Food
The Enduring Excellence of Gordon Ramsay
It’s inconceivable to not have an opinion on Gordon Ramsay, chef provocateur without peer. From his salty vocabulary to his blond coif and the soft folds of his instantly recognisable face, you’re either a fan or not, but one thing is true nonetheless: he is, of all celebrity chefs, impossible to ignore.
The publication of the magisterial Restaurant Gordon Ramsay: A Story of Excellence in 2023 goes a long way to demonstrating why. It’s a distillation of decades of technique, an insight into what’s required to hold onto three-Michelin-star status despite the slings and arrows of fickle tastes and an industry seemingly forever in flux.
Created in partnership with Restaurant Gordon Ramsay’s present chef patron, Australia’s Matt Abé, it’s also a journey through the seasons, with recipes that challenge and reward in equal measure; much like Ramsay himself, whose antagonism – by the accounts of those who know him best – is closely matched only by his generosity.
Abé, who was made chef patron of Ramsay’s flagship restaurant in 2020 after earning his stripes there as head chef, recalls being attracted to the idea of working with the volcanic personality from the very outset of his career as a fledgling chef across iconic Australian venues like Aria and Vue de monde.
“My first memories of Gordon’s cuisine were when I watched Boiling Point back when I was 17,” says Abé, referencing the fly-on-the-wall British television series from 1998 that documented Ramsay’s trials and tribulations as he opened the first of what would become many venues, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.
“I was always looking to push the limits and challenge myself in all aspects of my life,” Abé says. “Moving to London and working for Gordon was all part of the goal I had set for myself early.” The experience of entering into a Ramsay kitchen for the first time certainly left an impression.
“It was like walking into the theatre of dreams,” says Abé. “Fast-paced, quiet and intense…. the energy was both daunting and exhilarating, very addictive.” In many ways, he could be describing Ramsay himself.
A young Gordon Ramsay with wife Tana and first child Megan, at home in Stockwell (Image Credit: Times Newspapers/Shutterstock).
Gordon Ramsay turning up the heat in Hell’s Kitchen, 2005 (Image Credit: Greg Gayne/Granada/Fox TV/Kobal/Shutterstock).
Hero image credit: Nine
THE ART OF SACRIFICE
Ramsay’s life and career – the hardscrabble childhood with an abusive father, the dashed dreams of a soccer career, the trials by fire alongside figures like Marco Pierre White, Guy Savoy and the Roux brothers – have been exceedingly well-documented, both in the press, and by his own hand in his 2006 memoir Humble Pie. When asked to reflect on what has changed in the years between Boiling Point and today, he’s characteristically forthright.
“Launching my first ever restaurant, I’d sacrificed a lot – I’d asked my wife at the time to sell our apartment, to conjure up the kind of deposits that were needed to get the borrowings from the banks,” Ramsay says. “It was this moment in time that caught a man on a mission, that was prepared to sacrifice everything and anything it took to becoming a success.”
With a young child at home, Ramsay would sleep at Royal Hospital Road, which was fully-booked “from the get-go”, placing it under immense pressure. “It showed the real-life trauma of what it takes to run a business at the high end, and strive for perfection,” he says.
“The difference today is night and day – we have an infrastructure, we have an amazing team, and we’ve gone from one restaurant to over 85 restaurants globally. And yeah, my management skills have changed since then.” Ramsay shares his long-time maître d’s (now brand ambassador) observation of the change: “Jean Claude still says that, you know, today, Gordon’s like a fine bottle of wine. The longer you leave him, the more mature it gets. So yeah, big difference.”
It was this moment in time that caught a man on a mission, that was prepared to sacrifice everything and anything it took to becoming a success.
- Gordon Ramsay
REAPING THE WHIRLWIND
What hasn’t changed is the energy and vitality of the food behind the name. As the eponymous publication reveals of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, there’s a distinct through-line from the earliest days of his approach, where he upended notions of what British cuisine could be by importing techniques learnt from the likes of Guy Savoy in Paris – aerated foams, sauces finished with purées of fresh basil and so on. “I rapidly became the new kid on the block.”
It was a marked shift from the traditionally heavy-handed approach to flavour typical of British cooking at the time. “Incredible fresh ingredients, with new, modern techniques on how to finish stuff,” he recalls. “So yeah, I was one of the first British chefs to sort of put that, you know, fine dining with a light touch on the map. No one had done that before, and I brought that kind of magic coupled with what I’d learned from Marco and La Gavroche.”
Speaking of Marco brings to mind an anecdote from Humble Pie, where Gordon deftly sidestepped a difficult situation between Marco and the owners of Aubergine in order to prepare the ground for Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, by ‘disappearing’ Aubergine’s reservations book, catching his once-mentor flat-footed.
“Outwitting your mentors is a very bold move,” Ramsay concedes. “I knew I had one shot at that. And that was one of the most-scariest but important moves in my entire career. Because had I not outmanoeuvred him, he would have done his absolute best to take me down. So you go for it. You don’t worry about the consequences. You learn to dance in the rain. And when the storm comes, you stand strong.”
A young Gordon Ramsay, ready to take on the world (Image Credit: Ken Towner/Evening Standard/Shutterstock).
Ramsay at work in the kitchen circa. 2000 (Image Credit: Mimi Mollica/Shutterstock).
THE POWER AND THE PASSION
Indeed, one could say that Ramsay has made his career a case study in how transcending tough scenarios can lead to extraordinary success. Witness his television career, which has arguably made him the most visible – if not the most popular – chef in the world.
