Gordon Ramsay forgets to social distance with restaurant staff

Gordon Ramsay has been pictured forgetting about social distancing as he posed with restaurant staff, while nobody was wearing a face covering.

The Michelin-starred chef, 53, was seen smiling as he stood with 10 other people after having a seafood dinner at Esplanada Furnas in Ericeira, Portugal, on Monday.

Eatery owner Nuno Lourenco has also claimed that Gordon, who enjoyed his ‘exceptional’ food, asked staff to remove their masks before taking the photograph.

Nuno revealed that Gordon had dropped in for dinner on Monday by posting the snap on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

He wrote: ‘We had the privilege of receiving one of the most famous chefs in the world.’

Describing his visit as a ‘great surprise’, Nuno told Portuguese daily Observador: ‘I knew he had come to eat fish yet I still asked him what he preferred.

‘All he said was “No, no, you’re going to choose my fish”.’

Revealing the father-of-five had feasted on clams, grilled grouper fish and a home-made apple pie, he added: ‘He made a point afterwards of going over to our grill to say it was exceptional, five star.’

The TV chef, who dined with two men according to Portuguese press, posed for a group pic at the door of the restaurant after his meal.

Some of the staff were pictured with their face masks in their hands, but none were wearing any protection and Gordon’s face covering was nowhere to be seen. 

MailOnline has contacted Gordon’s representative for a comment. 

Portugal remains on Britain’s quarantine list after failing to make the list of ‘safe’ countries where people reaching the UK from do not have to self-isolate for 14 days.

The holiday hotspot has vented its fury at Britain as ministers refused to remove the country from its quarantine list.

It was first left off the list of ‘green’ countries three weeks ago after a spike of cases in and around Lisbon.

The rules set Gordon up for a period of quarantine following his trip, which Observador said was work-related and involved filming on a fishing boat in Peniche north of Lisbon. 

It is mandatory to wear a face mask while on public transport in Portugal and visitors must also wear them when in confined spaces, reports VistitPortugal.   

The absence of any face masks in the photo also raised questions from some locals who saw the snap on social media.

One said in a sarcastic comment on social media: ‘It appears they’re at the door of the restaurant. We all know there’s no problems by the door.’

The restaurant pointed the finger at Ramsey, replying to comments about the face masks by saying: ‘He insisted we take them off.’

The celeb chef spent most of lockdown with his family at their £4 million mansion in Trebetherick in Cornwall before returning to London at the end of June.

The move sparked an outcry among some locals, who weren’t impressed with the family relocating to spend the lockdown by the seaside.

The star was spotted a number of times taking long excursions when outings were still limited to an hour a day including a beachside stroll with his entire family. 

The fiery chef was accompanied by wife Tana, 45, and three of their five children – Jack, 20, Matilda, 18, and Oscar – during a brisk walk across the sand. 

The Hell’s Kitchen star also landed in hot water with the local coastguard, who are said to have issued an official warning to him over his apparent flouting of lockdown guidelines.

Sources indicated that Gordon was seen in Rock, Fowey, Port Isaac and Newquay – some distance from his £4 million home in Trebetherick. 

Gordon has since admitted to ‘sneaking off’ for 100km bike rides but insisted he broke no rules.

Responding to coastguard warnings in May for being too far from his house, he told the Joe Wicks podcast recently: ‘There was no law to say you had to cycle for an hour and an hour only.

‘They were encouraging you to cycle so I did sneak off on some massive 90km and 100km bike rides.

‘Those rolling hills between here and Newquay, Bude, and Bodmin. Bodmin Moor at half past five in the morning in the middle of Spring, there’s nowhere more beautiful.’

He added: ‘So what are the coastguard going to do? Think about it. Look after the coastline, let me ride my bike.

‘The coastguard should not be telling me what to do in the middle of the forest on my fricking bike should they?’

‘There was no one on the roads so how the f*** can you complain about me and my little bike when there’s no one on the f****** roads. Come on.’ 

Moreover, the TV personality hit yet another stumbling block when he was forced deny ‘almost causing an accident’ after a resident accused him of jumping a red light while on a 26.2-mile bike ride. 

In a picture taken by the irate local and obtained by The Sun, he was seen wearing the same cycling gear he wore in a post shared with Instagram followers earlier that day. 

Whilst the UK was in heavy lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19, the government advice was to ‘stay local and use open spaces near to your home where possible.’

While people with second homes were not allowed to travel back and forth, choosing one home and sitting out the lockdown in it was not against official advice.

A friend of the family told MailOnline: ‘The family see Cornwall as their family home when the kids are back from uni and Gordon back from filming around the world it’s where they spend all their family time together.

‘They’ve been spending time there for 10 years and Jack actually lives in the house there full time too. Most of their neighbours are so welcoming and they love being part of the community.

‘They’ve been following the government advice along with the rest of the country since they arrived on March 20th and the campaign against them is hurtful and unnecessary at a time when we should all be coming together and supporting each other.’