MONTREAL - The celebrity chef hailed as the bad boy of cooking will open his first restaurant today in Canada.

Gordon Ramsay, who has a reputation for revitalizing flagging restaurants, says he saw huge potential when he was brought to Montreal's Rotisserie Laurier BBQ for lunch two years ago.

But he says the restaurant, which has been a local favourite since it opened in 1936, felt a little like a retirement home.

The 44-year-old Scottish-born chef says the new establishment, renamed the Laurier Gordon Ramsay, will offer good comfort with a twist.

The two-storey dining hall has been freshened up with cream colouring.

Ramsay, who is known as much for his scorching profanity on high-rated cooking shows as for his string of acclaimed restaurants, says he fell in love with Montreal's evolving foodie culture five years ago.