“I’m very lucky to have been working on television for over two decades,” he says. “I love the producer part, where I can get super creative and the challenges. I love finding talent across shows like Hell’s Kitchen. And I love that really tough scenario where I’m put in that situation with Kitchen Nightmares, when these restaurants were sadly going to close anyway – to be given the opportunity to throw them a lifeline, you know, to put them back on the map.”
Such is Ramsay’s visibility and reach that in 2022 he was recognised by the International Hospitality Institute as one of the ‘100 Most Powerful People in Global Hospitality’ (a markedly different accolade than that bestowed on him in 2013 by TV Guide, as one of its ‘60 Nastiest Villains of All Time’). Is it fair to say then that Ramsay’s cognisant of – and comfortable with – the fact that he has, when it comes down to brass tacks, become a living legend?
“You know, that word scares the shit out of me because I’m still a chef restaurateur. I take this career incredibly seriously,” he says. “So recently, being given the GQ Lifetime Achievement Award sort of scared me thinking ‘shit, this is coming to an end’. So, living legend is a little bit… it sounds nice on the outside, but it’s certainly not slowing me down.”
Not by a long shot. “It’s certainly not making me, you know, walk around with my head up my arse,” he continues. “But I think part of the success is down to the sacrifices I made early on, with no social life and not having a large group of friends and just putting my head down to master my craft. I can only maintain where I am because of the amount of experience I’ve dived into.”
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road in its opening year, 1998 (Image Credit: Tony Larkin/Shutterstock).
Chefs Matt Abé and Gordon Ramsay of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (Image Credit: Restaurant Gordon Ramsay).
SHARING THE VISION
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay: A Story of Excellence is more than a restaurant recipe book. It’s a memoir of sorts, an almanac almost, and a beautiful object in its own right. In it, Ramsay describes the delight of collaboration, “sharing ideas and getting excited about the creative opportunities we’d have with the best produce we could lay our hands on.”
Abé testifies to that same thrill. “Gordon and I are always sharing ideas no matter the time or where we are in the world. If it’s a new product, different technique, new opening, interesting presentation,” says Abé. “We talk freely about different ways of doing things and the pros and cons… it’s always a collaboration.”
In the book, Ramsay describes Abé in the way a mentor would a star pupil. It’s a telling insight into the degree of trust Ramsay places in those who have proven themselves, as well as the acumen of Ramsay’s management of talent – after all, his stable of career chefs is an intrinsic part of why Restaurant Gordon Ramsay has maintained its three-Michelin-star ranking all these years.
“From the get-go my current chef patron, Matt Abé, had all the necessary qualities to run the restaurant,” Ramsay writes. “He’s been with us now for over 15 years and proved he is an extraordinary chef… everything he puts on the plate makes sense and remains true to the principles of the restaurant. He has managed brilliantly to maintain the standards and run the business, while evolving as a chef and putting his own imprint on our dishes.”
Of Abé’s place in the lineage of talent he has shepherded towards their own greatness, Ramsay says “we’re talking about a breed of chefs that are, you know, literally at the top of their careers.” It’s a degree of excellence “that can match my standards and hold the fort.” After all, as he writes in the book’s introduction, “You don’t deliver perfection by holding back.”
From the get-go my current chef patron, Matt Abé, had all the necessary qualities to run the restaurant… everything he puts on the plate makes sense and remains true to the principles of the restaurant.
- Gordon Ramsay
THE LUCKY COUNTRY?
Today, Ramsay’s family life sounds as busy as anything any kitchen could throw at him – no mean feat for a man who oversees restaurants around the world and has published almost 30 cookbooks spanning everything from simple-to-prepare family meals to high cuisine.
He’s a father again with the recent birth of Jesse James last year, which saw the family gather for New Year in Cornwall to celebrate both that occasion and the birthday of twins Jack and Holly. “It’s always an amazing birthday celebration coupled with a welcome to a new year because Jack and Holly were born on the 31st of December,” Ramsay shares. “So it’s a double party. And a wonderful family celebration.”
He’s back on Australian screens later this year also with Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, where he’ll guide and mentor aspiring culinary pioneers with Boost Juice founder Janine Allis. “I’m so fricking happy with the talent we’ve unearthed,” he says of the show.
“It’s the energy I feed off in Australia, because it’s brash, it’s full on, they tell you straight. I love that robustness.” And he’s equally effusive in his praise for this country’s quality produce and kitchen talent. “Australia has always held a very special place in my heart. You have an incredible foodie culture and are now a force to be reckoned with.”
Of particular appeal is our seafood, beef and wine. “I’ve come across some of the best beef in the world in Australia. But very few countries like Australia produce great, great, great, great beef and great wine. Everyone used to think it was coming out of France, but it’s not. Australian wine is some of the most prominent now, they’re on all our restaurant menus and wine lists… so yeah, I would say some of the best beef and some of the best wine I’ve ever, ever tasted.”
When pressed to pick a favourite chef or restaurant, he admits that “it’s very hard for me to give you one chef because there’s multiple. The Melbourne scene is incredible: Hugh Allen at Vue de monde is blowing up and is going to be one of the future-facing chefs for sure,” he says of Selector’s March/April 2023 cover subject.
Elsewhere in Melbourne, “Chef Ross Magnaye is elevating Filipino cuisine. It was incredible… can we do, you know, a bone marrow luge when we finish the course – they set this bone marrow in flames and we did this hot bone marrow luge where they poured alcohol across the bone, tilted it into your mouth like a large drain pipe, and then flambéed the fucking thing. That’s what I call magic!”
Such words, coming from a man who has built his empire by telling it like it is, are – you guessed it – impossible to ignore.