[Red Moon]

Chef John wants revenge

JUNGLE chef John Burton Race last night vowed to wreak revenge on his ex for shutting his restaurant — and burning all his clothes.

The moody cook, who is locked in a bitter divorce battle, told The Sun he will wait until he returns to the UK to get his own back on Kim, 42.

He said of the restaurant closure: “The way she’s done it is just sensationalism. I’ve had enough now. I’m coming out fighting.”

He told GMTV earlier: “This is the last dirty trick. I’m not very impressed.

Mistress

“When I get back to England I intend to do something about it.

“I’ve shut my mouth about a lot of stuff. Now it’s going to be my turn.

“I am going to get what I want and how I want it.”

The fiery dad-of-seven, 50, was horrified to discover that Kim had closed the New Angel in Dartmouth, Devon, without warning while he was away in the jungle.

The couple opened the £1.25million restaurant together in 2004 and their adventures running it and winning a Michelin star were featured in the Channel 4 series Return Of The Chef.

But in March this year, John left Kim — mother of two of his children — for mistress Suzi Ward, 40, and the three-year-old son he fathered with her. That began a £3.6million divorce battle which has already seen John agree to the sale of the couple’s £1.5million Georgian rectory in Ashprington near Totnes, Devon.

John, who was voted out of the jungle this week, described the split as “very hostile” and added: “Every time I go and do anything I have to watch myself and watch my back.”

He claimed Kim had even destroyed his clothing. He told The Sun: “She took all my clothes and set fire to them on the front lawn.

“You wouldn’t believe what’s been going on.”

He said he had had a sleepless night fielding calls from his chefs and staff wondering what was going on.

He added: “I’ve taken calls to the point where I couldn’t even sleep because there were so many.

“I’m not hiding from anything. If it comes to the point that the New Angel has to be sold then it has to be sold, but my priority is my staff and my suppliers. Whatever is left can be divvied up and she can get her half. That’s it.”

He insisted the restaurant had been trading well — and pulled in £180,000 last year.

He said: “I’d like to sell it as a trading and going concern so everybody can get their money, including my estranged wife.

“Not until I can get back to England to sort this out can their position be safeguarded.

“But I’m in touch with my lawyers and I’ve got the support of my bank, so it’s probably not as bad as it looks.”

He said he was refusing to take his wife’s calls while he fulfils his obligations to the ITV jungle show in Australia. He said: “I haven’t been in contact with her — she has tried to get hold of me.

Childish

“It is a clever move and yet another nasty nail in the coffin on something that’s been going on for 12 months.”

He said he was angry at the bitter split being made public — but felt he had no choice after Kim closed the restaurant. He added: “I didn’t really want to make my life story common knowledge, but I think this is a story too far.

“This kind of childish behaviour has really wound me up and I don’t intend to take it lying down.

“Being in the jungle has made me see life in a different light.

“I have a very clear picture of where I want to be. I’ve got other responsibilities and I’ve moved on.

“It’s a shame other people haven’t.”

Source: The Sun