Gordon Ramsay’s favourite Australian restaurants (including one that asked him to leave)

The celebrity chef shares his most memorable dining experiences from his recent visits to Sydney and Melbourne.When celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was in Melbourne filming the first Australian season of Food Stars earlier this year, he dined at Serai. What he didn’t expect, was to be marched off the table after service, as other diners were waiting.
“They needed the table back, and rightly so. It didn’t matter that I was f—ing Gordon Ramsay. They said the meal was on them, and I wasn’t having that either. I told them I wanted the bill and was adamant about it, and I didn’t leave until I got it and paid. It’s incredible food, and we had the best time,” he says.
“I remember what it’s like to run a kitchen and turn tables over to make it work. I was honoured to be in that moment.”Food Stars, which will screen on Channel 9 and 9Now next year*, sees Ramsay team with Boost Juice founder and entrepreneur Janine Allis in a bid to find the next food superstar.

The pair hadn’t met before making this show, but they hit it off on Zoom, and later in person, after she returned to Melbourne from a trip to Europe.
“Have you ever met Janine?” asks Ramsay. “She is dynamite.”
Both Ramsay and Allis weed out the idealists from the business realists in the new reality TV show that will see them invest $250,000 in the winner’s food business.
“Whatever the challenge was, the contestants all got the same version of me with or without the microphone on,” Ramsay says.
“I don’t give a f— about the camera. I give a shit about the business. This is real, and while we are running a TV show, this is game-changing.”
For someone who won his first Michelin star at age 33, Ramsay says life is more fulfilling now in his 50s.
“I work smarter than harder, and had that realisation in my 40s,” he says.“I love restaurants and the media side of my work and creating new ideas. I am lucky not to be pigeonholed. I have seen so many tragic endings in this industry because chefs can’t detach themselves. That’s the opposite to me and how I operate.”
Eating in
Signature dish and go-to at home

I love to make a beautiful Moroccan-style chicken casserole with preserved lemons, green olives and cous cous. That is a staple in our house on a Sunday. The cous cous can be used again later on, and we have a no-waste policy in our house, so the chicken can also be eaten cold. It’s a winner.

Guilty pleasure

Milk chocolate. We did a challenge with Cadbury’s chocolate, and I was a pig in shit at Cadbury’s office.

Best kitchen wisdom

Marco Pierre White taught me how to dress food and eat with our eyes. I have never seen a guy put food on a plate like him – it’s like a Picasso moment. He doesn’t throw food on there; he takes something ugly and turns it into something beautiful. He gave me discipline fingers. The first thing he taught me was how to perfect a tortellini lobster. If I f—ed them up, we could never use them for service, so I would practice with mash potato the night before. You never forget those moments.Favourite hometown restaurant

Chutney Mary in London – a southern-inspired Indian restaurant. I am a man of spice. A fragrant butter chicken and beautiful fresh naan is what I like to order here.

Favourite cafe

A cafe I like to visit is the Toast Rack Bake House – they make bacon sandwiches like no other. The bacon is an inch thick and it comes with a fried egg that’s beautifully fried in bacon fat.
There is a stunning mixologist at The Connaught Hotel in London – it’s beautiful to watch – and a trolley of cocktails that go around. They mix in front of your eyes at the bar, which I love. I have never been into spirits, but their espresso martini to kick off dinner is a must.