Famous Chef – Gordon Ramsay

Gordon Ramsay is one of the world’s best chefs and restaurateurs. Born in Scotland in a working class family, today he is worth millions of dollars – and this is a fortune he has created himself, right from scratch. Find out more about the stellar career of Gordon-Ramsey.

Gordon James Ramsay, one of the world’s top celebrity chefs, is perhaps best known for his role in the famous television cookery show: Hell’s Kitchen. Awarded a total of 16 Michelin Stars during his entire career so far, he is considered to be among the best chefs and restaurateurs in the world. Just so you know, Michelin Stars are awarded only to a small number of restaurants that are of an outstanding quality. But wanting to become the world’s best chef is not how Gordon Ramsay started his career.

Gordon Ramsay started out as a football player at the age of 12. He admits that this was his way out of a home which had an alcoholic father who abused his mother. But destiny had something else in mind for him. He injured his knee and tore a ligament – eventually causing him to leave football. So by the age of 19 he started to pay more attention towards creating a career in catering.

Gordon Ramsay began working as a commis chef at the Wroxton House Hotel. He had to leave because of his relationship with the owners wife. Then he moved to London where he worked under the very temperamental Marco Pierre White at Harveys. Eventually, wanting to enrich his career, he moved to France. There, he worked with great chefs like Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon for about three years and further improved his technique with French cuisine. After that he worked as a personal chef on the private yacht Idlewild, which was based in Bermuda.

In 1993, Gordon Ramsay returned to London and was offered the position of the Head Chef at La Tante Claire in Chelsea. Then, along with Marco Pierre White and some of White’s business partners, Gordon Ramsay started a restaurant called the Aubergine. He also worked at the Aubergine as a head chef and had a 10% partnership stake in the establishment. However, in 1997, the partnership fell out. So in 1998, Gordon Ramsay opened his own restaurant called the Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road. By 2001, the restaurant had earned its third Michelin star. And from that point onwards, Gordon Ramsay has not looked back.

Gordon Ramsay’s career in television began in 1998 with a documentary film called ‘Boiling Point’ which was then followed up with ‘Beyond Boiling Point’ in 2000. In 2001, he appeared on an episode of ‘Faking It’ where he helped a prospective chef learn the trade. This episode won the BAFTA award for the Best Factual TV Moment.

Then, Gordon Ramsay starred in a British television series titled ‘Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares’ where he visited failing restaurants and helped them to find their way out of their slump. This series is still going on and ran its fifth season in 2007. Gordon Ramsay also began to star in another series called ‘Hell’s Kitchen’. This was a reality show, where he tries to train 10 celebrities to be chefs as they run a restaurant on Brick Lane which is open to the public for a duration of 2 weeks, during the show. In 2005, the American version of Hell’s Kitchen was launched – this show is now slotted for its sixth season. He also hosted the American version of Kitchen Nightmares, which is also slotted for its third season. During this time, Gordon Ramsay has made his reputation as a perfectionist and also for his short temper, peppered with a dose of swear words.

In 2005, Gordon Ramsay launched a food based program titled ‘The F-Word’ which is a brigade competition, a guest cook competition, a food related investigative report and a series long project of raising animals which are then served in the finale.

Ramsay has also starred in the BBC series Extras (Christmas Special) and is also starring in Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live, and Gordon Ramsay: Uncensored.

Today, Gordon Ramsay owns at least 10 restaurants across the world and has been the recipient of several awards (including Michelin Stars) and his net worth today is in the upwards of 65 million Pounds. He also consults several eating establishments who have gone on to make a fine name for themselves in the hospitality industry. Gordon Ramsay has also written over 15 different cookbooks.

Truly Gordon Ramsay’s life has been an amazing journey of surmounting hardships in childhood, changing careers midway and then launching onto one of the most stellar careers in the culinary industry today.