Gordon Ramsay is a world-renowned chef, restauranteur, food writer and television star, who was born on the 8th November 1966 in Johnstone, Scotland, but was raised in England. He is considered to be one of the most influential chefs in the UK and across the world and the success of his restaurants back that up. Ramsay’s restaurants have collected 16 Michelin stars in total, currently holding approximately 7 of these and his restaurants have been at some of the most iconic locations, including is the three-star location in Chelsea.
He is instantly recognisable on television, widely known for his fiery and blunt approach to the kitchen, as well as the use of swear words. His catalogue of TV shows includes Hell’s Kitchen, The F Word and Kitchen nightmares, all of which has been created in multiple countries including the UK and the United States. His work has even led to him winning a 2005 Bafta.
Ramsay is a successful businessman and personality and a lot can be learned from his statements, actions and quotations collected to date. Whilst not always family-friendly, they certainly pack a punch and are full of meaning, so take note and see which ones inspire you!
1. If I relaxed, if I took my foot off the gas, I would probably die
2. I don’t run restaurants that are out of control. We are about establishing phenomenal footholdings with talent
3. The problem with Yanks is they are wimps
4. I hid myself in food
5. Swearing is industry language. For as long as we’re alive it’s not going to change. You’ve got to be boisterous to get results
6. We are about creating a new wave of talent. We are the Manchester United of kitchens now. Am I playing full-time in the kitchen? I am a player-coach
7. My wife, a schoolteacher, very disciplined. If you think I’m tough, trust me, and wait till you see when the children are on the naughty step. It’s hilarious. So we decided that I’m going to work like a donkey and provide amazing support for the family
8. I’ve never been a hands-on dad. I’m not ashamed to admit it, but you can’t run a restaurant and
be home for tea at 4:30 and bath and change nappies
9. The pressure on young chefs today is far greater than ever before in terms of social skills, marketing skills, cooking skills, personality and, more importantly, delivering on the plate. So you need to be strong. Physically fit. So my chefs get weighed every time they come into the kitchen
10. I am a chef who happens to appear on the telly, that’s it.
11. I am a grafter
12. I suppose your security is your success and your key to success is your fine palate
13. I didn’t get depressed, I don’t get depressed
14. Would I swap what I have achieved as a cook if I could have been as successful as a footballer? Definitely
15. Cooking today is a young man’s game, I don’t give a bollocks what anyone says
16. I’m quite a chauvinistic person
17. I think every chef, not just in America, but across the world, has a double-edged sword – two jackets, one that’s driven, a self-confessed perfectionist, thoroughbred, hate incompetence and switch off the stove, take off the jacket and become a family man
18. When you’re a chef, you graze. You never get a chance to sit down and eat. They don’t actually sit down and eat before you cook. So when I finish work, the first thing I’ll do, and especially when I’m in New York, I’ll go for a run. And I’ll run 10 or 15k on my – and I run to gain my appetite
19. As a soccer player, I wanted an FA Cup winner’s medal. As an actor you want an Oscar. As a chef it’s three-Michelin’s stars, there’s no greater than that. So pushing yourself to the extreme creates a lot of pressure and a lot of excitement, and more importantly, it shows on the plate
20. I was a naturally aggressive left-back, a cut-throat tackler
21. Kitchens are hard environments and they form incredibly strong characters
I train my chefs completely different to anyone else. My young girls and guys, when they come to the kitchen, the first thing they get is a blindfold. They get blindfolded and they get sat down at the chef’s table… Unless they can identify what they’re tasting, they don’t get to cook it
22. I don’t like looking back. I’m always constantly looking forward. I’m not the one to sort of sit and cry over spilt milk. I’m too busy looking for the next cow
23. I want my kids to see me as Dad, for God’s sake, not a television personality
24.It’s vulgar, coming from where I do, to talk about money
25. I still love football, though, and I think cooking is like football. It’s not a job, it’s a passion. When you become good at it, it’s a dream job and financially you need never to worry. Ever
26. There is a level of snobbery and fickleness in L.A
27. I won’t let people write anything they want to about me
28. I’m not trying to take New York by storm. I just want to sneak in there, keep my head down, batten down the hatches and cook
29. You know how arrogant the French are – extraordinary
30. I cook, I create, I’m incredibly excited by what I do, I’ve still got a lot to achieve
31. I mean, families are weird
32. Cooking is about passion, so it may look slightly temperamental in a way that it’s too assertive to the naked eye
33. If I can give you one strong piece of advice, when you go away for that romantic weekend, whatever you do, do not accept or take the upgrade to the honeymoon suite
34.The minute you start compromising for the sake of massaging somebody’s ego, that’s it, game over
35. Chefs are nutters. They’re all self-obsessed, delicate, dainty, insecure little souls and absolute psychopaths. Every last one of them
36. Running started as a way of relaxing. It’s the only time I have to myself. No phones or e-mails or faxes
37. I don’t think it’s a good advert for any restaurant, a fat chef, and secondly, who wants to eat a dessert when the chef’s a fat pig
38.My father was a swim teacher. We used to swim before school, swim after school
39. I act on impulse and I go with my instincts
40. Find what’s hot, find what’s just opened and then look for the worst review of the week. There is so much to learn from watching a restaurant getting absolutely panned and having a bad experience. Go and see it for yourself
41. I shoot from the hip
42. I am what I am. A fighter
43. I’ve had a lot of success; I’ve had failures, so I learn from the failure
44. When you find a guy who is powerful, a big father figure, you latch onto him immediately
45. I’m Gordon Ramsay, for goodness sake: people know I’m volatile
46. They say cats have nine lives. I’ve had 12 already and I don’t know how many more I’ll have
47. I am the most unselfish chef in Britain today
48. When you cook under pressure you trade perfection
49. There’s a bond among a kitchen staff, I think. You spend more time with your chef in the kitchen than you do with your own family
50. I swim like a fish and I have an amazing kick
51. I grew up in a funny way
52. I came up from a difficult background
53. You don’t come into cooking to get rich
54. I’d like to think I’m a great teacher
55. No one saw the recession coming
56. I’m not critic-proof, and I still take it personally, but I take it less personally now
57. I’ve got nothing to hide
58. If you want to become a great chef, you have to work with great chefs. And that’s exactly what I did
59. It’s very hard when you eat out every day for a living, and a new restaurant comes along and you haven’t got that same vigour that you had 10 years ago
60. I don’t like looking back. I’m always constantly looking forward. I’m not the one to sort of sit and cry over spilt milk. I’m too busy looking for the next cow