Gordon Ramsay's late. He's always late for press interviews it seems, but no-one really minds.

That's because when he arrives he's disarmingly charming, fiercely intelligent and, best of all, an apparent advocate for the long lunch.

Settling back at a private table bedecked with Scottish langoustines, swordfish and other delights in Maze, his latest London restaurant, he lets rip with that familiar clipped, machine-gun delivery.

"I'm very much looking forward to The F Word," he says. "It's been in the pipeline for 12 months and it's very topical, very of the moment, very lively.

"For me, I think the biggest comment from customers has been, Kitchen Nightmares, great, we love it, but we want to see you cook more'.

"So, in the programme I run a proper restaurant while I'm also hosting the show. It's a chance to display a bit of the method behind the madness in the sense of what makes me tick, and how I put food together."

Pausing to take a breath, the 38-year-old chef then continues: "I think back to the days of Keith Floyd and the Galloping Gourmet. They were extraordinary guys, buoyant, fun, and they removed the intimidation out of cooking, really. I think that was the secret.

"At home, you don't want to be methodical, you want to be inspirational. You can't be long-winded. I don't have a long-winded style of cooking anyway. I suppose it's just a very natural way, which no-one's ever really got to see properly on TV. So it will be quite interesting."

Something else which should prove interesting will be the prospect of the infamously foul-mouthed chef trying to curb his language to meet the strictures of a pre-watershed slot in the TV schedules. When challenged on this he looks genuinely surprised.

"God, I don't swear that much, do I?"

When assured that, yes, in fact he does, he continues: "I'm not trying to make excuses for my inadequacies far from it but, it's the nature of the beast.

"When things go pear-shaped in the kitchen I do get annoyed, but I mean, when things are running normally I'm fine.

"I'm just being too honest, that's all, and that's what it's like in each and every restaurant I've ever worked in. I don't think it's ever going to be any different, but I don't go out of my way to use bad language."

One area where he never fails to stint on the expletives is in his ongoing rivalries with other celebrity' chefs.

"I think that banter's quite healthy, really," he says when asked to comment on this competitive streak.

"There are a lot of celebrity chefs out there who don't run restaurants and depend entirely on their television persona. I'm very fortunate that I've got a serious business behind me which I suppose is my backbone, my comfort.

"That's not me being arrogant. I'm not trying to say I'm better than anyone else, but I don't really see someone like Antony Worrall Thompson as a rival, to be honest. If I woke up one morning and thought he was, I'd be one sad git."

At home, despite being a devoted husband to teacher-turned-TV presenter Tana and children Megan, seven, twins Jack and Holly, five, and three-year-old Matilda, he's equally as uncompromising when it comes to his craft.

"Tana's not allowed in my kitchen," he says. "It's a lifelong ban. But she's got her own.

Gordon's so demanding when it comes to culinary matters that it comes as little surprise when he admits: "I'm not very good at dinner parties.

"It just doesn't really sit well with me," he explains. "You arrive and then nothing happens for an hour. So you just feel like getting up and saying, Look dear, sit down, let me do it'. It's terrible.

"So, I'm not very good at that. I try to avoid dinner parties now, but Tana's getting very fed up of going around to her mates' houses on her own."

Aside from ruining the odd home-cooked meal, the hot-headed chef admits he's also put his foot in it inside his own establishment on at least one occasion.

"A few weeks ago I was in the dining room at my restaurant in Claridges. The maitre d' asked me to go out and say hello to table seven, who'd just booked a room and were celebrating their engagement.

"It was a really nice occasion. They were about 30 and they'd been seeing each other for seven months, so it was all very vibrant and new. Pink champagne had just been served, they were on the chocolate fondants and I went over and congratulated them.

"'It's really good news,' I continued, and I'm glad you're staying here. I'm so pleased you enjoyed dinner'. All the time, the guy was looking daggers at me he hadn't actually asked her yet.

"When I found out I was just like, Oh, God'. So I didn't know what to do. Then, when he went to the bathroom I cornered him at reception and said, I cannot believe I just did that'. He said, Look, you know, don't worry. She's going to let me know in the morning'."

The F Word is on Channel 4 on Thursday night

Graham Kibble-White