Gordon Ramsay

About Gordon Ramsay

In addition to being a world-renowned Michelin star chef, Ramsay is best recognized for his appearances on MasterChef, Hell’s Kitchen, and Kitchen Nightmares.^[5] Known for his humorous insults, creative use of profanity, quick temper, and intolerance for excuses, Ramsay has attracted millions of television viewers.^[6] 

With his successful career in restaurants and television, Chef Gordon Ramsay is worth an estimated $220 million and earns around $60 million per year.^[7]  

Gordon James Ramsay was born on November 8, 1964, in Johnstone, Scotland, located in the Central Lowlands.^[8] Ramsey’s mother Helen was a nurse, and his father Gordon James Sr. had a variety of jobs such as being a welder and shopkeeper.^[9] Ramsay has three siblings: Ronnie, Diane, and Yvonne. Additionally, he has a half-sister, Sharon Donnachie, a child Gordon Sr. secretly fathered before Ramsay’s parents married.^[10]

When he was nine, his family moved to Stratford-upon-Avon in England.^[11] As a teenager, Ramsay showed the potential to become a professional footballer, and the family moved back to Scotland so Ramsay could be trained toward this goal. After sustaining a knee ligament injury, Ramsay’s dreams of playing the sport at a higher level ended.^[12] 

Adapting, Ramsay moved to London to begin developing culinary skills in the early 1990s. By the mid-1990s, Ramsay was a renowned Michelin star chef.^[8] In 1998, he opened his first restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, which has maintained three Michelin stars since 2001.^{[13] [4]} Today, Ramsay has opened 58 restaurants under Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited, the umbrella organization for all of his businesses.^{[1] [14]} 

The empire of Gordon Ramsay shows began in 1999 with Boiling Point—a docuseries where a television crew follows the chef as he opens up his first restaurant.^[15] Since then, according to IMDb, he’s been an executive producer and executive lead on 27 television shows and specials.^[16] He is best known for his work on MasterChef, MasterChef Junior, Kitchen Nightmares, and Hell’s Kitchen.^[17]

Early Life

Ramsay’s father, Gordon James, Sr., was a violent alcoholic who often abused their mother, Helen, in front of him and his three siblings. He also reveals in Humble Pie, he and his siblings were the subject of his father’s abuse, too.^[18] Growing up, Ramsay and his family were constantly moving from home to home because his father could not keep a job. As he pens in a piece for CNN, “There were instances when the police were called to take him away; mum was taken to the hospital while we kids were taken to a children’s home.”^[19]

In Stratford-upon-Avon, Ramsay started his career in restaurants washing dishes at a local Indian restaurant where his sister was a waitress. As he tells British late-night host Jonathan Ross, “That’s where I learned, seriously, to make an amazing curry . . . I think I was on like £1.75 an hour.”^[20] 

In the mid-1980s, Ramsay was spotted by a football scout for the Glasgow Rangers. Afterward, he moved back to Scotland so he could play on a youth team there. Shortly thereafter, Ramsay was dismissed after a knee injury. Upon revisiting Ibrox Stadium during filming for The F Word, Ramsay said, “Any form of pain that I experienced here was eradicated when I won my third Michelin star. And, had I not had the upset in football here in Ibrox, I don’t think I’d be the chef I am today.”^[21]  

Early Culinary Career

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gordon Ramsay began working at Harveys with Chef Marco Pierre White in London.^[22] While in London, he also trained with famed chef and restauranteur Albert Roux who founded Britain’s first Michelin-star restaurant, La Gavroche.^[23] Roux invited Ramsay to work with him at Hotel Diva in the French alps, helping to further grow Ramsay’s career. 

