Aubergine (London restaurant)
| Aubergine | |
|---|---|
 Former location of Aubergine in London
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| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1993 |
| Closed | September 8, 2010 |
| Current owner(s) | London Fine Dining Group |
| Head chef |
Gordon Ramsay (1993–99) William Drabble (1999–2009) Christophe Renou (2009–10) |
| Food type | French cuisine |
| Rating |
 (1997–99) |
| Street address | 11 Park Walk |
| City | London |
| Postal/ZIP code | SW10 0AJ |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°29′10″N 0°10′48″W / 51.485983°N 0.180011°W |
| Seating capacity | 45 |
| Other locations | Compleat Angler Hotel, Marlow |
Aubergine was a restaurant in Chelsea, London. Owned by A-Z Restaurants, it was opened under chef Gordon Ramsay in 1993. Aubergine was awarded two Michelin stars in 1997, which it held until Ramsay left the restaurant in 1998 following the sacking of Marcus Wareing from sister restaurant L'Oranger. It subsequently reopened and held a single Michelin star under William Drabble until he left the restaurant in 2009. Aubergine closed in 2010, pending a relaunch as an informal Italian restaurant.
The restaurant was opened by A-Z restaurants in 1993. The company was owned by Claudio Pulze, Franco Zanelleto and Giuliano Lotto. The company also opened a second, unrelated restaurant, called Memories of China, during 1993.
Marco Pierre White knew the owners of the restaurant, and introduced his protégé, Gordon Ramsay, to them. The 26-year-old Ramsay was subsequently hired as head chef and given a 25% stake in the restaurant.
Marcus Wareing was hired in 1993 as a sous chef, and Angela Hartnett joined the restaurant in 1994, both later leaving to join sister restaurant L'Oranger.Mark Sargeant joined the team at the restaurant in 1997, and would later become head chef under Ramsay at Claridge's in 2001.
In 1998, a helmet-wearing motorcyclist entered the restaurant, grabbed the reservations book and drove off. This was the only place where the restaurant's reservations were recorded. Despite blaming his former mentor White as the person behind the theft at the time, and claiming that he was being stalked by the person who stole the book, Ramsay later admitted in 2007 that he was behind it, saying, "I nicked it. I blamed Marco. Because I knew that would fuck him and that it would call off the dogs... I still have the book in a safe at home." Ramsay had believed at the time that his bosses at A-Z Restaurants were planning to replace him with White, who had always denied the theft, saying after Ramsay's admission that "it bothered me that I'd been accused of theft. But it was totally inconceivable - implausible. What would my gain have been to behave like that?" White later threatened legal action against Ramsay, and considered a libel case as Ramsay blamed White for the incident in his autobiography Humble Pie.
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