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The Real Life Story of Gordon Ramsay the Most Famous Chef in the World

gordon ramsay young early life story

Chances are that you already know his name. In the past decade Gordon Ramsay has undisputedly become the world’s most famous chef. Sure, there are plenty of chef’s with more books and Michelin stars. But the average citizen would be hard pressed to name any of them.

We know him as an ambitious, fun, serious, and temperamental TV chef. This is Gordon Ramsay OBE (a fancy British title we will get into below) for you. His use of expletives frequently, raw bluntness, and very strict demeanor are some of the outstanding things that define this man. The renowned British chef has a versatile career spanning several decades. He is also an established TV personality, author, and restaurateur with a massive fan base.

Introduction

As one of the most popular persons in our small screens, we understand that a lot of people are curious to know more about this man. Apart from his career as a chef, what else does he do? What are some of the highlights of his life and what’s his legacy? Well, you can find more about all these below.

Early Life and Childhood

Gordon Ramsay was born on November 8th, 1966, in Scotland’s Renfrewshire region. He is the 2nd born and has three siblings. His parents, Helen Cosgrove and Gordon James Ramsay raised him in Warwickshire from the age of five.

Even though we know him as a celebrity, Ramsay’s childhood wasn’t sweet. It was marked by incidences of child neglect and abuse from his father who was a drunkard.

As a young teen in Stratford -upon-Avon, his first love, and career prospects was soccer. He wanted to be a professional footballer and he joined the Glasgow Rangers at the age of 15 years. However, he only got to spend three years in this club. In 1985, he suffered a serious knee injury and his football life had to end prematurely.

Ramsay had to start over and this means that he had to consider new career prospects. So, he went back to school and later graduated with a degree in Hotel Management in 1987.

Gordon Ramsay’s Career as Chef

Ramsay did not start his career outrightly as a chef. At least that we know. He says he had always pictured his life as a professional footballer. However, these plans had to come to a halt because he suffered a knee injury. Earning a degree later, he ventured into the culinary world.

His career as a chef started once he finished college. The celebrity chef was a mentee, working under some of the top chefs in Europe at that time. Thereafter, he got a job as an apprentice, working with Marco Pierre White in London. Later on, he traveled to France where he sharpened his culinary skills under the mentorship of Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon.

The chef’s rise to fame started to steadily kick in 1998. This is when he appeared on the Boiling Point, a British television miniseries. Since then, his career took a significant shift and he focused on reality TV.

Even though he is known to help other chefs find a footing in this competitive industry, he also is known to have a fierce temper in his programs. Well, you can find more about this in some of his notable programs including Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen. He can make even kids cry but generally, he is fun to watch.

Gordon Ramsay’s Best TV Shows

He has starred in a broad range of TV shows. You can even find free Gordon Ramsay cooking videos for beginners on his YouTube channel. But according to IMDb, these are his most popular TV shows:

1. Gordon, Gino, and Fred’s Road Trip

This is a top-rated TV series that features Gordon, a British superstar, Fred a French master, and Gino the Italian stallion. They embark on a hilarious adventure as they search for various beverages and foods. It should be noted that each man has the task of leading the others into their own country as they search for some of the most incredible edibles.

2. Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted

It has been ranked as one of the best TV projects ever done by a Chef. Ramsay did Uncharted for NatGeo. The TV program involves traveling to different parts of the world in order to experience various types of cooking techniques and food flavors.

3. Phenoms

Well, IMDb considers this as the best work Ramsay has ever done. The chef, in this program, is in quite a different setting. You’d expect this show to be about cooking, right? Actually the show focuses on soccer and it was released in 2018 as part of the anticipated build-up for the World Cup.

4. Kitchen Nightmares

In this TV program, Ramsay’s focus is on those restaurants that are struggling. He is tasked to fix these restaurants with the hope that his expertise can cause a shift. What made Kitchen Nightmares interesting is the fact that Ramsay was involved in serious arguments with restaurant owners from time to time.

5. Hell’s Kitchen

This is the number one TV show that people think about when you mention Gordon Ramsay. Hell’s Kitchen is hilarious and engaging. It involves the chef and a team of other culinary hopefuls who are competing to win a prize- who will become the head chef at one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants. He tests them every week with different activities to analyze their skillsets. While this is an engaging cooking show, it has also been a source of hilarious memes.

6. The F-Word

Ramsay in this show focuses on his cooking skills by constantly explaining recipes with the aim of helping people to make tasty and simple home meals. The best thing about it is that after cooking, he provides the food to the invited guests.

