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EspañolGORDON RAMSAY
'Gordon James Ramsay' OBE (born November 8, 1966 in Johnstone, Scotland) is a Scottish celebrity chef and currently one of only three chefs in the UK whose restaurant is rated at three Michelin stars. He has been awarded a total of ten Michelin stars. He is famous in the UK for presenting TV programmes about competitive cookery and food, and improving cooking and restaurants around the country; he is best known in the United States as the host of FOX's ''Hell's Kitchen'', which debuted in May 2005.
Early years
Gordon Ramsay is the son of Gordon and Helen Ramsay. Ramsay's father was, at various times, a swimming baths manager, welder, shopkeeper, and aspiring country-western singer and his mother, a trained nurse.[1] Ramsay has described his early life as "hopelessly itinerant", as his family moved constantly due to the aspirations and failures of his father. In past public interviews, Ramsay has declined to describe his father as an alcoholic; however, his autobiography, ''Humble Pie,1'' describes his early life as being marked by abuse and negligence from this "hard-drinking womanizer".1[2] At the age of 16, Ramsay moved out of the family house to a council flat with his older sister, Diane.
Football
Ramsay was first chosen to play under-14 football at age 11 and was chosen to play for Warwickshire at age 12. His football career was marked by a number of injuries, causing Ramsay to remark, "Perhaps I was doomed when it came to football".1 In the summer of 1984, Ramsay was being actively scouted by Scottish club, Rangers, the club he supported as a boy,[3] when he seriously injured his knee, smashing the cartilage during training. Ramsay, who is left-footed,[4] continued to train and play on the injured knee, tearing a cruciate ligament during a squash game. He never fully recovered from the double injury and was told by Rangers that he would not be signed, suggesting that he could sign with a club in a lower division. By this time, Ramsay's interest in cooking had already begun, and he chose to take on this new challenge, rather than be known as "the football player with the gammy knee".1 In September 2005 Ramsay expressed an interest in moving into football again as an owner with the proposed takeover of Greenock Morton football club.[5]
Professional education
After weighing his options, without enough O levels to join either the Navy or the Police, Ramsay enrolled at a local college, sponsored by the Rotarians to study Hotel Management. He describes his decision to enter catering college as "an accident, a complete accident".1
After his professional football career came to an end at age 19, Ramsay paid more serious attention to his culinary education. He worked as a commis chef at the ''Roxbury House Hotel'', then ran the kitchen and 60-seat dining room at the ''Wickham Arms'', until his relationship with the owner's wife made the situation difficult.1 Ramsay then moved to London, where he worked in a series of restaurants until being inspired to work for the temperamental Marco Pierre White at ''Harvey's''.1
After working at ''Harvey's'' for two years and ten months, Ramsay, tired of "the rages and the bullying and violence", decided that the way to further advance his career was to study French cuisine. White encouraged Ramsay not to take a job in Paris, but instead to work for Albert Roux at ''Le Gavroche'' in Mayfair. (While at ''Le Gavroche'', he met Jean-Claude Breton, now his Maître D' at ''Royal Hospital Road''.) After working at ''Le Gavroche'' for a year, Albert Roux invited Ramsay to work with him at ''Hotel Diva'', a ski-resort in the French Alps, as his number two. From there, Ramsay moved to Paris to work with Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon, both Michelin-starred chefs. He continued his training in France for 3 years, before succumbing to the physical and mental stress of the kitchens and taking a year to work as a personal chef on the private yacht, ''Idlewild'', based in Bermuda.1
Ramsay was nominated as a candidate for Rector at the University of St Andrews, but beaten at the polls by Simon Pepper.[6] Despite a publicity campaign, Ramsay never visited St Andrews and did not appear in press interviews.
