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Being dubbed the next Gordon Ramsay is not something Tom Aikens is particularly chuffed about. The 36-year-old flame-haired firebrand, widely seen as the UK capital's hottest gastronomic talent - even being described as "the most brilliant chef working and cooking in London today" - isn't keen to discuss the obvious similarities between himself and the high-profile celebrity chef. So here's a quick recap. For a start, both have Scottish roots. Though Aikens grew up in Norwich and says he hasn't had time to research his family tree, his name is of Scottish origin and was common in the parish of Ballantrae in Ayrshire.
"We're probably Scottish and most certainly Celtic, " he says reluctantly, agreeing that perhaps he might one day appear in the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? to find out more. In any case, his red hair, freckles and prickly temperament are dead giveaways. (Ramsay was born in Glasgow. ) Both chefs were awarded two Michelin stars early on - though Aikens gained them at the recordbreaking age of 26, while Ramsay got his when he was 30. Both have highly prestigious, multi-awardwinning eponymous restaurants in London, and both are moving into the gastropub market.
Aikens has just opened Tom's Kitchen (TK), his first venture into casual, family-oriented eating at the former Blenheim Arms pub in Chelsea, and it is probably no coincidence that Ramsay chose to announce, on the eve of Aikens's celebrity-starred opening, that he too is to enter that lucrative market by refurbishing the Warrington Arms pub in Maida Vale, west London.
Another common trait among the pair is their fiery tempers. Aikens was dubbed the "bad boy superchef" in the late 1990s after causing a scandal by being sacked from Pied a Terre in Mayfair, where he was head chef and gained his two Michelin stars, after "branding" a trainee on the hand with a hot knife (Aikens explained it was a blunt palette knife that had been in a frying pan and said the incident was isolated). The episode ushered in the lowest point in Aikens's career, while at the time Ramsay was quoted as saying, "I am glad to see he got his comeuppance.
He deserves never to work in London again."
However, Aikens...