16 Things you didn’t know about GORDON RAMSAY
#16.
‘Wrinkle-free Ramsay’- There has been a lot speculation on whether or not Gordon
Ramsay has been over-doing the plastic surgery lately.
Though he denies most of the rumors, he did admit in 2009 to undergoing treatment to have
the grooves in his chin filled-in to flatten out his famous face.
He says he decided to have it done to make his face more appealing to the American audience
on the advice from American Idol creator Simon Cowell.
He also did it to stop the teasing of his family.
On one occasion he awoke from a nap and his daughter Matilda was shoving pound coins into
his wrinkles.
After that, he swore that he would never have any more procedures especially on his iconic
forehead.
#15.
“Kicking and Screaming” Before becoming a celebrity chef cursing and cooking all over
television screens.
Gordon Ramsay had a very different dream, playing professional soccer.
He started playing from a young age in Scotland but his soccer-playing really took off when
his family moved to England where he played in numerous youth leagues catching the eye
of the Glasgow Rangers a pro club who scouted him for three years.
He finally got his chance at the age of 15 joining the team on a tryout basis.
Luckily for the culinary world but painfully for him his soccer career was cut short when
he tore the cruciate ligament in his knee.
The final of many unfortunate injuries he suffered during his playing career ended his
hopes of making the team, but launching him to overwhelming success at making dinner.
#14.
“Cooking up Coin”- We all know Ramsay has achieved great fame and fortune owing
to his fabulous restaurants and several popular T.V.
shows, but it may surprise you to know just how much he’s worth.
As of 2017, Gordon Ramsay is worth $160 million dollars which makes him the richest and most
successful celebrity chef of all-time.
He also makes over two-hundred thousand dollars per episode of Hell’s Kitchen.
But the money hasn’t completely gone to his head and definitely won’t go to his
children’s.
Despite his enormous fortune, Ramsay still keeps a tight wallet when it comes to his
children’s wants and desires as he believes in raising them to succeed on their own as
his father raised him.
He also states that when he dies his children won’t receive any part of whatever money
is left.
#13.
‘It’s Not Ramsay, It’s DiGiornio’- Ramsay may skewer the chefs on Hell’s Kitchen
for not respecting the process and cutting corners but in 2009 it was Ramsay himself
who was on the receiving end of that criticism.
Four of his restaurants were accused by the London newspaper The Sun of using pre-made
food.
They alleged that some of the most popular cuisine from sausage rolls to fishcakes were
made at a food production facility in south London.
The most ghastly revelation was that the restaurants were using boil-in-bag coq au vin.
“Sacre Bleu!”
The restaurant’s defense was that they had to prepare the food this way because their
kitchen’s were too cramped.
A spokesperson for Ramsay unabashedly said they could have made half of the food in such
facilities but would never prepare fresh produce and meat this way.
But we wouldn’t be surprised if Ramsay’s face starts showing up next to Uncle Ben and
Betty Crocker in the supermarket!
.
#12.
“Tuna Fan”- You might think that Gordon Ramsay would refuse to cook anything for his
family other than the finest meat and vegetables, but it turns out that one item that is always
on his grocery list is canned tuna.
If this shatters your view of the hot-headed chef fear not, he would never be caught dead
doing something like putting it on a run-of-the-mill tuna sandwich.
When Ramsay cooks tuna for his family he usually uses it in fancy Spaghetti dish along with
chilli, capers and shallots!
He also uses Tuna in the can for a few of his popular recipes such as Spicy Tuna Cakes.
#11.
“Wandering Wellington”- Ramsay has made no secret to what food his is obsessed with:
Beef Wellington.
If anyone on his shows cooks it incorrectly he takes it as if it were blasphemy and smites
them down with a bevvy of expletives.
He also has stated before that he has given up on his show contestants trying to cook
the dish because though it is an easy recipe no one can get it right and the results always
offend him.
This may be due to his expectations of perfection but it is probably maximized when judging
his favorite dish.
Ramsay has said that no matter what restaurant he is in that if he sees Beef Wellington on
the menu that he has to order it.
Part of this is his nostalgic fondness for the dish that was prevalent in his upbringing
in the United Kingdom and the other part is that he knows if the Beef Wellington is cooked
properly that the chef is probably decent at everything else.
#10.
“Risque Ramsay”- When he was 19 years old, Ramsay got his first job as a professional
chef but this came to an abrupt end when his boss found out that Ramsay was having an affair
with his wife.
Ramsay has said that his employer’s wife, who was in her thirties, was the one who seduced
him.
Sounds like The Graduate with better food!
Ramsay has also be accused in recent years of having a 7 year long affair with a woman
named Sarah Symonds who has become notorious for her career choice of professional mistress.
However, there has been no definitive proof of these allegations.