Head chef
Upon his return to London in 1993, Ramsay was offered the position of head chef at ''La Tante Claire'' in Chelsea. Shortly thereafter, Marco White re-entered his life, offering to set him up with a head chef position and 25% share in the ''Rossmore'', owned by White's business partners. The restaurant was renamed ''Aubergine'' and went on to win its first Michelin star fourteen months later. In 1997, ''Aubergine'' won its second Michelin star. Despite the restaurant's success, a dispute with Ramsay's business owners led to his leaving the partnership in 1997.1
In 1998, Ramsay opened his own restaurant in Chelsea, ''Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road'', with the help of his father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson. The restaurant gained its third Michelin star in 2001, making Ramsay the first Scot to achieve that feat.
From his first restaurant, Ramsay's empire has expanded rapidly, first opening ''Petrus'', where six bankers famously spent over £44,000 on wine during a single meal in 2001,[7] then ''Amaryllis'' in Glasgow (which he was later forced to close) and later ''Gordon Ramsay'' at Claridge's. Restaurants at the Dubai Creek and Connaught Hotels followed, the latter branded with his protégée, Angela Hartnett's, name. Ramsay has now begun opening restaurants outside the UK, beginning with ''Verre'' in Dubai. ''Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo'' and ''Cerise by Gordon Ramsay'' both opened in Tokyo in 2005, and in November, 2006, ''Gordon Ramsay at the London'' opened in New York City.[8]
Ramsay once said that his three aims in life were to win a Catey, to receive 3 Michelin stars, and to be knighted.
Awards
Ramsay is one of only three chefs in the UK to maintain three Michelin Guide stars for his restaurant (the others being Heston Blumenthal and Alain Roux). He was appointed OBE in the 2006 honours list "for services to the hospitality industry".
In July 2006 Ramsay became only the third person to have won three Catey awards, the biggest awards of the UK hospitality industry. Ramsay's two previous Catey awards were in 1995 (Newcomer of the Year) & 2000 (Chef of the Year). The other two triple-winners are Michel Roux and Andrew and Jacquie Pern.
In September 2006, he was named as the most influential person in the UK hospitality industry in the annual ''CatererSearch 100'' list, published by Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine. He overtook Jamie Oliver, who had been top of the list in 2005.[9]
Gordon Ramsay Holdings
All of Ramsay's business interests (restaurants, media, consultancy) are held in the company Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited. Run in partnership with his father-in-law Chris Hutcheson, Ramsay owns a 69% stake valued at £55m.[10] The UK restaurants continue to expand rapidly under Marcus Wareing as Chef Patron.
Having on previous ventures acted as a combined consultant/brand, in November 2006 Ramsay announced plans to create three restaurants in the United States in partnership with private equity group Blackstone Group, who are refurbishing each of the chosen hotels into five star locations at a cost of £100M per hotel. At an investment of £3m per restaurant for the 10-year lease, all the restaurants will offer the chef’s trademark modern European cuisine, and will open in 2006/2007 at:
★ Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel in Manhattan, New York - October 20068
★ Gordon Ramsay at the Cielo in Boca Raton, Florida
★ Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel in Los Angeles
In late 2006 Gordon Ramsay Holdings purchased two London pubs; ''The Narrow'' in Limehouse, which opened in March 2007, and ''The Warrington'' in Maida Vale, which is also due to open in 2007.
Ramsay acts as a consultant to numerous catering organizations, and was recruited by Singapore Airlines as one of its "International Culinary Panel" consultants.[11]
Television
Ramsay's first foray in television was in two fly-on-the-kitchen-wall documentaries: ''Boiling Point'' (1998) and ''Beyond Boiling Point'' (2000).
In 2004, Ramsay appeared in two British television series. ''Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares'' aired on Channel 4, and saw the chef troubleshooting failing restaurants over a two-week period. This series ran its third season in 2006. ''Hell's Kitchen'' was a reality show, which aired on ITV1, and saw Ramsay attempt to train ten British celebrities to be chefs, as they ran a restaurant on Brick Lane which opened to the public for the two-week duration of the show.
