Ramsay pecked by puffin he planned to cook

Published: July 28, 2008 at 3:44 PM
Order reprints
British chef Gordon Ramsay attends "GQ Men Of The Year Awards" at Royal Opera House  in London on September 4, 2007.  (UPI Photo/Rune Hellestad)
British chef Gordon Ramsay attends "GQ Men Of The Year Awards" at Royal Opera House in London on September 4, 2007. (UPI Photo/Rune Hellestad) | Enlarge Enlarge
REYKJAVIK, Iceland, July 28 (UPI) -- Scottish celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay admits he thought he was a "goner" when he fell off a cliff in Iceland while hunting puffins to cook on TV.

Ramsay was treated at his hotel for a leg gash he sustained during the incident on the Westman Islands. He later went to London's Cromwell Hospital where he received three stitches for a puffin bite he sustained on his nose, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

Ramsay reportedly slipped and fell into freezing water as he climbed down a 280-foot drop while filming footage for his show "The F Word."

"I thought I was a goner," he told the British newspaper. "I remember thinking: 'Oh, (expletive.) My boots and my waterproofs were dragging me down. I'm an extremely good swimmer, but I couldn't get to the surface. I was panicking and my lungs were filling with water. When I got to the top after getting my boots off I was dazed and my head was totally numb."

Ramsay's crew threw him a line and pulled him to safety when he failed to surface after about 45 seconds, the Telegraph said.

As for the puffin peck, Ramsay told the newspaper: "I keep saying one of my kids punched me. I'm too embarrassed to say it was a puffin."


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


Chinese fishermen's release demanded (5 min)
Madonna honors Jackson during concert (7 min)
'Slumdog' child star enjoying new home (12 min)
No pardon for Khodorkovsky in works (16 min)
College grads aid Chinese farmers (18 min)
Report: Jackson may be buried in concrete (20 min)
Former Beatles manager Klein dead at 77 (25 min)
Photoshop this rugged race
Afghanistan as a major tourist destination? The tag says it all
If you've been getting unemployment in Indiana, and haven't put on your really, truly bestest effort...
63 years ago today, the bikini was introduced
Sarah Palin has apparently hired someone with a GED in Law, threatens to sue bloggers for defamation...
If you have a beer belly, blame your dad, not all the beer you've been drinking since you were 14...