Gordon Ramsay

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Gordon Ramsay

Born November 8, 1966 (age 40)
Johnstone, Scotland
Cooking style French cuisine
Education Catering college
Restaurants Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Boxwood Café
Angela Hartnett at the Connaught
Maze
Pétrus
Banquette
The Savoy Grill
Verre
Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo
Cerise by Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay at The London
La Noisette
TV Show(s) Boiling Point
Beyond Boiling Point
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
Hell's Kitchen (UK)
Hell's Kitchen (US)
The F-Word

Gordon James Ramsay OBE (born 8 November 1966) is a British celebrity chef and currently one of only three chefs in the UK whose restaurant is rated at three Michelin stars.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Gordon James Ramsay was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, the son of Gordon and Helen Ramsay. Ramsay's father was, at times, a swimming baths manager, welder, shopkeeper, and aspiring country-western singer and his mother, a trained nurse.[1] Ramsay has described his early life as "hopelessly itinerant," as his family moved constantly due to the aspirations and failures of his father. In past public interviews, Ramsay has declined to describe his father as an alcoholic; however, his autobiography, Humble Pie, describes his early life as being pocked with abuse and negligence from this "hard-drinking womanizer."[1][2] At the age of 16, Ramsay moved out of the family house to a Council flat with his older sister, Diane.

[edit] Football

Ramsay was first chosen to play under-14 football at age 11 and was chosen to play for Warwickshire at age 12. His football career was marked by a number of injuries, causing Ramsay to remark, "Perhaps I was doomed when it came to football." [1] In the summer of 1984, Ramsay was being actively scouted by Scottish giants, Glasgow Rangers, when he critically injured his knee, smashing the cartilage during training. Ramsay continued to train and play on the injured knee, tearing a cruciate ligament during a squash game. He never fully recovered from the double-injury and was told by Rangers that he would not be signed, suggesting that he could sign with a club in a lower league. By this time, Ramsay's interest in cooking had already begun, and he chose to take on this new challenge, rather than be known as "the football player with the gammy knee."[1]

[edit] Professional education

After weighing his options, without enough O levels to join either the Navy or the Police, Ramsay enrolled at a local catering college, sponsored by the Rotarians. He describes his decision to enter catering college as "an accident, a complete accident."[1]

After his professional football career came to an end at age 19, Ramsay paid more serious attention to his culinary education. He worked as a commis chef at the Roxbury House Hotel, then ran the kitchen and 60-seat dining room at the Wickham Arms, until his relationship with the owner's wife made the situation difficult. Gordon then moved to London, where he worked in a series of restaurants until being inspired to work for the tempermental Marco Pierre White at Harvey's.[1]

After working at Harvey's for two years and ten months, Ramsay tired of "the rages and the bullying and violence" and decided that the way to further advance his career was to study French cuisine. Marco White encouraged Ramsay not to take a job in Paris, but instead to work for Albert Roux at Le Gavroche in Mayfair. (While at Le Gavroche, he met Jean-Claude Breton, now his Maître D' at Royal Hospital Road.) After working at Le Gavroche for a year, Albert Roux invited Ramsay to work with him at Hotel Diva, a ski-resort in the French Alps, as his number two. From there, Gordon moved to Paris to work with Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon, both Michelin-starred chefs. He continued his training in France for 3 years, before succumbing to the physical and mental stress of the kitchens and taking a year to work as a personal chef on the private yacht, Idlewild, based out of Bermuda.[1]

[edit] Head chef

Upon his return to London in 1993, Ramsay was offered the position of head chef at La Tante Claire in Chelsea. Shortly thereafter, Marco White re-entered his life, offering to set him up with a head chef position and 25% share in the Rossmore, owned by White's business partners. The restaurant was renamed Aubergine and went on to win its first Michelin star fourteen months later. In 1997, Aubergine won its second Michelin star. Despite the restaurant's success, a dispute with Ramsay's business owners led to his leaving the partnership in 1997.[1]

In 1998, Ramsay opened his own eponymous restaurant in Chelsea, Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road, with the help of his father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson. The restaurant gained three Michelin stars in 2001, making Ramsay the first Scot to achieve that feat.[citation needed]

From his first restaurant, Ramsay's empire has expanded rapidly, first opening Petrus, where six bankers famously spent over £44,000 on wine during a single meal in 2001, then Amaryllis 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 has now begun opening restaurants outside the UK, beginning with Verre in Dubai. Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo and Cerise by Gordon Ramsay both opened in Tokyo in 2005. In November, 2006, Gordon Ramsay at the London is scheduled to open in New York City[3].

Ramsay once said that his three aims in life were to win a Catey, receive 3 Michelin stars, and be knighted.[citation needed]

[edit] Awards

Ramsay is one of only three chefs in the UK to maintain three Michelin Guide stars for his restaurant (the others being Heston Blumenthal and Alain Roux). He was appointed OBE in the 2006 honours list "for services to the hospitality industry".

In July 2006 Ramsay became only the third person to have won three Catey awards, the biggest awards of the UK hospitality industry. Ramsay's two previous Catey awards were in 1995 (Newcomer of the Year) & 2000 (Chef of the Year). The other two triple-winners are Michel Roux and Andrew & Jacuie Pern.

