Chef Gordon Ramsay: The Good, the Bad, and the Stars
Gordon Ramsay is one of the few celebrity chefs who has been successful for decades. And this despite constant, vocal criticism of his behavior. Why do people really love this “bad boy” of chefs so much?
He currently holds seven Michelin stars, with an impressive 17 over the course of his career. Owner of dozens of restaurants around the world, from the US to the UK to Singapore. A television personality on numerous shows and running his own television production company. A holder of the Order of the British Empire.
In short: Chef Gordon Ramsay.
While we should be wary of hype in this fast-paced world of ours, describing Ramsay as one of the most successful chefs of our time is no exaggeration. After all, the Englishman has achieved something very rare in the world of fine dining: He has been consistently successful for many years, not to mention becoming a household name even to people who don’t know much about fine dining. Because Gordon Ramsay is not only a chef, author, and entrepreneur. He has also been a television star for more than two decades, which is why he is known to so many audiences. However, the question remains: In a world full of influencers and interchangeable social media stars, how can someone maintain such success for so long?
A career despite a difficult childhood and personal setbacks
To find the answer, you have to look back at the past of today’s star chef. Born in 1966 in the small Scottish town of Johnstone, the second of three children, Gordon Ramsay did not have a happy childhood. In his 2006 autobiography Humble Pie, he spoke about his abusive father, an alcoholic who abused his wife and children. His mother was repeatedly beaten by her husband to the point of being hospitalised. His father was sent to prison for this – and Gordon and his two siblings were placed in an orphanage. “No child should live in fear in their own home,” Gordon Ramsay said. “A home should be a place where you feel safe and loved. When I was a child, our home was anything but that.” Because Ramsay Senior was constantly out of work, the family moved around a lot until they finally moved to England. Unfortunately, this meant no friends, no stable environment, and no roots.
As a child, Gordon made a living as a dishwasher. Then a glimmer of hope appeared: he received an invitation from his favorite club, Glasgow Rangers, to pursue his true passion for football in their youth team. It seemed like a dream come true. Even his father was proud. Ramsay said he was a “ruthless” defender. “They might have gotten past me once, but never a second time. And I was fast.” However, his dream of becoming a professional footballer was abruptly dashed when he suffered a serious knee injury as a teenager. This was followed by a lack of new prospects and having to move out of his parents’ home at the age of 16.
Ramsay: All or Nothing
However, the young Gordon Ramsay was interested in more than football; the Scot was also passionate about cooking. He began training in hotel management at the age of 19 and completed the course two years later. But even his first job made it clear that Gordon Ramsay was no recluse. As Commis de Cuisine at the Wroxton House Hotel in his hometown of Banbury, he began an affair – with the hotelier’s wife. He soon left not only the hotel but also the city and headed to London.
By this time, another Gordon Ramsay trait had emerged: he went all the way. In London, where he worked with the first British chef Michelin-starred Marco Pierre White, Ramsay decided to study French cuisine in greater depth. An “all or nothing” choice. Of course, he didn’t just study anywhere. He went straight to Paris to meet Joël Robuchon, among others. Yes, the legendary Joël Robuchon, who was named “Chef of the Century” by Gault Milleau, to name just one of his many honors. But that wasn’t all. Ramsay was also fascinated by Italian cuisine, which he explored on-site in Sicily and Sardinia.
In 1997, the moment finally came: Four years after the then 26-year-old was brought on as head chef, his restaurant, Aubergine in London’s Chelsea district, was awarded two Michelin stars. Just a year later, the now-starred chef opened his first restaurant just a few minutes’ walk from Aubergine, which would lay the foundations of his empire: Gordon Ramsay Restaurant. The rest is history – a story based on his difficult childhood as well as his daily life in
