally wanted to be a partner, but he didn’t want to front the cash). Ramsay’s public relations people deny this, and say that “lawyers…will be watching all comment made publicly extremely carefully.” Lavy also said that despite Ramsay’s role as a consultant—and the fact that he was almost never in town—his team still acted like he owned the place. Two restaurateurs trading barbs and quarreling over operations? This sounds like a job for… oh, nevermind. Read the entire story [Montreal Gazette] »