In September 2006, he was named as the most influential person in the UK hospitality industry in the annual CatererSearch 100 list, published by Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine. He overtook Jamie Oliver, who had been top of the list in 2005 [4].

[edit] Gordon Ramsay Holdings

All of Ramsay's business interests (restaurants, media, consultancy) are held in the company Gordon Ramsay Holdings. Run in partnership with his father-in-law Chris Hutcheson, Ramsay owns a 69% stake valued at £55m [5]. The UK restaurants continue to rapidly expand under Marcus Wareing as Chef Patron.

Having on previous ventures acted as a combined consultant/brand, in November 2006 Ramsay announced plans to create three restaurants in the United States in partnership with private equity group Blackstone Group, who are refurbishing each of the chosen hotel locations into five star locations at a cost of £100M per hotel. At an investment of £3m per restaurant for the 10-year lease, all the restaurants will offer the chef’s trademark modern European cuisine, and will open in 2006/2007 at:

Ramsey acts as a consultant to numerous catering organisations, and was recruited by Singapore Airlines as one of its "International Culinary Panel" consultants.[6]

[edit] Television

Ramsay's first foray in television was in two fly-on-the-kitchen-wall documentaries: Boiling Point (1998) and Beyond Boiling Point (2000).

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 ten 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. In August of 2006, FOX announced that "Hells Kitchen" has been picked up for a third season in 2007.

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. Another key feature of the program is for a guest to cook a dish of their own and place it in competition against a similar dish submitted by Ramsay. The dishes are judged by blindfolded diners and, if the guest wins, their dish is plated at Ramsay's restaurant. To the surprise of many, Ramsay has lost such competitions repeatedly. Of even further surprise to many is the fact that he does so graciously, confounding characterizations of him as bellicose and tempermental.

In July 2006, Channel 4 announced that it had re-signed Ramsay to an exclusive four-year deal at the network, running until July 2011.[7]

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

Ramsay is expected to lend his voice on an episode of The Simpsons' 18th season, where he teaches Homer Simpson how to cook.[8]

On October 13, 2006, he was guest host on the first episode of Have I Got News for You's 32nd series, his appearance on which was slated by many critics and viewers, just like his guest appearance in 1999.

Gordon Ramsay is currently starring in a new series of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, which is comprised of 6 episodes.

[edit] Print

Since 1996, Gordon Ramsay has published thirteen cookbooks. His most recent release, Gordon Ramsay's Sunday Lunch and Other Recipes from The F Word coincided with the second series of The F-Word. Ramsay also contributes to The Times' Saturday magazine in the form of a food-and-drink column.

[edit] 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. [9] 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."

[edit] Public image and reception

Gordon Ramsay's reputation is built upon his goal of culinary perfection.[10] Since the airing of Boiling Point which followed Ramsay's quest of earning three Michelin stars, the chef has also become infamous for his fiery temperament and use of expletives.[10] Ramsay famously ejected food critic A. A. Gill (along with his dining companion, Joan Collins). Gill stated that "Ramsay is a wonderful chef, just a really second-rate human being."[11] Ramsay has also had confrontations with his kitchen staff, including one incident that resulted in a police complaint filed by a pastry chef.[12] Despite his fevered actions, Ramsay has a loyal staff and has retained 85% of them since 1993.[13] Ramsay's ferocious temper has made him a favourite of television networks in both the United Kingdom and the United States, where his programmes are currently produced.[14]

Ramsay is known for his stance against vegetarianism: in one incident, he admitted to having fed a dish to a vegetarian party that contained chicken stock.[13] On the second series of The F-Word Ramsay showed a softened stance after learning about intensive pig farming practices including castration and tail docking. On the programme, Ramsay commented, "It's enough to make anyone turn fucking vegetarian, for God's sake. And I've always sort of knocked vegetarians and vegans for missing out on the most amazing flavour you can get from meat. But you can see why so many people change instantly."[15]

[edit] Personal life

Ramsay married Cayetana Elizabeth Hutcheson (known as Tana), a Montessori-trained schoolteacher, in 1996. Tana was engaged to Ramsay's best friend when they first met, and has said that she couldn't stand Ramsay when she first met him. Both Gordon and Tana were engaged when they met, but both relationships were on the wane. The couple presently have four children: Megan, twins Jack and Holly, and Matilda. Ramsay's father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, is responsible for the business operations of Ramsay's restaurant empire. [16] [17]

On November 15, 2002, Ramsay was breathalysed and 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. [18]

[edit] Charity work

Gordon Ramsay has been involved in a series of charitable events and organizations.