In May of 2005, the FOX network introduced Ramsay to American audiences in an all-new edition of ''Hell's Kitchen'' produced by Granada Entertainment and A. Smith & Co. The show follows a similar premise as the original British series, showcasing Ramsay's perfectionism and infamous short temper. The show proved to be popular enough with audiences in the United States that, in August of 2005, shortly following the Season 1 finale, ''Hell's Kitchen'' was picked up for a second season. In August of 2006, FOX announced that ''Hells Kitchen'' had been picked up for a third season which aired in 2007. In addition, Ramsay will also be hosting a new US version of ''Kitchen Nightmares'' to run on FOX in 2007.[12] The first restaurant slated to be critiqued for this series is Lela's Fine Dining in the city of Pomona, California. In 2007, FOX announced that they had renewed ''Hell's Kitchen'' for a fourth season, for which casting calls are currently underway.
His most recent series is a food-based magazine programme titled ''The F-Word'', which launched on Channel 4 on 27 October 2005. A major part of the series focused on growing your own Christmas dinner which included raising his own turkeys. He mockingly named his turkeys Antony, Ainsley, Jamie, Delia, Gary and Nigella in reference to famous celebrity chefs. Another key feature of the programme is for a guest to cook a dish of their own and place it in competition against a similar dish submitted by Ramsay. The dishes are judged by diners who are unaware of who cooked which dish and, if the guest wins (as they have on several occasions), their dish is served at Ramsay's restaurant. During the second series of ''The F-Word'', Ramsay named the two pigs that he was raising after Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine[13] who found the naming hilarious.[14] In July 2006, Channel 4 announced that it had re-signed Ramsay to an exclusive four-year deal at the network, running until July 2011.[15] During the third series, Ramsay reared lambs that had been selected from a farm in North Wales and he named them after two Welsh celebrities Charlotte Church and Gavin Henson. The series became one of the highest rated shows aired on Channel 4 each week.[16]
During one episode of ''The F-Word'', he cooked in Marshgate Prison in Doncaster for its inmates. He challenged prisoner Kieron Tarff to an onion-chopping race, which Ramsay lost. The chef was so impressed by Tarff that he offered him a job at his restaurant when he is released (in 2007).[17]
Guest appearances
In September 2005, Ramsay, along with Jamie Oliver, Heston Blumenthal, Wolfgang Puck and Sanjeev Kapoor, was featured in CNN Internationals' ''Quest'', in which Richard Quest stepped into the shoes of celebrity chefs.[18]
In 2006, Ramsay took part in a television series for ITV1, following the lead-up to ''Soccer Aid'', a celebrity charity football match, in which he played only the first half, nursing an injury picked up in training. Ramsay captained the Rest of the World XI against an England XI captained by Robbie Williams. However, his involvement was limited after he received a four-inch cut in his calf.
During ''Top Gear'', he stated that his current cars are a Ferrari F430 and a Range Rover Sport Supercharged, the latter replacing the Bentley Continental GT he owned before realising that Jordan had the same car. He also drives a dark grey Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and a dark grey Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder (both of which featured in episodes of the F Word), as well as a white Audi Q7 (featured on an episode of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares). On May 14, 2006, he appeared on Top Gear in the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment. Ramsay currently holds the top spot on ''Top Gear's celebrity leader board, with a lap time of 1.46.38[19]
Ramsay starred in part of a National Blood Service 'Give Blood' television advertisement, in which he said that he would have died from a ruptured spleen[20] had it not have been for another man's blood donation. On October 13 2006, he was guest host on the first episode of ''Have I Got News for You's 32nd series, his appearance on which was slated by many critics and viewers, just like his guest appearance in 1999.
Ramsay is expected to lend his voice on an episode of ''The Simpsons''' 19th season, in which he teaches Homer Simpson how to cook. While nothing is known as to how Ramsay will be portrayed, he hopes that "they keep the swearing in."[21]
Lawsuits
In June 2006, Ramsay won a High Court case against the ''London Evening Standard'' newspaper, which had alleged, after reports from previous owner Sue Ray, that scenes and the general condition of Bonaparte's had been faked for ''Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares''. Ramsay was awarded £75,000 plus costs.[22] Ramsay said at the time: "I won't let people write anything they want to about me. We have never done anything in a cynical fake way".
