Gordon Ramsay is under fire over ready-made meals AFP/GETTY

GORDON Ramsay has come under fire after it was revealed he is serving ready-made meals prepared at a “food factory” at his London bistros and gastropubs.

Popular dishes that take time to prepare are made in bulk at a “central kitchen” near railway arches and a council estate in Clapham.

They are then packed into plastic bags and distributed to Foxtrot Oscar, his Chelsea bistro, and his three gastropubs in unmarked transit vans.

The Narrow in Limehouse, the Warrington in Maida Vale, and the Devonshire in Chiswick are all supplied by the centralised production site.

The revelation will fuel criticism that the Michelin-starred chef is spreading his talents too thinly.

Fishcakes which are sold by suppliers GR Logistics for £1.92 are then priced at £11.25 at the gastropubs, a mark-up of 586 per cent.

The factory’s head chef Darran Ridley told an undercover reporter from The Sun: "We provide the majority of the food for Foxtrot Oscar - everything from coq au vin, starters, terrines, snacks, salmon rillettes, various desserts, braised beef in red wine, beef pie mixes.

“Anything that takes a long time to cook, any braised items or items in sauces - we do all of that.”

One of London’s top restaurant critics accused Ramsay of double standards.

Peter Harden, of Harden’s Restaurant Guides, said: “The problem that Gordon Ramsay Holdings has is that they have never presented his restaurants in this way.

“They give the impression that Gordon’s special magic rubs off on each restaurant and that the great man is always popping in and out and having a word with his chefs.

“The idea that this food is prepared at a centralised factory doesn’t sit well if you are going to invite people to join in with this collective fantasy that somehow Gordon is in every evening.”

Ramsay, the star of Kitchen Nightmares and The F Word, has spoken of his hatred for ready-made food in the past.

He said: “My food hell is any ready-made meal. It’s so easy to prepare a quick meal using fresh produce but people still resort to ready made meals that all taste exactly the same.”

A spokeswoman for Ramsay has defended the practice.

“Whether it’s cooked on-site or off-site, Gordon looks into these dishes scrupulously and with careful attention. It’s nothing that we’ve ever hidden or been ashamed of.”

“The central kitchen is a state-of the-art-facility. It is a Gordon Ramsay kitchen run by Gordon Ramsay chefs cooking Gordon Ramsay food - it just happens to be off-site.”

She insisted that no fresh produce, such as cuts of meat, are prepared at the Clapham facility.

The chef’s team has admitted that 50 per cent of the menu for the four eateries is prepared off-site.