Gordon Ramsay’s Restaurants

This is a group of restaurants and bars with only one goal, offering you top-class experience. They are found in different parts of the world. They include:

  • Restaurant Gordon Ramsay: Located in Chelsea, LONDON. It’s his flagship restaurant and holds three Michelin stars.
  • Petrus by Gordon Ramsay: located in Knightsbridge, London. It’s Michelin-starred.
  • Union Street Cafe: the modern trattoria is found in London’s Great Suffolk Street.
  • The London House: It’s found in Battersea Village and overlooks London’s popular Battersea Square.
  • Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen: it’s found in US’s Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
  • AU Trianon: the intimate restaurant is found in France’s Versailles
  • Bread Street Kitchen: it’s a modern restaurant and kitchen with a warehouse-like design. It’s found in 10 Bayfront Avenue in Singapore.
  • Bread Street Kitchen and Bar Dubai: Get a piece of London’s favorite cuisines in Dubai at Atlantis the Palm.

Gordon Ramsay’s Books

Ramsay is a published author with tons of bestselling books around the world. They include:

  • Gordon Ramsay Quick and Delicious (2019): It’s a comprehensive cookbook featuring 100 simple recipes that only take 30 minutes or less to prepare. It has straightforward instructions and tips that can help anyone in the kitchen to prepare chef-quality meals without the need to spend hours.
  • Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Fit Food (2018): this is a cookbook featuring a collection of various food recipes.
  • Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course (2012): a cookbook that can help you easily make delicious recipes from the comfort of your home.
  • Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape (2010): this book is based on his TV series on Channel 4. It involves 100 of his favorite Indian dishes.
  • Humble Pie (2008): It’s an autobiography and one of his bestsellers. In this book, he clearly highlights his full story of how he rose to become one of the famous chefs in the world. This is about his journey to stardom as a culinary chef and a celebrated powerhouse.

From the overview above, it’s clear that Ramsay is a versatile individual whose life isn’t only defined by his cooking skills. He has made and featured in various impressive shows over the years, and some of them are even multi-series thanks to their good ratings.

While we mostly know him as a top chef, he is also an established entrepreneur. His restaurants and bars are not only in the United Kingdom but also in the US, Singapore, France, and UAE among other places. He has also perfected his craftsmanship as an author, releasing numerous cookbooks over the years.

Highlights of Gordon Ramsay’s Life and Career

Gordon Ramsay has had a delightful life, privately and as a celebrity chef. The highlights of his life span through different years and across various settings. The most notable ones include:

Head Chef of Aubergine

This is considered one of his top roles at the beginning of his career. He was picked as the head chef of Aubergine in 1993. He diligently worked here and earned this restaurant a 2-star Michelin rating. In 1995, he was awarded by the Catey Awards as the Newcomer of the Year.

Note: Ramsay also won the Catey Awards in 2000 where he was named the Chef of the year. 

An Aspiring Footballer

We mostly know Gordon Ramsay as a celebrated chef. But before this, he was an aspiring professional footballer from Scotland. He had pictured his life as a footballer and he played as a Pro for the Glasgow Rangers when he was 15 years. However, his dream was cut shot in 1985 when he suffered a knee injury.

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Ramsay left Aubergine when its financial assets started to become shaky and went ahead to establish his own restaurant. The premium restaurant in London is the epitome of luxurious eating in London. Opened in 1998, this top restaurant went to earn a three Michelin Star rating in 2001, making him the first Scottish chef to win it. Since then, he has opened dozens of restaurants in other parts of the world.

Celebrity Chef

Ramsay has grown over the years to become a celebrated star. He has legions of fans internationally who love to watch him through their small screens. It should be noted that the renowned chef has some of the top-rated cooking shows in FOX and it airs in over 200 territories.

They include MASTERCHEF, MASTERCHEF JR, HELL’S KITCHEN, and the F-WORD among others. While some of his fans love how he prepares different culinary dishes, well, there are those who are in love with the drama he brings in his shows, which is quite intriguing. Most of his TV programs have multi-season runs and this simply indicates that he is a powerhouse.

Renowned Author

Outside cooking and his celebrity chef status, Ramsay is also an established author. He has launched several series of cookbooks and many of them have hit the bestsellers spot in different parts of the world. They include his autobiography – Roasting in Hell’s Kitchen that went ahead to receive an adoring legion of fans from the onset.

