Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Mark Sargeant, who joined Gordon Ramsay 13 years ago and worked his way through the kitchens to become one of the chef’s closest friends and allies, has resigned and will join another restaurant company next month.

Sargeant, 36, who first joined Ramsay at Aubergine, will become creative director of the Swan Collection, which runs the Swan at The Globe, at Shakespeare’s Globe in London; and the Swan, West Malling, Sargeant’s home town in Kent.

“I have gained such incredible experience and now want to embrace a new challenge with the support and blessing of Gordon,” Sargeant said today in a press release e-mailed by Ramsay’s publicists, Sauce Communications.

The departure comes at the end of a year in which Ramsay said he risked going bankrupt after expanding around the world, opening restaurants from Prague to Tokyo before the start of the recession. He’s currently working on three new establishments, one in Melbourne and two (Savoy Grill and Petrus) in London.

Sargeant -- or “Sarge” as he is known -- will continue helping on Ramsay’s television and publishing projects. The two appeared together on Nov. 16, when they attended a party for “Gordon Ramsay’s World Kitchen” at the Paramount Club on the top of London’s Centre Point.

Speculation that Sargeant might move on started earlier this year when it emerged that he had stepped down from his role heading Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s. Sargeant’s final position with Gordon Ramsay Holdings was as creative director for intellectual property.

In the food world, Ramsay is credited with helping to develop the careers of chefs such as Jason Atherton (of Maze) and Angela Hartnett (of Murano and York & Albany). Another former ally, Marcus Wareing, quit last year in an acrimonious split.

“Mark’s talent, energy and commitment have all shone through and made him one of the brightest stars to come out of my kitchens,” Ramsay said in the statement. “He will, of course, continue as a pivotal part of my creative team.”

(Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Richard Vines in London at rvines@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 20, 2009 05:12 EST