Gordon Ramsay loses £2,000 in a week after guests steal 500 cat figures from new restaurant

Celebrity chef is having his own kitchen nightmare at new London eatery

Gordon Ramsay has revealed customers are costing him thousands of pounds by stealing lucky cat models from his new Japanese restaurant.

The 58-year-old foul-mouthed restaurateur is having his own kitchen nightmare at Lucky Cat 22 in Bishopsgate, London which features the beckoning Japanese cat models.

He told ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show: “The cats are getting stolen. There were 477 stolen last week – they cost £4.50 each.”

This amount would mean a total of £2,146 which Ramsay has lost during one week.

The maneki neko is a centuries-old Japanese figurine depicting a beckoning bob-tail cat are believed to bring good luck to the owner.

Gordon Ramsay has had to wave goodbye to hundreds of the lucky cat figurines (Annabel Grossman for The Independent)

Reflecting on his more than 80 restaurants globally, he said: “It does get a bit scary, in terms of how big it is and the global impact. The team are incredible and there are some amazing chefs throughout.

“Opening in 1998 Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, I would never have thought it would be here today – this year we celebrated 24 years at three star Michelin.”

Also on the show, Ramsay spoke about the upcoming nuptials of his daughter, Holly Ramsay, and Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty – saying they are planning a “Christmas wedding”.

He said that Peaty, who competed on the 19th series of Strictly Come Dancing, did not seek his permission but did talk to him about the engagement.

Ramsay said: “(Adam is) so down to earth and so focused and disciplined. He sat us down in Cornwall.

“He said ‘Holly is just the perfect woman. I’d like to get your blessing – from you and Tana for her hand in marriage’. It was that sort of amazing moment. Everything went quiet. As a future son-in-law, we couldn’t ask for anyone better.”

YouTuber Holly and the three-time Olympic gold medal winner announced their engagement in September, shortly after he returned to competing for the Paris Olympics, earning a silver medal.

The City Of London Police said it has not received any reports of theft from the restaurant.

The Jonathan Ross Show airs on Saturday at 9.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.