While in France, Ramsay met world-famous chefs Joël Robuchon and Guy Savoy in Paris.^[24] In an interview with Esquire, Ramsay says, “Marco Pierre White taught me how to put food on a plate with absolute finesse. Guy Savoy taught me how to extract a depth of flavour, something so pure. And Albert Roux taught me how to take the cheapest ingredients and transform them into something magical. I mean really magical. But above all, those chefs drummed into me, you never send a mistake.”^[25] 

In 1993, Ramsay returned to London and became the head chef of Aubergine in London, winning the restaurant two Michelin stars and earning the title “Best Newcomer” at the 1995 Catey Awards.^[26] 

Life as a Restauranteur

A few years later, in 1998, Ramsay ventured out on his own, opening Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, the most famous of Gordon Ramsay restaurants (in Chelsea, London).^[13] By 2001, the restaurant earned three Michelin stars, which it still holds today.^[4] 

Since 1998, Ramsay has owned and operated almost 60 restaurants.^[1] Many of these are successful restaurant chains (many located in London, England, and Las Vegas, Nevada), including:^[27]

• Bread Street Kitchen & Bar
• Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill
• Gordon Ramsay Burger
• Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips
• Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen
• Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill
• Gordon Ramsay Steak
• Le Pressoir d’Argent
• Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay
• Maze
• Pétrus by Gordon Ramsay
• Ramsay’s Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay
• Savoy Grill
• Street Burger
• Street Pizza
• York & Albany 

Top Culinary Accolades

The top recognition for culinary excellence is awarded by the tire company Michelin as “Michelin stars.” Restaurants considered for this award are given one to three Michelin stars based on their exceptionality.^[28] As a chef, Gordon Ramsay has won 17 Michelin stars throughout his career.^[2] He currently holds seven Michelin stars that are dispersed across Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (3 stars), Le Pressoir d’Argent (2 stars), Gordon Ramsay au Trianon (1 star), and Pétrus by Gordon Ramsay (1 star).^[29] 

Ramsay is currently one of three people in the world to be a triple winner of the prestigious Catey award, which he describes as “the hospitality industry’s equivalent of the Oscars.” He won “Chef Newcomer of the Year” at the Cateys in 1995 and “Chef of the Year” in 2000. In 2006, he won “Restaurateur of the Year” for Maze, which won a Michelin star after only being open for eight months.^[30]

Additionally, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Ramsay as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2006 for his work in the hospitality industry.^[13] 

In 2016, Ramsay ranked number 34 on Forbes’ “The Global Celebrity 100” list, which names the world’s highest-paid celebrities. He was the only chef featured and tied with famed singer and artist Beyoncé.^{[31] [32]}

Television Career

Gordon Ramsay has starred in various television roles since the release of the docuseries Boiling Point, which aired in 1999.^[15] Since then, his top television appearances include:

• Beyond Boiling Point (2000): This docuseries follows Boiling Point, giving viewers an insider’s look at Ramsay’s journey to obtain three Michelin stars.^[33] 
• Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (2007–2014): The U.K. version of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares originally aired in 2004 with Channel 4.^[34] Several years later, Chef Ramsay launched an American version of the show. The premise of Kitchen Nightmares was to transform failing restaurants with Chef Ramsay’s help. During the episodes, Ramsay would provide extreme honesty and directness about what needed to change, oftening pointing out disgusting conditions, poor food preparation, bad management, and more. Normally, a positive change would occur with Ramsay’s guidance.^[35] 
• Hell’s Kitchen (2004–present): Like Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen first launched in the U.K. A year later, in 2005, the show made its way to the U.S., where it is still producing new seasons and episodes.^[36] The show is a competition that follows two teams of chefs competing for the prize of becoming head chef at one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants. It has been nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards.^[37]  
• The F Word (2005–2010): The F Word was a live cooking show that featured Ramsay serving a three-course meal while entertaining guests in cook-offs, demonstrating recipes, and inviting celebrity guests to the show.^[38] One season of The F Word aired for American audiences in 2017.^[39] 
• MasterChef USA (2010–present): MasterChef originally aired in the 1990s, but was revived in Britain during the early 2000s.^[40] After seeing success, an American version was created. The show follows contestants who are home cooks as they compete for the title of “MasterChef.” Ramsay is the only judge to be on every season of the television show since it aired in the U.S. In 2013, the show won Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series during the Primetime Emmy Awards.^[41]

