Gordon Ramsay is like Marmite – you either like him or you don’t. With the proliferation of cooking shows and competitions, Ramsay sets himself apart by becoming the devil incarnate when the food preparation falls below his expectations. But for anyone that has watched his cook-along recipes or many who have worked with him, the assumption is that Ramsay merely plays up the beast for the camera. However, Ramsay insists that no, that really is a side of his personality that comes out in the kitchen. Ramsay’s fourth Las Vegas restaurant, Fish & Chips, is opening this month so Vegas Magazine talked to him about food and his wild on-air temperament. You can read the whole thing here, below are some highlights:
On his TV personality: That jacket goes on and I become a different beast because it’s about standards and I want to be remembered for that. So am I hamming it up for the camera because I think it looks good? Far from it. It’s real. So that level of passion gets misconstrued for anger. I’m live, it’s just the way I am.
On his regrets: There are times I’ve felt I’ve gone too far but yeah, I’ve made amends to pull it back up and put it back on track. Yeah definitely, but I suppose that’s the guy I am. It’s all or nothing. I don’t think it’s… listen, you guys nominated Donald Trump for president! That guy thinks it’s a reality TV show. No one has told him yet that this is real. So anyway, those closest to me and those that work alongside me, not for me—because we are all a team—will give you the real insight.
On not sacrificing his craft to fame: I started from zero and it’s so incredible. So I can’t sit back at 50. Am I ready to stop? No. I’ve found the balance in terms of family, profession, and then this sort of empire size. I have seen so many chefs fall to the wayside because they got wrapped up in the glamour of fame and adulation—it’s gone to their head and they are turning out a pile of s–t behind the scenes. That would be the death of me—I couldn’t live with myself on that one.
On his legacy: My legacy would be just like my mum taught me: It’s important to share and keep both feet firmly on the ground. Continue with that and I think I’ll be in business a long time.
Chefs can be monsters, just ask any poor beleaguered sous chef. Does Ramsay take it too far? Probably. And I think producers count on him to do so. You don’t name a show Hell’s Kitchen and expect someone to get hugged after a collapsed soufflé. I don’t watch his competition shows so all I’ve seen is the man who’s an absolute sucker for his pups. Maybe he really does have a Jekyll/Hyde personality? He is, however, truly one hell of a cook. We use his steak preparation exclusively.
According to his wife of twenty years, Tana, kitchen Ramsay is a trumped up Ramsay. She says the impression people have of him, “isn’t the man I’m married to. He loves being surrounded by the kids and their friends. He can be strict but he can be very soft. That is who he is.”
Photo credit: WENN and Fame/Flynet Photos, Instagram and Getty Images
I met him once and he couldn’t have been gentler or kinder. I don’t know if I’d expected him to scream at me exactly, but it was still a bit of a surprise! But I can also turn into a total demon in the kitchen when things don’t go right, and I don’t have hundreds of people counting on me.
Maybe it is just for the screen, but I can’t imagine working for someone like that. Sure, it toughens you up, but it can’t be good for productivity.
Also, his daughter has a cooking show. So now nepotism has reached to freaking cooking shows. Great.
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover…
Translation: Being an asshole, he can’t see anything wrong with being an asshole.
Thank you. As a life long server and bartender, I would punch this a-hole in the face if he talked to me the way he talks to people on his show. Cannot stand him.
I thought it was well known that he plays the evil card up just for the camera and that in real life he is the complete opposite. Back in the day when he was a pro footballer for Glasgow Rangers he was well known as being a really nice guy off the pitch.
He’s an obnoxious, attention-seeking, gimmick-dependant, one-note toolbag of a prat.
I adore him. Love watching all his shows. There’s a vicarious pleasure there for anyone who has been a manager and dealt with screw ups, lazy idiots, and people who think “eh good enough” when it’s obviously not. He’s not running a Denny’s, he’s running top rated restaurants that require the best of the best every day. He also practices what he preaches. He’s not yelling at people to meet a standard he’s incapable of meeting himself.
I get his “chef persona”. It’s his “on”. Many people have an “on” that comes out when they perform a certain job. Many teachers, for instance, have their “classroom” personality that, while a facet of themselves, is not how they act in day to day life. GR definitely isn’t on all the time. If you watch some of his British shows, that side of him is shown a lot more. The US shows edit that out, probably because you can’t set dramatic music to it or screech “you won’t believe what happens next!!!!!” about it.
He acts a right prat on his UK shows, too. Don’t be absurd.
I guess if you like watching someone behaving like a complete tool…..
On Hell’s Kitchen he is over-the-top, but less in later seasons. On his other shows he’s definitely different too.
My husband used to work for him, and counts it as one the best work experiences in his career.
we use that same video to cook a steak every time. it’s amazing
I think he plays it up for the cameras.
Check out his show F Word. You would do a double take.