Gordon Ramsay: A Life Unfiltered – From Humble Beginnings to Culinary Empire
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Gordon Ramsay is on the cusp of unveiling his most ambitious venture yet, and this time, he’s allowing Netflix to document every moment. “Being Gordon Ramsay,” which premiered on Wednesday, follows the Michelin-starred chef as he attempts to launch four restaurants and a culinary academy within the iconic 22 Bishopsgate skyscraper in London. The six-episode series isn’t just about food; it’s a deep dive into Ramsay’s complex past, his meteoric rise, his family life with his wife Tana and their six children, and the legacy he hopes to leave behind. Here are some of the most surprising revelations from “Being Gordon Ramsay.”
A Different Name?
The culinary icon might have been known by a completely different name – one he seemingly would have preferred. “Scott’s a lot better than fucking Gordon,” Ramsay playfully quips to his wife Tana. He elaborated in a BBC Radio 2 interview, explaining he was named Gordon after his father. “They christened me and mum said, ‘We’re going to name you after your father,’” Ramsay shared, recalling doctors initially believed he wouldn’t survive more than two hours. “Scott’s a cool name,” he added. “I would’ve preferred to be called Scott.”
A Challenging Childhood
In the docuseries, Ramsay recounts a childhood marked by hardship. His mother juggled three jobs – as a cook, a night nurse, and a cleaner – while his father battled alcoholism. His younger brother has struggled with heroin addiction for four decades. Ramsay, born in Scotland, grew up in poverty. His family relocated to England and lived on a council estate in Stratford-upon-Avon. He remembers his mother patching his secondhand trousers and facing ridicule at school for using food vouchers.
“I’m not embarrassed of my past,” Ramsay asserts. “I got dealt a dysfunctional card, big fucking deal. That drives me, that puts fuel in my tank, because I was so close to not making it. That’s what keeps me going.”
A Father’s Disapproval
Ramsay reveals his father never fully embraced his culinary ambitions. He never dined at one of his son’s restaurants before passing away at age 53 from a heart attack. “Deep down inside, I would love for my dad to have tasted something and even said, ‘Yeah, good job,’” Ramsay admits. “I would’ve loved him to have understood, even though he didn’t back what I was doing or believed in where it was going. You want validation from your parents.”
Love at First Sight? Not Quite.
Both Ramsay and Tana were in relationships when they first met at a mutual friend’s wedding. “I was looking at my mate thinking, ‘Oh my god, your girlfriend is fucking gorgeous,’” Ramsay recalls. “She looked like a young Julia Roberts.” Tana, then 18, wasn’t immediately smitten. “I thought he was really arrogant, really full of himself; he used to really irritate me,” she says. “It took about a month, and then we were both single.”
“I honestly thought for many months that Tana was out of my league,” Ramsay adds. “I won her over with food.”
Mentorship Under Marco Pierre White
Ramsay credits the legendary chef Marco Pierre White with transforming his career. “He was like a father figure,” Ramsay says. “He had the gift… he put food on the plate like no other.” He was White’s “right-hand man” at The Restaurant Marco Pierre White, enduring 18-hour days six days a week in his early 20s. “I became very good very quickly,” Ramsay adds. “He brought the natural talent out of me.”
Building a Michelin-Starred Empire
Ramsay recalls that The Restaurant Gordon Ramsay “started with nothing.” Unable to afford expensive cuts of meat, he utilized oxtail. “But I still won two Michelin stars with oxtail,” he proudly states. By 2001, the restaurant had achieved the coveted three Michelin stars. “When you get that third star, everyone says it’s a sigh of relief, but it’s not a sigh of relief,” Ramsay says. “It’s fucking magical.” The Restaurant Gordon Ramsay continues to thrive today, maintaining its three Michelin stars.
Addressing the Critics
Ramsay defends himself against accusations of prioritizing television over his restaurants. “I didn’t sacrifice the restaurants for TV, and I haven’t used the TV to fake what’s going on in the restaurants,” he insists. “They go hand in glove.”
Lessons Learned from Failure
The closure of his Michelin-starred restaurant Amaryllis in Glasgow in 2004 served as a crucial learning experience. Despite being “fully booked for six months” on weekends, it was a “freaking ghost town” during the week. “No one could justify spending 120 quid for dinner on a Monday night in Glasgow,” Ramsay explains. “I left Glasgow with my tail between my legs. It was painful.” This failure informed his approach to his new London project.
The Power of Influencers
For the preview event at 22 Bishopsgate, Ramsay chose to invite influencers rather than traditional food critics. He reflects on a time when critics held immense power, often resorting to personal attacks. Now, he believes influencers are “the most powerful critics on the planet.”
A Family Affair
The series also follows Tilly’s journey at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland. Tilly’s passion for cooking began in childhood, wanting to be involved in everything her father did. “Cooking is definitely something that has brought us together,” she says. Ramsay hopes to be more present for his younger sons, Oscar and Jesse James, than he was for his older children.
22 Bishopsgate: A Culinary Destination
22 Bishopsgate will house Lucky Cat, Lucky Cat Terrace, Bread Street Kitchen, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High, and the Gordon Ramsay Academy. Ramsay aims to create “some of the best restaurants in the world,” viewing this project as his lasting legacy. He has a 20-year lease on the building and acknowledges the immense pressure to succeed. “The pressure with this project is that if it doesn’t go to plan, it’s my neck on the line,” he says. “We have to create something incredibly special to keep alive for 20 years, without a doubt.”