However, in June 2007, Ramsay's show was again sued, alleging fakery, this time by a New York restaurant. The lawsuit alleged that "unknown to the viewing audience, some or all of ''Kitchen Nightmares'' are fake and the so-called 'problems uncovered and solved' by Ramsay are, for the most part, created by Ramsay and his staff for the purpose of making it appear that Ramsay is improving the restaurant". [23]
Public image and reception
Personality
Ramsay's reputation is built upon his goal of culinary perfection.[24] Since the airing of ''Boiling Point'' which followed Ramsay's quest of earning three Michelin stars, the chef has also become infamous for his fiery temperament and use of expletives.24 Ramsay famously ejected food critic A. A. Gill (along with his dining companion, Joan Collins). Gill stated that "Ramsay is a wonderful chef, just a really second-rate human being".[25] Ramsay has also had confrontations with his kitchen staff, including one incident that resulted in a police complaint filed by a pastry chef.[26] Despite his fevered actions, Ramsay has a loyal staff and claims an 85% retention rate since 1993.[27]
Ramsay attributes his pugnacious management style to the influence of previous mentors, notably chefs Marco Pierre White and Guy Savoy, father-in-law and business partner Chris Hutcheson, and Jock Wallace, his manager while a footballer at Rangers.[28] Ramsay's ferocious temper has made him a favourite of television networks in both the United Kingdom and the United States, where his programmes are currently produced.[29] His fierce personality ensured that he was voted television's most terrifying celebrity in a ''Radio Times'' poll consisting of 3,000 people.[30] MSN Careers featured an article about television's worst bosses, which listed Ramsay as the only non-fictional boss. They cited his frequent loss of his temper and his harsh critiques of cooking and people.[31]
Although Ramsay often mocks the French, two of his maître d's, Jean-Baptiste Requien (who works for Ramsay at Claridge's) and Jean-Claude Breton (Royal Hospital Road), are French.[32]
Food views
Ramsay is known for his stance against vegetarianism: in one incident, he admitted to having fed a dish to a vegetarian party that contained chicken stock.27 On the second series of ''The F-Word'' Ramsay showed a softened stance after learning about intensive pig farming practices including castration and tail docking. On the programme, Ramsay commented, "It's enough to make anyone turn fucking vegetarian, for God's sake. And I've always sort of knocked vegetarians and vegans for missing out on the most amazing flavour you can get from meat. But you can see why so many people change instantly."[33]
Some controversy arose during the third series of ''The F-Word'' when journalist Janet Street-Porter, contending that horse meat should be eaten more widely in Britain, attempted to serve horse steaks at Cheltenham horse races. She was prevented from doing so by police, who deemed the stunt 'highly provocative'. She subsequently served the meat from a private property, garnering the approval of most of the consumers shown in the programme. The conclusion of both Street-Porter and Ramsay was that horse meat merited a more prominent place in Britain's national diet. In the wake of the stunt, representatives of animal rights group PETA protested by dumping a tonne of horse manure outside Ramsay's restaurant at Claridge's in central London.[34]
Personal life
Ramsay married Cayetana Elizabeth Hutcheson (known as Tana), a Montessori-trained schoolteacher, in 1996. The couple currently have four children: Megan, twins Jack and Holly, and Matilda. Ramsay's father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, is responsible for the business operations of Ramsay's restaurant empire.[35][36]
On November 15, 2002, Ramsay was breathalysed and arrested and charged with driving under the influence of excess alcohol in London. While he remained charged, he was informed by police that the case would be discontinued.[37]
In 2007, Ramsay admitted stealing the reservations book from his Aubergine restaurant in 1998 and blaming the theft on Marco Pierre White to prevent his being appointed as chef in Ramsay's place.[38]
Ramsay is 6'2, with size-15 feet and his shoes are custom-made.[39] On his show ''Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares'', Ramsay has stated that he is afraid of dancing, especially in front of people. On a later episode, at La Gondola, he decided to "confront his demons" and is seen dancing.