  • During March 2005 Ramsay teamed up with famous Indian Chef Madhur Jaffrey to help the VSO, an international development charity group to support its Spice Up Your Life event. The charity hoped to raise £100,000 for VSO’s work in HIV and AIDS in India.[1]
  • Ramsay ran the London Marathon in 2004 and 2005 to support Tommy's the baby charity. He and his wife, Tana, raised £14,000 in 2004. Ramsay commented Im proud to have run the Marathon for Tommy's, the baby charity - their cause is one very close to my heart, especially as my own twins were born three weeks prematurely in 1999.[2]
  • Tana and Gordon Ramsay were the first couple to become ambassadors for the women's charity Women's Aid in 2005. Both Tana and Gordon ran the Flora Families marathon [3] to support Women's Aid.[4]
  • The Gordon Ramsay 'Buy a Brick' appeal helps the Scottish Spina Bifida Association[5]. The association is building a Family Support Centre and Head Office in Glasgow.[6]

[edit] Trivia

  • During one episode of The-F Word, he cooked in a prison for prisoners. He challenged a prisoner to an onion chopping race which he lost. Ramsay was so impressed by the prisoner that he offered him a job at his restaurant when he is released (in 2007). On leaving the prison, he told him "Don't be late!"
  • In September 2005 Ramsay expressed an interest into moving into football again with the proposed takeover of Greenock Morton football club[19].
  • Gordon Ramsay was nominated as a candidate for Rector at the University of St Andrews, but beaten at the polls by Simon Pepper[20]. Despite a publicity campaign, Ramsay never visited St Andrews and did not appear in press interviews.
  • Ramsay has size-15 feet and his shoes are custom-made[21].
  • 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 a 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 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.
  • Gordon Ramsay completed his seventh London Marathon on 23 April 2006 (official time 3hr 46 mins 10 secs)[22]. He aims to complete ten marathons in consecutive years.
  • During Top Gear, 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.
  • Ramsay currently holds the top spot on Top Gear's celebrity leader board, with a lap time of 1.46.38[23]
  • On his show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Ramsay has stated that he is afraid of dancing, especially in front of people.

[edit] Restaurants

  • Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's (one Michelin star), Mark Sargeant (chef partner)
  • Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (three Michelin stars)
  • The Boxwood Café at the Berkeley Hotel
  • The Connaught Hotel (one Michelin star), Angela Hartnett (chef partner)
  • Maze, Jason Atherton
  • Pétrus at the Berkeley Hotel (one Michelin star), Marcus Wareing (chef partner)
  • Banquette at the Savoy Grill
  • The Savoy Grill (one Michelin star)
  • Verre at the Hilton Dubai Creek, Dubai
  • Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo, Tokyo
  • Cerise by Gordon Ramsay
  • Gordon Ramsay at The London
  • La Noisette, Bjorn van der Horst

[edit] Filmography

[edit] 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)
  • Humble Pie (2006) (Autobiography)

Master Chefs Series

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

Cook Cards

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ramsay, Gordon (2006). Humble Pie. UK: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-722967-4.
  2. ^ "Mad for it". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 1 August 2006.
  3. ^ a b "Ramsay: I will devour my New York rivals". Times Online. Retrieved on 17 Nov 2006.
  4. ^ "Gordon Ramsay is the most powerful figure in British hospitality". CatererSearch. Retrieved on 17 Nov 2006.
  5. ^ "Ramsay cooks up a £10m move abroad". Times Online. Retrieved on 17 Nov 2006.
  6. ^ "International Culinary Panel -- Singapore Airlines". Singapore Airlines Official Website. Retrieved on 17 Nov 2006.
  7. ^ "Channel 4 re-signs Gordon Ramsay in exclusive 4 year deal". channel4sales.com. Retrieved on 29 July 2006.
  8. ^ "Ramsay's kitchen to appear on Simpsons". Yahoo News (UK and Ireland). Retrieved on 6 August 2006.
  9. ^ "Chef Ramsay wins £75,000 damages". BBC News. Retrieved on 20 July 2006.
  10. ^ a b "Ramsay swears by good service". Times Online. Retrieved on 1 August 2006.
  11. ^ "Gordon Ramsay: Chef terrible". BBC News World Edition. Retrieved on 1 August 2006.
  12. ^ "Ramsay in hot water after scuffle on the set of US show". NEWS.Scotsman.com. Retrieved on 1 August 2006.
  13. ^ a b "Gordon Ramsay Interview". femalefirst.co.uk. Retrieved on 1 August 2006.
  14. ^ "Gordon Ramsay". About - Gourmet Food. Retrieved on 1 August 2006.
  15. ^ The F-Word, Series 2, Episode 6 2006.07.26
  16. ^ "Scott Descendant Chart". Scott Family Web. Retrieved on 1 August 2006.
  17. ^ "How does our Gordon grow? ". Guardian Unlimited - The Observer. Retrieved on 1 August 2006.
  18. ^ "Ramsay charged with drink-driving". Scotsman.com - News. Retrieved on 1 August 2006.
  19. ^ "Morton warn off celeb cheff Ramsay". BBC News. Retrieved on 17 Nov 2006.
  20. ^ "New university rector is welcomed". BBC News. Retrieved on 17 Nov 2006.
  21. ^ "Ramsay's Steps to Success". contactmusic.com. Retrieved on 17 Nov 2006.
  22. ^ "Latest quotes from the celebrity runners". Official London Marathon website. Retrieved on 17 Nov 2006.
  23. ^ "Top Gear Celebrity Laps". Top Gear Official Website. Retrieved on 17 Nov 2006.

[edit] External links

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