30 Unknown Facts About The World Famous Celebrity Chef – Gordon Ramsay

Gordon James Ramsay, OBE, is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality, world famous for his fiery temper, strict demeanour, and use of expletives. He is one among the best known celebrity chefs in British popular culture. Here are 30 facts about the chef:

1. A total of 16 Michelin stars, considered to be a hallmark of fine dining quality, have been awarded to his restaurants. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, his signature restaurant in Chelsea, London, has been awarded 3 Michelin stars since the year 2001, which signifies the restaurant to be “exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey.”
2. Ramsay was appointed as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II, in the 2006 honors list for services to the hospitality industry.
3. He claims his decision to taking up a career in catering to be a mere “accident, complete accident.”
4. He worked with Michelin-starred chefs Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon, during his training in Paris, after working with Albert Roux at Le Gavroche in Mayfair and Hotel Diva, a ski resort in the French Alps. He later claimed in an episode of “Master Chef,” that Guy Savoy was his mentor.
5. His first documented role in TV was with “Boiling Point,” and “Beyond Boiling Point,” in 1998 and 2000, respectively, both being fly-on-the-kitchen-wall documentaries.
6. After working as personal chef for a year, he moved back to London in 1993 and took up the job as head chef, reporting to chef-patron Pierre Koffmann, at the Three Michelin starred La Tante Claire in Chelsea. However, he left La Tante Claire within a short period, for Marco Pierre White, who offered him a head chef position and 10% share in the Rossmore, which was later renamed as Aubergine, owned by White's business partners.
7. With his signature restaurant – Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, in Chelsea, he became the first Scottish chef in the history to have earned three Michelin stars.
8. He received the third Catey award in July 2006, becoming the third person to have won three Catey awards, after Michel Roux and Jacquie Pern. He received the awards for Newcomer of the Year in 1995, Chef of the Year in 2000 and Independent Restaurateur of the Year in 2006.
9. It was reported that he once ejected the famous food critic A.A. Gill and his dining companion Joan Collins from his restaurant, following which Gill called Ramsay to be a “really second-rate human, though a wonderful chef.” Ramsay admitted this incident in his autobiography saying he could take it if Gill insulted his food, but it’s a personal insult that he would never take.
10. Before focusing on Chef career, he played football and when he was just 12 years old, he was chosen to play for Warwickshire, under-14 football category.
    
11. All of his business interests including the restaurants, consultancy and the media, are held by the company Gordon Ramsay Holdings, which he ran in partnership with Chris Hutcheson, his father-in-law. He reportedly holds 69% stake at the company. However, Hutcheson left his position on October 19, 2010. According to the company’s accounts, it was revealed that Hutcheson has borrowed up to £1.5 million. In April 2017, Hutcheson was charged with conspiracy to hack the computers in Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited, for which he pleaded guilty.
12. He claims that, when it comes to football, he was doomed, as he football career was mainly marked by injuries. Within months of playing a couple of non-league matches for Rangers as a trialist, he injured his knee, tearing a cruciate ligament.
13. He hosted a St Andrew's Day Gala Dinner at Stirling Castle, in an effort to aid the Scottish Spina Bifida Association in November 2007. Eventually, the-said fundraising Gala Dinner has become an annual event.
14. After moving to London, he reportedly held various positions in a series of restaurants, until the inspiration to work for Marco Pierre White at Harveys hit him, where he worked for nearly 3 years, then decided to study French cuisine.
15. Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine named him as the most influential person in the UK hospitality industry in September 2006, replacing Jamie Oliver who led the list in 2005.
16. In the year 2013, Ramsay was inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame, an institution honoring chefs and institutions.
17. While filming a puffin hunting segment in Westman Islands, Iceland, he reportedly fell off an 85 feet (26 m) cliff and landed in the icy water. He had to get rid of his waterproof clothing and the heavy boots, in order to reach the surface if the water. He was rescued by his filming crew, who threw him a rope. It is said that he was submerged for at least 45 seconds.
18. He described his childhood days in his autobiography “Humble Pie,” to have been marked by abuse and neglect from his father, “a hard-drinking womanizer,” due to whom they have constantly been moving.
19. He was employed as a commis chef in the early 1980s at the Wroxton House Hotel. He is said to have run the kitchen along with the 60-seat dining room at the Wickham Arms for a period of time, until a very difficult situation (sexual relationship with the owner’s wife), made him quit the job.
20. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, his signature restaurant was listed among the top two spots in the "most disappointing cooking" category by the Harden’s restaurant guide, while The Good Food Guide ranked it to be the second best in the country, claiming it to be "the nearest thing to a world-class restaurant experience currently on offer in the capital."
    
21. Known for his ferocious temper, he was listed in the TV Guide’s list of “The 60 Nastiest Villains of all time,” in the year 2013. However, he proved almost everyone wrong, when he hosted the “Masterchef Junior,” as his interactions with the kids was more considerate and sensitive, in contrast with humans.
22. He was recruited as one of the consultants in the "International Culinary Panel" of Singapore Airlines. He also acts as a consultant to various other catering organizations.
23. He opened Gordon Ramsay at the London in New York City, in November 2006, which turned out to be the top newcomer in the city's coveted Zagat guide. However, the restaurant lost its two Michelin stars in October 2013.
24. He trained in French cuisine in Paris for three years before he took to work as a personal chef on the private yacht Idlewild, based in Bermuda, as he needed a break from the physical and mental stress of the kitchens.
25. He married Cayetana Elizabeth Hutcheson in 1996, and has four children with her - Megan, Matilda, and twins Jack and Holly. He resides with his family in Wandsworth Common, London.
26. He opened his first restaurant – Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, at Royal Hospital Road, London, in 1998, with the help of Chris Hutcheson, his father-in-law and a few of his former colleagues at Aubergines. Within a period of three years, the restaurant went on to bag its third Michelin star. It was also named as Top Restaurant in the UK by Zagat Survey.
27. Since 2004, he has been Honorary Patron of the Scottish Spina Bifida Association, sponsoring which, he fulfilled his wish of completing 10 marathons with a period of 10 years.
28. His flagship restaurant - Restaurant Gordon Ramsay has been voted as the London's top restaurant, by the Harden’s restaurant guide for eight consecutive years, before losing to Petrus, run by his protégé of 15 years Marcus Wareing, in the year 2008.
29. In the year 2005, he and his wife, were the first couple to have become ambassadors for Women’s Aid, a women’s charity, and in an effort to support the charity, the duo are said to have ran the Flora Families marathon.
30. The Harden’s restaurant guide as once named his signature restaurant – Restaurant Gordon Ramsay as the most overpriced in the United Kingdom. In the year 2011, it listed the restaurant at #17 in the "most mentioned" league table category in London, 8 points down from the position of #9 the previous year.
31. Gordon Ramsay net worth: $160 Million