Kitchen Nightmare: Gordon Ramsay Sued for Fakery

• Jun 20, 2007 05:23 PM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

Hell's Kitchen host Gordon Ramsay has been slapped with a lawsuit claiming that on his upcoming fall-season restaurant-makeover series, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, he fabricated certain elements for the purpose of cooking up drama. According to court papers cited by ABC News, Martin R. Hyde, the former general manager of Dillons in Manhattan, accuses Ramsay of falsely deeming meat spoiled, simulating decrepit furnishings and hiring actors to pose as customers "flocking" to the rehabilitated eatery.

Hyde, who was compelled by Ramsay's verbal abuse to quit his job at Dillons, seeks millions in damages. A spokesperson for Ramsay had no comment on the suit, but claimed that such fakery is "not something they would do." Because reality television is, if anything, real.