Famous Montreal restaurant Laurier Gordon Ramsay is in the process of removing two words from its name “ Gordon Ramsay”

The famous British chef’s partnership in the Montreal institution has ended after a short lived six months according to owner Danny Lavy

“We wish Gordon all the best, but he’s a big star and too busy to come to the restaurant,”. “He didn’t have the time to manage it. He hasn’t been here since August.”

As of Friday February 17 2012, the name of the star chef will be removed from all of the restaurant’s branded material, Lavy said.

Ramsay’s involvement was big news when the newly christened restaurant reopened its doors last August, but frustrated by a long list of complaints, and nonexistent financial involvement from Ramsay’s camp, Lavy decided to end Ramsay’s contract.

Ramsay was originally slated to be a partner, but when the chef declined to put up any money, he became merely a consultant.

“He was hired as a consultant, but his team was acting as if they owned the restaurant. But there was nothing they did we couldn’t have done on our own.”

Soon after the restaurant opened, the question of “vision” became a sticking point between Lavy & Ramsay’s camp.

“They didn’t understand our vision,” Lavy said. “This is a local restaurant with a lot of heritage. We want to respect the clientele and deliver what they want when they come here. We got to the point of not being on the same page and having someone taking a direction we didn’t want to take. He didn’t understand what was important to us. He was the one who originally wanted to get rid of the original staff.”

The lack of Ramsay face time in Montreal was another disappointment.

On the flip side, to make up for taking some dishes off the menu, “we expected him to contribute Gordon Ramsay signature dishes,” Lavy said, “but we got nothing that was ever a ‘wow’ dish, and just a few tweaks on what we already had. He didn’t want salmon tartare on the menu, but we did it, anyways, and it’s now one of the best sellers.”

“We wanted to give this restaurant a new beginning, and we did it,” Lavy said. “We’re packed all the time and we love running it. This place has 75 years of heritage behind it and we always respected that. We want to give the customer what he or she expects. Are we disappointed in his lack of participation? Totally. I expected more. He just didn’t get it.”

Rotiserie Laurier BBQ

381 Avenue Laurier Ouest,

Montréal, QC H2V 2K3