It’s been a tough journey but we got through, says Gordon Ramsay’s business partner

Gordon Ramsay's business partner has admitted the restaurant team faced “a tough journey” during the recession but said the London food industry was now thriving again.

Ramsay’s 12th London restaurant, the Heddon Street Kitchen, opens in the West End next month.

Stuart Gillies, chef and managing director of Gordon Ramsay Group, said the capital’s restaurant scene was “buoyant” again now.

He told the Standard: “We’ve come through a tough journey in the last four years, we had financial issues ... but we got through it, we’re thick-skinned.”

The 48-year-old stepped in as MD after Ramsay’s relationship with former business partner and father-in-law Chris Hutcheson broke down.

Ramsay’s restaurants were hit hard in the recession and the group was forced to close some of its businesses, including The Boxwood Café in Belgravia, where Gillies was head chef.

He said: “The biggest learning curve is you can be passionate and consumed by a love of what you do in the industry, but also you sometimes have to make a commercial decision.”

The opening of Heddon Street Kitchen marks the start of an expansion drive for the group, with other ventures including the re-acquisition of Aubergine in Chelsea.

Aubergine, where Ramsay won his first Michelin star, will be named Park Walk when it re-opens “early next year”, Gillies revealed.

“Is it just a nostalgia trip? No,” he said. “But it’s nice to do things because you want to sometimes, nice to have choices that aren’t just driven by the bank.”

He added: “Gordon’s tough as a boss, you can’t deny that. He’s demanding and wants a million things. My role is to help achieve that.”