#9.
“Wake Up You Donkey!”- Named after one of Ramsay’s favorite insults to scream at
Hell’s Kitchen contestants Ramsay’s favorite cocktail is called Wake Up You Donkey, also
known as Giddy Up You Donkey!
This drink consists of tequila, elderflower, honey and a slice of lime.
In 2016, Ramsay took a sip of this concoction live on The Tonight Show and cursed with joy
leading Jimmy Fallon to put him in time-out on the steps of the studio set.
#8.
“Iron Feud”- In 2009, Ramsay so insulted the former Iron Chef Mario Batali by calling
him ‘Fantapants’ due to his bright orange pants that Batali banned him from all of his
restaurants.
Apparently Ramsay’s assistants still try to book tables at them but Batali refuses
the reservations every time.
Their animosity allegedly started when Ramsay took offense to Batali calling his food dull
back in 2007.
#7.
“Run, Ramsay, Run”- Though his days of competitive soccer may have come and gone
Ramsay still takes great pride in his athleticism and physical fitness.
He has competed in several Ironman competitions, which are extremely difficult triathlon events.
The Ironman has even become a family affair for the Ramsay’s as his wife Tana competes
in them on occasion.
In one famous instance while competing in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii,
Ramsay was forced to quit after becoming extremely dehydrated during the biking part of the race.
This was a rare occurrence for him though as he had previously completed the same race
in 2013 with an excellent time of 14 hours.
At the age of 50 Ramsay shows no signs of giving up having completed a triathlon as
recent as July, 2017.
#6.
“5 and Dine”- If you think that every dinner at Ramsay’s house must be a decadent
affair with several courses you would be mistaken.
Instead of eating the three “normal” meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner Ramsay actually
eats on average 5 meals a day.
He developed this habit of multiple smaller meals when he first started working as a chef.
He says this habit of almost constantly eating snacks, though possibly unhealthy, is necessary
for chefs because they must always be tasting new dishes.
It also became essential when he became a TV chef as he had to find a way to try all
the foods without becoming full.
#5.
“Big Fish Gun-Fight”- In 2011, while filming the television show The Big Fish Fight, a
show designed to help stop illegal fishing and overfishing, Gordon Ramsay and his crew
came across some tough opponents.
While in Costa Rica investigating the shark-fin trade Ramsay and his crew were held at gunpoint.
As the story goes, Ramsay was on a boat that was part of the illegal finning trade and
after swimming around it he discovered a bag full of fins attached to the back of the boat.
He threw the bag onboard and fishermen freaked out, their cohorts on the docks pulled rifles
on the camera crew and made them stop filming.
In the nick of time the local police showed up and broke up the scene, telling Ramsay
that him and his crew should leave Costa Rica.
#4.
“Choppin’ Chef”- In addition to his triathlon skills Gordon Ramsay loves to keep
in shape using various martial arts techniques.
He frequently works out by training in Mixed Martial Arts and boxing.
Ramsay also claims that he is a black belt in karate!
Hopefully he will one day combine his culinary skills with fighting as we’d love to see
him forego the knife and prep his veggies with the side of his hand.
#3.
“Doesn’t Sleep”- How does Gordon Ramsay manage to juggle his television show and multiple
Michelin star winning restaurants?
Oh simply the fact that he doesn’t sleep.
Ramsay prides himself in the fact that his energy and love of his various projects keep
him going non-stop, leaving him to sleep only 3 hours a night.
A lot of this is due to the fact that while he spends his days working on shows and his
restaurants in America he has to stay up late to catch morning in the United Kingdom and
work on his overseas businesses as well as talk to his children before they go to school.
How does he survive only sleeping a measly three hours a night?
By taking the entire weekend off for rest and relaxation.
#2.
“Secret Snack”- Gordon Ramsay has a love affair with In-N-Out Burger.
He likes the burgers the secret animal style way and has even snuck them into the first
class lounge when he is traveling from Los Angeles to England.
He has been quoted as saying In-N-Out burgers are so good that he once ate a double cheeseburger
in the restaurant and then went through the drive-thru window for seconds to bring home.
#1.
“Slippery Slope’’-While on location in Iceland filming his hit show The F Word,
Ramsay was climbing down a mountain and slipped.
He proceeded to fall off an 85 foot cliff and into the icy water below.
Despite being an excellent swimmer, he was dragged down by his boots and was underwater
for 45 seconds, his lungs starting to fill with water.
In the nick of time the film crew threw him a rope and pulled him to safety.
Even though he was delirious and his head was “totally numb” he survived with only
a deep cut on his leg.
He was taken back to the hotel and then upon a check-up at London’s Cromwell Hospital
treated with three stitches.
Ramsay was soon back in action catching and eating more cuddly puffins.