Marcus Wareing, whose two-Michelin-starred restaurant at The Berkeley hotel was recently judged the capital's finest dining experience by Harden's Guides, believes his recent parting of the ways with Gordon Ramsay could allow him to win the elusive third star he craves.

Mr Wareing, who in July stuck a metaphorical knife into his former boss in a vitriolic outburst in a food magazine, said he would love one day to see his name added to the “league of amazing chefs” with three Michelin stars, although his focus was on satisfying his customer base rather than pursuing accolades.

But he admitted that he would be keeping his fingers crossed when the next Michelin Guide comes out in the New Year.

“My cooking's happier — it is the happiest it has ever been. Cooking is about emotion and passion, it is part of you. The food is how I express myself,” he said.

Mr Wareing was speaking after signing a deal with Aramark, the contract caterer, that will see him work with ten chefs from the American group's UK business dining division. But he insisted the deal was about imparting knowledge to Aramark's chefs rather than simply putting his name to its fine dining contracts. “No matter how much you put my name on literature, it is not going to improve the food.”

The chef, whose restaurant changed its name from Pétrus to Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley after the transfer of the lease from Gordon Ramsay Holdings to Mr Wareing, said that although he was keen to widen his business interests, the Aramark deal did not herald a push to emulate Mr Ramsay's ambitious expansion. “That is something completely different — global domination,” he said.

Not that he has dismissed the idea of opening other restaurants. “I am being very cautious. My dream would be to open other establishments one day, but [Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley] is my flagship. This is where I am going to be. There is no plan to open more — it is a pipe dream.”

In the meantime, he is working on a third cookery book — to be called Nutmeg and Custard after the pudding he once cooked for the Queens's birthday — due to be published next September. He will also make occasional television appearances, although, again, unlike his former mentor, he has no desire to have a TV show. It is clear that, now that he is the master of his own destiny rather than a cog in the Ramsay empire, he will guard his name and reputation jealously.

Mr Wareing said that, although his restaurant had yet to suffer any fall-off in trading, he was determined not to follow in the footsteps of Tom Aikens, whose two London restaurants went bust recently. “I'm not going to be a statistic,” he said. “I want to focus on what I am doing and get through this.”

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