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Gordon Ramsay

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Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
BornNovember 8, 1966
Glasgow, Scotland
Culinary career
Cooking styleFrench cuisine
Current restaurant(s)
  • Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's, Royal Hospital Road, Boxwood Café, Angela Hartnett at the Connaught, Maze, Pétrus, Banquette, The Savoy Grill
Television show(s)

Gordon James Ramsay, OBE (born 8 November 1966) is one of the UK's most famous chefs. He is one of only three chefs in the UK to maintain three Michelin stars for his restaurant (the others being Heston Blumenthal and Alain Roux). He is married to Tana Ramsay and they have four children. He was appointed OBE in the 2006 honours list "for services to the hospitality industry". He is known for his fiery temperament [1], and for extensive use of expletives in the television show Hell's Kitchen. [2]

Early years

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Ramsay was brought up in England after his family moved to Stratford-upon-Avon. As a teenager he played football for Oxford United's youth side and was seen by a scout for Rangers. He completed trials for the Scottish club and became a professional player at the age of 15. After suffering a knee injury that left him unable to regain full fitness, he was released from the club.

Professional Chef

When he was 19 Ramsay turned his hand to cookery and worked with Albert Roux in London and Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon in Paris before becoming head chef of the newly-opened Aubergine restaurant in 1993.

By 1996, the restaurant had been awarded two Michelin stars. After a dispute with the management he left Aubergine in 1998 to open his own eponymous restaurant, in Chelsea. The restaurant gained three Michelin stars in 2001, making Ramsay the first Scot to achieve that feat. It was here that he famously ejected food critic A. A. Gill (along with his dining companion Joan Collins). After this incident A. A. Gill stated that "Ramsay is a wonderful chef, just a really second-rate human being".

From his first restaurant his empire has expanded rapidly, first opening Petrus where six bankers famously spent over £44,000 on wine during a single meal in 2001, and then Amaryllis at One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow and later Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's. Restaurants at the Dubai Creek and Connaught Hotels followed, the latter branded his protégée, Angela Hartnett's, name. Ramsay's company, Gordon Ramsay Holdings, continued rapid expansion under Marcus Wareing as Chef Patron.

Media

Ramsay has published six books on cooking and also appeared in two fly-on-the-kitchen-wall documentaries - Boiling Point in 1998 and Beyond Boiling Point in 2000. The series revealed that Ramsay is a hot-tempered man in the kitchen; he was seen yelling obscenities at his staff.

In 2004, Ramsay appeared in two British television series. Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares aired on Channel 4, and saw the chef troubleshooting failing restaurants over a two-week period. Hell's Kitchen was a reality show, which aired on ITV1, and saw Ramsay attempt to train 10 British celebrities to be chefs, as they ran a restaurant on Brick Lane which opened to the public for the two-week duration of the show.

In May of 2005, the FOX network introduced Ramsay to American audiences in an all-new edition of Hell's Kitchen produced by Granada Entertainment and A. Smith & Co. The show follows a similar premise as the original British series, showcasing Ramsay's perfectionism and infamous short temper. In August 2005, shortly following the season 1 finale, Hell's Kitchen was picked up for a second season.

His most recent series is a food-based magazine programme titled The F-Word, which launched on Channel 4 on 27 October 2005. A major part of the series focused on growing your own Christmas dinner which included raising his own turkeys. He mockingly named his turkeys Antony, Ainsley, Jamie, Delia, Gary and Nigella. These are in reference to famous celebrity chefs in the UK.

Ramsay also contributes to The Times' Saturday magazine in the form of a food and drink column.

In 2006, Ramsay took part in a television series for ITV1, following the lead up to a celebrity charity football match in which he played the first half nursing an injury picked up in training and was substituted at half time titled Soccer Aid. Ramsay captained the Rest Of The World XI against an England XI captained by Robbie Williams. However, his involvement was limited after he got a 4-inch cut in his calf.

Libel

In June 2006, Ramsay won a High Court case against the London Evening Standard newspaper, which had alleged after reports from previous owner Sue Ray, that scenes and the general condition of Bonaparte's had been faked for Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. Ramsay was awarded £75,000 plus costs [3] Ramsay said at the time: I won't let people write anything they want to about me. We have never done anything in a cynical fake way.

Drunk-driving charge

On November 15, 2002, Ramsay was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of excess alcohol. While he remained charged, he was informed by police that the case would be discontinued. [4]

Trivia

  • In September 2005 he expressed an interest into moving into football again with the proposed takeover of Greenock Morton football club.
  • Gordon Ramsay was nominated as a candidate for Rector at the University of St Andrews, but beaten at the polls by Simon Pepper. Despite a well-motivated publicity campaign, Ramsay never visited St Andrews and didn't appear in press interviews, something his opponents capitalised on by spending their time getting to know students, which is generally blamed for his downfall.
  • Ramsay has size-15 feet and has his shoes custom-made.
  • Ramsay starred in part of a Give Blood television advertisement, in which he said that another man in the advert had saved his life through some transplant. This man was one of the potential cadets in the 2005 Reality TV show, Space Cadets. Any viewers curious about the large-haired man had their suspicions clarified when he, on the show, stated that he had in fact been in an ad with Gordon Ramsay, but also stated that he had just been picked randomly at the pub, and had not actually donated any blood to Ramsay.
  • On Sundays, Gordon Ramsay can often be spotted running around Richmond Park, keeping trim and fit.
  • Gordon Ramsay completed his 7th Flora London Marathon on 23 April 2006 (official time 3H 46 mins 10 secs). He aims to complete 10 in 10 consecutive years.
  • Ramsay is the leader of the Top Gear "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" challenge, with a time of 1:46.38. During the same show, he stated that his current cars are a Ferrari F430 and a Range Rover Sport Supercharged, the latter replacing the Bentley Continental GT he owned before realising that Jordan had the same car.
  • On his show "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" he has stated that he has what I call "Dancephobia" or plain and simple, he is afraid of dancing, especially in front of people.

Restaurants

  • Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road (three Michelin stars)
  • Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's (one Michelin star), Mark Sargeant (chef partner)
  • The Boxwood Cafe at the Berkeley Hotel
  • The Connaught Hotel (one Michelin star), Angela Hartnett (chef partner)
  • The Savoy Grill (one Michelin star)
  • Banquette at the Savoy Grill
  • Petrus at the Berkeley Hotel (one Michelin star), Marcus Wareing (chef partner)
  • Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo, Tokyo
  • Verre at the Hilton Dubai Creek, Dubai

Filmography

Bibliography

  • Gordon Ramsay’s Passion For Flavour (1996)
  • Gordon Ramsay’s Passion For Seafood (1999)
  • Gordon Ramsay A Chef For All Seasons (2000)
  • Gordon Ramsay’s Just Desserts (2001)
  • Gordon Ramsay’s Secrets (2003)
  • Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Heaven (2004)
  • Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy (2005)
  • Gordon Ramsay Easy All Year Round (2006)
  • Gordon Ramsay's Sunday Lunch and other recipes from the F word (2006)

Master Chefs Series

  • Pasta Sauces (1996)
  • Fish And Shellfish (1997)

Cook Cards

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