Charity work
Ramsay has been involved in a series of charitable events and organizations. Ramsay has run the London Marathon in 2004, 2005 and 2007 to support Tommy's, the baby charity. Ramsay completed his third London Marathon on 22 April 2007 in 4 hrs 36 mins 10 secs (3:46:10 in 2006).[40] In 2004, He and his wife, Tana, raised £14,000. Ramsay commented: "I'm proud to have run the Marathon for Tommy's, the baby charity - their cause is one very close to my heart, especially as my own twins were born three weeks prematurely in 1999".[1] He aims to complete ten marathons in consecutive years.
During March 2005 Ramsay teamed up with Indian Chef Madhur Jaffrey to help the VSO, an international development charity group to support its ''Spice Up Your Life'' event. The charity hoped to raise £100,000 for VSO’s work in HIV and AIDS in India.[2] The Ramsays were the first couple to become ambassadors for the women's charity Women's Aid in 2005. The couple ran the Flora Families marathon [3] to support Women's Aid.[4]
The Gordon Ramsay 'Buy a Brick' appeal helps the Scottish Spina Bifida Association[5]. The association is building a Family Support Centre and Head Office in Glasgow.[6]
Restaurants
United Kingdom
★ ''Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road'' (three Michelin stars), Mark Askew (executive chef)
★ ''Pétrus at the Berkeley Hotel'' (two Michelin stars), Marcus Wareing (executive chef)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's'' (one Michelin star), Mark Sargeant (executive chef)
★ ''Angela Hartnett at The Connaught'' (one Michelin star), Angela Hartnett (executive chef)
★ ''The Savoy Grill'' (one Michelin star), Marcus Wareing (chef patron)
★ ''Banquette at the Savoy Grill'', Marcus Wareing (chef patron)
★ ''The Boxwood Café at the Berkeley Hotel'', Stuart Gillies (executive chef)
★ ''Maze'', (one Michelin star) Jason Atherton (executive chef)
★ ''La Noisette'' (one Michelin star), Bjorn van der Horst (chef patron)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5'' (Opening 2008)
Pubs
★ ''The Narrow''
★ ''The Warrington'' (Opening Late 2007)
★ ''The Devonshire House'' (Opening Late 2007)
International
★ ''Gordon Ramsay at The London'', New York, Josh Emett (chef de cuisine)[41]
★ ''Verre at the Hilton Dubai Creek'', Dubai
★ ''Gordon Ramsay at Conrad Tokyo'', Tokyo, Andy Cook
★ ''Cerise by Gordon Ramsay'', Tokyo
★ ''Cielo by Angela Hartnett'', Florida, Christopher Eagle (Head chef)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel'', Ireland (Opening Autumn 2007)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay at The London'', West Hollywood (Opening 2008)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay at The Trianon Palace'', Paris (Opening 2008)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay at The Hotel Renaissance'', Prague (Planned for 2008)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay at The Pulitzer Hotel'', Amsterdam (Planned for 2008)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay at The Atlantis Sentosa Resort'', Singapore (Planned for 2010)
Filmography
★ ''Boiling Point'' (5 part documentary) (Channel 4, 1998)
★ ''Beyond Boiling Point'' (6 part documentary) (Channel 4, 2000)
★ ''Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares'' (Channel 4, 2004 - Present)
★ ''Hell's Kitchen (UK)'' (ITV, 2004)
★ ''Hell's Kitchen (US)'' (Fox, 2005 - Present)
★ ''The F-Word'' (Channel 4, 2005 - Present)
★ ''Kitchen Nightmares'' (Fox, 2007)
Bibliography
Since 1996, Ramsay has published thirteen cookbooks. ''Gordon Ramsay's Sunday Lunch and Other Recipes from The F Word'' coincided with the second series of ''The F-Word''. Ramsay also contributes to ''The Times' Saturday magazine in the form of a food-and-drink column.
