Gordon Ramsay has said he is mystified by the backlash he received for spending lockdown at his £4million second home in Cornwall.
The celebrity chef, 55, defended his decision to travel from his south west London mansion to the property to isolate with his wife Tana, 47, and five children; Megan, 21, twins Holly and Jack, 22, Tilly, 20, and Oscar, two, during the height of the pandemic in 2020.
In an interview with the Radio Times, Gordon hit back at claims they 'snuck down' to the coast and said he cherished the time they spent together as family.
"God knows why we took so much s**t from the Cornish. We lived down there; we just hadn’t been down there for a long time. We didn't sneak down there at all,' Gordon said.
"We got there at an appropriate time and had an absolutely amazing time. And a time like that - we’ll never get back again. When the kids started disappearing again, I didn't want it to end – as a dad, not a chef."
At the time, Gordon's arrival sparked concern among neighbours as they were worried more people would flock to the area.
According to The Sun, locals even threatened to expose Gordon’s address if he did not leave.
They ranted on a Facebook group called You Shouldn't Be Here, in which angry Cornwall residents named and shamed celebrities and wealthy families who relocated to their second homes in the area to escape the coronavirus outbreak in busy cities.
Writing about the Ramsays, one allegedly said: "The big s*** should take himself and his family the hell out of Cornwall."
Another claimed: "He's swanning around the shops as if nothing is wrong. He's had pool engineers over. There is no defence at all."
Mirror Online contacted Gordon's representatives for comment at the time.
Elsewhere in the interview, Gordon said while the various lockdowns were "devastating" for the hospitality industry, it has "wiped the slate clean" of "s**tholes" taking up prime location spots.
He said: "The c**p’s gone now, just s**tholes in a prime position and taking advantage because they’re in a great location and they’ve got the footfall."
And while Gordon reflected on the fond memories he made in Cornwall with his family in lockdown, the television previously joked being "stuck in my house with these five ravenous kids is a living nightmare".
He told Capital FM: "Every single day is the same. I'm the resident kitchen porter, working my fingers to the bone.
"I have honestly cooked more food in the past ten days than I have in the past ten years of my career."
The full interview with Gordon is in the Radio Times, out now.
