Ramsay takes the Cornetto

Gordon Ramsay, 3 Michelin Stars, one of the best and most successful cooks of his generation, is in a bit of trouble over a dessert he tried to serve at one of his London restaurants. His ice-cream cone dessert was too close to the mass market Cornetto produced by Unilever that they threatened him with legal action unless he withdrew it. Guardian + Reuters + Evening Standard report.

Ramsay responded: If anything we are improving the image of the Cornetto in giving it a new twist. The thing that p***** me off is that they are so popular. I don't like getting a***h*** letters like that. (from the Standard report)

Unilever's action strikes me as a little odd - to be copied/imitated by such a person as Ramsay is obviously laudatory in some sense, but could also be good for business. Most people will only read/hear a few words of the story and will remember reading about Cornetto. Very few will try Ramsay's and then be put off buying run of the mill oversweet Unilever junk.