Washington, Apr 23 : American chef Mario Batali has joked that when actress Gwyneth Paltrow wrote about a "frenemy" who was once "hell-bent" on taking her down, she was not referring to actress Winona Ryder.

Batali, 48, said Paltrow was referring to him, her co-host on the PBS show "Spain . On the Road Again".

The chef also joked at the NYC Food Bank''s Can-Do Awards on April 21 about the rumours that Ryder and Paltrow''s friendship soured after Paltrow went after Ryder''s part in 1998''s Shakespeare in Love.