GORDON Ramsay shocked staff at a popular restaurant when he dropped in for a bite to eat as part of his new TV show.

The controversial chef tucked in to a lunch of mutton pie and sea bass at Hadley House in Wanstead High Street to assess the eatery for a place on the next series of the F-Word on Channel Four.

The restaurant's joint owner, Terence Hau, said the star's appearance was completely unexpected.

He said: "We knew people from Channel Four were coming around to assess our food, but we didn't know we were cooking for Gordon Ramsay.

"We were really amazed when we saw him.

"He didn't say much before he left, but he seemed to like the food and told our restaurant manager that he would see us again soon.

"We were nominated to be on the F-Word by our customers, and have made the shortlist of restaurants out of 10,000 entries, which is great."

The fifth series of The F-Word is due to be screened later this month and will focus on Britain's best local restaurants.