THE original bad-mouthed TV chef today slammed the celebrities moaning about their hard life in Hell's Kitchen and vowed: "I'd show them a real day's work!"

And David Smith, from Oswaldtwistle, didn't hold back when asked what he thought about taskmaster Gordon Ramsay - claiming the foul-mouthed chef did not know he was born!

David's rant came as millions were expected to watch the final instalments of ITV1's Hell's Kitchen, the reality show that gave Ramsay two weeks to turn 10 celebrities novices into a well-oiled team.

David shot to fame in 1997 when he appeared in fly-on-the-wall television Hotel, set at Liverpool's Adelphi hotel, where the 59-year-old is head chef.

His 'colourful' language - or abuse - towards his staff and other bosses made him a hit with the 10million audience, long before Ramsay burst on to screens with his fiery motivation.

But David says he shunned the chance to become a celebrity chef to stay in the kitchen - and he's far from impressed with the idea of Hell's Kitchen.

He said: "I'm working most nights so I've missed most of it, thank God. But I've read a lot about it and these celebrities moaning about hard work. What nonsense.

"If they want a hard day's work in a proper kitchen, they should come here.

"And the same goes for Gordon Ramsay, too. He's a multi-millionaire, he doesn't need to do it. He does it for a laugh.

"I have to do it day in, day out, for a living."

But is swearing absolutely necessary in a kitchen and is it commonplace?

David - who used to be in charge at the old County Hotel, in Blackburn, when it was the Saxon, and has spent 17 years at the Adelphi - believes so.

David said: "It's a pressurised environment where things have to be done to perfection and a lot of chefs do swear a lot.

"We don't do it to be gratuitous, we do it to get the message across pronto. I know when it's inappropriate to swear and can stop myself.

"But I'll tell you this, I could teach Gordon Ramsay a wider selection of words to use. His are a bit boring."

The concept of Hell's Kitchen hasn't gone down well in David's domain, either.

The chef, who has two daughters, seven-year-old Emma and Josie, 19, to third wife Debra, said: "You can't turn a group of people off the street into chefs in just a couple of weeks.

"In that respect, there's still a snobbery about catering. People look down at chefs and think they could do it in no time.

"Well they couldn't. And what's more, the chefs in the West End of London don't know how good they've got it.

"I've trained chefs from scratch, taught them how to do all the basics, like use a knife, and then watch them go down to London to work there.

"People like Gordon Ramsay, and these other celebrity chefs, they don't they're born."