Gordon Ramsay

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Lore & Background

Gordon Ramsay was born in Johnstone, Scotland, on 8 November 1966, the son of Helen (a nurse) and Gordon James Sr., who worked as a swimming pool manager, welder, and shopkeeper. He has described his early life as 'hopelessly itinerant' and said his family moved constantly, owing to the aspirations and failures of his father, who was an occasionally violent alcoholic. Ramsay started working as a pot washer in a local Indian restaurant where his sister was a waitress. He had hoped to become a footballer and was first chosen to play under-14 football at the age of 12, but a serious knee injury forced him to give it up. At age 19, he enrolled at North Oxfordshire Technical College, sponsored by the Rotarians, to study hotel management, describing the decision as 'a complete accident.'

In the mid-1980s, Ramsay worked as a commis chef at the Wroxton House Hotel. He then moved to London and worked at Harveys under Marco Pierre White for two years and ten months. White encouraged him to work for Albert Roux at Le Gavroche in Mayfair. After a year there, Roux invited him to work at Hotel Diva in the French Alps as his number two. From there, a 23-year-old Ramsay moved to Paris to work with Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon, both Michelin-starred chefs. He continued his training in France for three years, then took a year to work as a personal chef on the private yacht Idlewild, based in Bermuda. Upon returning to London in 1993, Ramsay was offered the position of head chef at the three-Michelin-starred La Tante Claire in Chelsea. Shortly after, Marco Pierre White set him up with a head chef position and 10% share in the Rossmore, renamed Aubergine. Aubergine won its first Michelin star 14 months later and its second in 1997. A dispute with business owners led Ramsay to leave in July 1998, describing the decision as 'the most important day of my entire cooking career; the most important decision of my life.' In 1998, he opened Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, which gained its third Michelin star in 2001, making Ramsay the first Scot to achieve that feat.

Reader's Guide

Gordon Ramsay's significance lies in his dual impact as a Michelin-starred chef and a global television personality. His restaurant group has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall and currently holds eight. His flagship restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, has held three Michelin stars since 2001 and is currently run by chef Matt Abé. Ramsay's media persona is defined by his fiery temper, aggressive behaviour, strict demeanour and frequent use of profanity, including insults and jokes about contestants and their cooking abilities. He has presented television programmes such as the British series Hell's Kitchen (2004), Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (2004–2009, 2014) and The F Word (2005–2010), with Kitchen Nightmares winning the 2005 and 2008 British Academy Television Award for Best Feature. He is part of the American versions of Hell's Kitchen (2005–present), Kitchen Nightmares (2007–present), MasterChef (2010–present) and MasterChef Junior (2013–present), as well as Hotel Hell (2012–2016), Gordon Behind Bars (2012), Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (2018–2020) and Next Level Chef (2022–present). Ramsay was appointed an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 New Year Honours list for services to the hospitality industry. He was named the top chef in the UK at the 2000 Catey Awards, and in July 2006 he won the Catey for Independent Restaurateur of the Year, becoming the third person to win three Catey Awards. Forbes listed his 2020 earnings at US $70 million and ranked him at number 19 on its list of the highest-earning celebrities. His restaurant empire expanded rapidly, with openings in Dubai, Tokyo, New York, Ireland, Los Angeles, Montreal, and Singapore, though some ventures closed. In 2011, The Good Food Guide named Restaurant Gordon Ramsay the second best restaurant in the UK, behind The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire.

Did You Know?

• Ramsay was appointed an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 New Year Honours list for services to the hospitality industry.
• His restaurant group has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall and currently holds eight.
• Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, London, has held three Michelin stars since 2001 and is currently run by chef Matt Abé.
• Ramsay set a Guinness world record on 14 June 2017 for the 'Fastest time to fillet a 10 lb fish' at one minute and five seconds.
• On 11 May 2023, Ramsay along with Nick DiGiovanni set the Guinness World Record for the largest Beef Wellington, weighing 25.76 kg (56.79 lb).