Besides that, his other written formulaic masterpieces include Just Desserts, the Great British Pub Food, World Kitchen, and Just Desserts among others.

An Educator

He has shared his culinary knowledge with various cooking schools. This includes the now-closed Tante Marie independent cooking school in the UK. What makes Ramsay stand out is that he isn’t afraid to use and share his skills to equip other chefs.

Gordon and Tana Ramsay Foundation

Establishing and successfully running this foundation is something that the celebrity chef cherishes. This foundation has partnered with various organizations, including the Great Ormond Street Hospital. Ramsay is a giver and he has a hand in 8 charities and more than 18 causes. They include:

  • CAFOD
  • Children in Crisis
  • Elton John AIDS Foundation
  • Women’s AID
  • UNICEF, ETC.

The causes he supports deal with:

  • Education
  • Health
  • Abuse and addiction
  • Human Trafficking
  • Poverty
  • Homelessness
  • Disaster Relief
  • Women and Children among others

OBE Recognition

Due to his significant contributions to different causes and industries, Ramsay was awarded an OBE by the queen in 2006. The Order of the British Empire (OBE) played a significant role in establishing his foundation. He wanted to make a significant difference by touching and helping the lives of other people.

Personal Life, Fun Facts, and Legacy

  • Gordon Ramsay’s signature dish is Beef Wellington.
  • Ramsay married Tana AKA Cayetana Elizabeth in 1996. They share four children between them.
  • To make a meaningful impact on charities and various causes, Ramsay and Tana set up a foundation in 2014. The platform is currently partnered with the Great Ormond Street Hospital.
  • Gordon Ramsay has an estimated net worth of $220 Million according to Celebrity Net Worth.
  • He’s a likable, fun, and short-tempered chef with rich experience in diverse culinary dishes.
  • He loves to use expletives a lot.
  • He was inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame in 2013.
  • Gordon Ramsay’s height is 6’2”.
  • His zodiac sign is Scorpio.

Gordon Ramsay Quotes

  • “I Hide Myself in Food”.
  • “I have had a lot of success, I have had failures, I learn from the failures”.
  • “The minute you start to compromise for the sake of massaging – somebody’s ego, that’s it; game over.
  • “Push your limit to the absolute extreme”.

Life Lessons from Gordon Ramsay

Ramsay’s life features impressive lessons that can touch various aspects of our lives. This may be in relation to career, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and living a fulfilling life. Some of the notable lessons that we can pick from his life in general include:

Always be ready for Change

At a young age, young Ramsay pictured himself as a professional footballer. However, he suffered an injury and this means that he could no longer play soccer at a professional level. But because he was ready to change, he ended up carving a new career path for himself.

Don’t Be Afraid to Start Small

Ramsay pictured himself as any other chef. He fully embraced his beginnings and that’s why he successfully worked under the mentorship of other prominent chefs at that time. But over the years, he has risen to stardom and even offers mentorship programs to other aspiring chefs.

Get Better

Over the years, this chef has refined his skills. Ramsay is always ready to learn and relearn. He is someone who is confident and not afraid to explore various cuisines and alter some recipes. Be willing to improve yourself from time to time and you will surely get better. Changes are always there but what matters is how you respond to them.

As an Entrepreneur, Know Your Audience

Ramsay knows his audience very well, it involves those who are interested in eating and drinking. That’s why he not only has a cooking show but he has gone ahead to write multiple culinary books. This is just not a one or two-time thing about cooking, he has a wide range of cookbooks with updated information and featuring a wide range of recipes from different backgrounds.

Travel as Much as You Can

He is an entrepreneur, an author, a family man, and a chef. However, he still finds time to travel the world while doing what he loves the most. Don’t let your career or profession confine you to one place. You can still travel the world, have fun, and still meet your career goals. Just make sure that you create time for everything.

Nobody Knows it All

There isn’t a single person who can get everything right. You are simply the best at what you do but that doesn’t mean that others can’t beat you. There are still other great chefs out there, Ramsay is only the best at what he does.

Conclusion

The versatility as well as the craftsmanship in Gordon Ramsay’s life and career is inspiring. From the onset, we can vividly see that he has worked to reach where he is today. His success and rise to fame weren’t fast, it was a gradual process over the years and he actually deserves it. Even after decades of being in the industry, Ramsay is still keen on offering some of his best works.

Chef Deno

Follow my journey as I explore food culture around the world - easily from the comfort of your own home. Proud of your food scene? I travel often and we can plan to meet up so you can share the food culture in your town.

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