★ ''Gordon Ramsay’s Passion For Flavour'' (1996)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay’s Passion For Seafood'' (1999)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay A Chef For All Seasons'' (2000)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay’s Just Desserts'' (2001)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay’s Secrets'' (2003)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Heaven'' (2004)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy'' (2005)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay Easy All Year Round'' (2006)
★ ''Gordon Ramsay's Sunday Lunch and other recipes from the F word'' (2006)
★ ''Humble Pie'' (2006) (Autobiography)
'Master Chefs Series'
★ ''Pasta Sauces'' (1996)
★ ''Fish And Shellfish'' (1997)
'Cook Cards'
★ '' Hot Dinners'' (2006)
★ ''Cool Sweets'' (2006)
References
1. Humble Pie, , Gordon, Ramsay, HarperCollins, 2006, ISBN 0-00-722967-4
2. "Mad for it"
3. My Team: Gordon Ramsay on Rangers - ''The Observer''
4. ''Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares'' episode "Bonapartes"
5. "Morton warn off celeb chef Ramsay"
6. "New university rector is welcomed"
7. "Bankers 'sacked' over £44,000 meal"
8. "Ramsay: I will devour my New York rivals"
9. "Gordon Ramsay is the most powerful figure in British hospitality"
10. "Ramsay cooks up a £10m move abroad"
11. "International Culinary Panel — Singapore Airlines"
12. "Ramsay Finds Kitchen Nightmares in US"
13. "The Kumars at No 42 returns to BBC One". ''BBC Press Office''. Retrieved on 14 February 2007.
14. "Laid Bare". ''The Daily Mirror''. Retrieved August 29, 2007.
15. "Channel 4 re-signs Gordon Ramsay in exclusive 4 year deal"
16. "[Weekly Viewing Summary (scroll to w.e 13/05/07 - 08/07/07]". ''BARB''. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
17. "Tasty offer from TV chef to convict"
18. "Taking on the super-chefs"
19. "Top Gear Celebrity Laps"
20. "Football got me out of house"
21. "Ramsay's kitchen to appear on Simpsons"
22. "Chef Ramsay wins £75,000 damages"
23. "Ramsay accused of dirty tricks on US TV show"
24. "Ramsay swears by good service"
25. "Gordon Ramsay: Chef terrible"
26. "Ramsay in hot water after scuffle on the set of US show"
27. "Gordon Ramsay Interview"
28. "Ask me to kill a turkey or rip a pigeon's guts out and I'm fine"
29. "Gordon Ramsay"
30. "Ramsay is scariest TV celebrity". ''The Daily Mail''. Retrieved on 27 August 2007.
31. TV's Worst Bosses Mary Lorenz
32. Jean-Baptiste Requien at The London Bar - GordonRamsay.com
33. The F-Word, Series 2, Episode 6 2006.07.26
34. "The night Janet Street-Porter ate horse meat". ''Daily Mail''. Retrieved on 16 May, 2007.
35. "Scott Descendant Chart"
36. "How does our Gordon grow? "
37. "Ramsay charged with drink-driving"
38. "Ramsay cooked up theft"
39. "Ramsay's Steps to Success"
40. "Latest quotes from the celebrity runners"
41. Josh Emett at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at The London
External links
★ Homepage for the Gordon Ramsay group
★ Times Online - Food & Drink column
★
★
★ Listing of Michelin 3 star restaurants
★ Hell's Kitchen on FOX
★ More information and reviews of Gordon Ramsay's London restaurants
★ Gordon Ramsay Interview
★ Ramsay and Jamie Oliver named highest earning catering course graduates - CatererSearch
★ Gordon Ramsay's Interview on FOX News Radio
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