Gordon Ramsay sued after canceling charity dinners for sick child: report

British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is being sued after withdrawing from fund-raising events for a nine-year-old girl with a life-threatening stomach condition.

The "Kitchen Nightmares" reality show chef faces the legal battle after canceling two engagements to raise money for Matisse Reid, who is undergoing expensive medical treatment in America, the London Evening Standard reported Tuesday.

Matisse -- who is waiting for stomach, pancreas and small and large bowel transplants and cannot eat -- already had one dinner canceled by the chef. In June, he pulled out after his mother, 66-year-old Helen Cosgrove, suffered a minor heart attack, causing them to be rescheduled.

Ramsay, 43, has since decided not to attend the events for the New Zealand youngster, due to be held Tuesday in Auckland and Thursday in the capital Wellington.

Duco Events, which was due to host the events, sold 2,000 seats to the dinners and hoped to raise NZ$100,000 ($75,190.) It plans to sue for lost earnings, the money lost by the charity, costs, stress and damage to the company's reputation. Duco director David Higgins was in talks with Ramsay's legal team.

Matisse's mother Jodee Reid said, "I have this child who can't eat who desperately wants to, who loves to cook, and she watches all those cooking shows," adding that her daughter had been let down.

A spokeswoman for Ramsay said: "Unfortunately, due to urgent business matters beyond Gordon's control, he was no longer able to attend the two events organized by Duco Events. We are in communication with the organizers but of course are extremely sorry for any disappointment caused. Until a few days ago, we were unaware that this was a fund-raising event. Gordon has every sympathy for Matisse and will be making a personal donation to Chance to Eat."

The spokesman added that Ramsay did not receive his fee, which would only have been paid after the event.

The chef's business partner and father-in-law Chris Hutcheson quit as CEO of Gordon Ramsay Holdings last week in a dispute over profits. The business is said to be £17.8 million ($28.3 million) in debt.