Gordon Ramsay proved that he really does have a sadistic streak, when he made one of the chefs in his kitchen strip naked and then be wrapped in cling film before he worked a shift.

The star of Ramsay Kitchen Nightmares told Virgin Mobile Bites: “We started noticing that all our recipes were going missing – and there’s a database of 5,500 of them.

“We followed him on the CCTV and found out he was sifting all the ideas out of my kitchen. So I stripped him stark b*****k naked and wrapped him in cling-film.

“It’s probably the nastiest thing I’ve done. He sweated like a pig. I don’t know why he did it but then it’s pretty hard to talk when you’re being wrapped in cling-film by 25 cooks.”

He added: “If you’re going to work for a chef, don’t be so ignorant in trying to steal.

“I’d happily give out my recipes, but you still won’t cook a dish as good as me – the thing about this job is that it’s from the heart.”