Ramsay has 27 film credits as an executive lead and producer, highlighting his long and successful career in television and film.^[16]  

Critical Acclaim and Awards for Film and TV

According to IMDb, Gordon Ramsay has 17 nominations for major awards in film, winning six of these. He won “Best Features” for Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) in 2005, and was nominated for another BAFTA in 2008. Additionally, he was the 2008 and 2009 winner of “Favourite International Personality or Actor” at the Astra Awards for Hell’s Kitchen. His other accolades include wins at the YouTube Creator Awards and at the Television and Radio Industries Club Awards. 

While nominated for MasterChef Junior in 2017, Ramsay has yet to receive a Primetime Emmy Award.^[42]  

Books

Fans can learn all of the Gordon Ramsay recipes the chef uses by reading a variety of the almost 50 cookbooks he’s published. These include:

• Ramsay in 10 (2021)
• Gordon Ramsay Quick and Delicious (2019)
• Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Fit Food (2018)
• Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen Cookbook (2016)
• Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Home Cooking (2013)
• Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course (2012)

In addition to cookbooks, Ramsay published these autobiographical works: Humble Pie (2006), Roasting in Hell’s Kitchen (2006), and Playing with Fire (2007).^[43] 

Personal Life

Gordon Ramsay is married to Cayetana Elizabeth “Tana” Ramsay (née Hutcheson). The two met in 1992 when she was 18 years old and he was 26. Initially, Tana was dating a friend of Ramsay’s, but he waited for them to break up and then focused on pursuing her. After four years of dating, the couple married in 1996. 

Soon, the Ramsays started a family through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Their first child, Megan, was born in 1998. In 2000, twins Holly and Jack were born. A year later, Matilda “Tilly” was born in 2001. While it seemed the Ramsays were done growing their family, they announced another pregnancy in 2016. However, Ramsay’s wife sadly lost the baby when she was five months along. In 2019, Tana gave birth to Oscar, the most recent addition to the family.^{[44] [45]} 

Gordon Ramsay Quotes

• “When I think about myself, I still see a little boy who is desperate to escape, and keen to please. I just keep going, moving as far away as possible from where I began. Work is who I am, who I want to be. I sometimes think that if I were to stop working, I’d stop existing.” ―Gordon Ramsay, Humble Pie
• “You need to know what you’re aiming for in order to reach it,” Gordon Ramsay, Playing With Fire
• “A recipe is a guideline. Adding, subtracting, evolving it—that is part of the pleasure.” ―Gordon Ramsay, Cooking for Friends
• “I’ve always said pressure is healthy, it depends on how you handle it. When you’re under immense pressure, I think you get the best results.” —Gordon Ramsay, “Interview with Belfast Telegraph”^[46]
• “Like everything in life, learning to cook is all about the failure of your attempts. You have to be resilient and dust yourself down and go again.” —Gordon Ramsay, “Interview with Whalebone”^[47]

Gordon Ramsay’s Latest Projects

Gordon Ramsay is currently working on multiple projects at his production company, Studio Ramsay. Kitchen Commando, featuring former U.S. Army Master Sergeant Chef Andre Rush is one of the most recent shows the organization launched in February 2023.^[48] Lisa Edwards, the chief creative officer at Studio Ramsay tells Variety, “One of the goals at Studio Ramsay is making shows without Gordon in them . . . So we’re constantly looking at new talent that we can work with and Chef Andre is someone that we have had on our radar for a while . . . .”^[49] 

In addition to this, Ramsay is still producing new episodes of Hell’s Kitchen and focusing on his latest television series Next Level Chef.^[16]