GORDON RAMSAY: The pressure on the chef today
is far greater than ever before.
And you're not just a chef now, you're a marketing tool.
And if there's one great tool here in my business,
it has to be YouTube because that's
a great way of instantly marketing
the product, the chef, the restaurant, the brand.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SHAR CAESAR DOUGLAS: In this episode of "The Update,"
I talk with one of the biggest chefs on YouTube,
Gordon Ramsay, about how to develop a business strategy
centered around video.
So Gordon, tell us about your journey on YouTube.
What was your experience making your first video?
GORDON RAMSAY: The first foray under the platform
was extraordinary because it was very cleverly sort of put
together videos of sort of mishaps
in restaurants from "Kitchen Nightmares."
Whether it was a mouse in the toaster or bloody moldy food.
All of a sudden, this thing started gaining traction.
And then customers telling me, hey, I
love your YouTube videos.
SHAR CAESAR DOUGLAS: There's no denying
that our world is changing.
Can you tell me a bit about the changes you and the team
have made?
GORDON RAMSAY: Yeah.
I mean, in my eyes, YouTube has helped to make the planet
so much more foodie because you know,
we've had to take that negativity of the last 3 1/2
months on lockdown and turn into a huge positivity.
And what does that mean?
It's gaining confidence shooting on a laptop, or iPad, or phone.
DOP, Director of Photography, there she is.
SPEAKER 3: Hello.
GORDON RAMSAY: And then uploading that video instantly
to YouTube gives it instant access to the most amazing fun.
And sometimes, you know, especially
across those dark moments when the uncertainty was coming
into how long we're going to be down
for, I saw the lift in the Ramsay household
because all of the sudden, you know, it wasn't just me.
It was Matilda, Megan, Holly, and even my wife, Tana,
that was excited about that, you know, fun.
And so YouTube gave that platform
for a lot of home style cooking to take place, not edited,
and even leaving some of the mistakes in there.
That's what made it so real and so much more tangible.
where's my sous chef?
Where is he?
Where-- there he is.
SHAR CAESAR DOUGLAS: I love that.
And you've been making television shows since 2005
and creating content on YouTube since 2009.
How do you think about what content
is right for your YouTube channel compared to TV?
GORDON RAMSAY: The most important thing for me
on creating new content on YouTube
is to do something slightly different to what everybody's
seen on TV.
Big, glossy, formatted shows and cleverly edited
is the opposite of what we do on the platform.
[INAUDIBLE]
SPEAKER 4: You're definitely on 11 minutes now.
GORDON RAMSAY: So that gives me a sort of foray
into sort of creating new little brands.
"Scrambled" was the first big one whereby
we're cooking breakfast.
Everyone cooks breakfast, but this time,
I'm inviting a guest in and we'll go head to head.
"Ramsay in 10," how do we get food
on the table in 10, 11 minutes?
SHAR CAESAR DOUGLAS: I ask myself
that question every night.
And how do you think about the audience
you're reaching on YouTube that you weren't reaching elsewhere?
GORDON RAMSAY: I think that platform
has been sort of underestimated for many years.
And I look at the way my kids now watch, you know, TV,
and 90% of it is downloaded from YouTube because they
create their own schedules.
They're not told that it's on at 7:30 on CBS or ITV
at 8:00 o'clock on Friday nights.
They're already gone.
They're making their own networks.
And YouTube, in my mind, has helped to sort of bring
that level of excitement earlier,
and these kids know what they want.
We went past 2 and 1/2 billion view last month.
2.5 billion views.
SHAR CAESAR DOUGLAS: That's a lot of views.
There's so much interest in clicking on YouTube.
This year alone, people are consuming recipe and cooking
videos nearly 45% more than they were last year.
What trends and insights are informing your YouTube
strategy?
How are you ensuring that you're capturing that interest
and getting those views?
GORDON RAMSAY: There's been a huge plant-based phenomena
over the last 10 years, something
that every chef on the planet has
had to take a huge notice of.
I've been watching that boom of that generation that
are somewhat apprehensive of eating proteins and believing
that that plant's intake was powerful.
And they're absolutely right.
So that instant knowledge, you can't buy that.
Having access to that kind of data was super important.
Trying out a couple of those recipes, the vegan,
the vegetarians, and then, of course,
the plant-based huge followers.
A delicious sauce.
SHAR CAESAR DOUGLAS: And you know collaborations
are huge on YouTube.
What's been your most memorable collaboration?
GORDON RAMSAY: God.
I have an assistant who runs our social media
site, Justin Mandel.
And you know, he kept on going about this "Hot Ones."
You've got to go on this chicken wing [INAUDIBLE]..
Really, Justin?
I'm so busy.
He said, no, no.
Trust me.
You got to do it.
So Sean Evans, I got on there season 8,
and I think he's got over 60 million views
on a chicken wing, OK?
A chicken [MUTED] wing.
That's how powerful YouTube is.
60 million watching me eat a overcooked, ridiculously spicy
chicken wing.
Come on.
SHAR CAESAR DOUGLAS: And finally, I want to ask.
What advice do you have for other businesses that
are getting started on YouTube or involving
their video strategy?
GORDON RAMSAY: What's the first thing you do when you've
got up to a 10-meter board?
You spend the next 10 minutes debating, shall I jump?
But the minute you jump, you can't wait
to get back up there again.
It's exactly the same as YouTube.
Get that content out, strategize,
break down the comments, find the general consensus,
the feedback, and then move on from there.
So cast that net out wide.
Get somewhat fearless with that leap of faith,
and becoming a little bit more assertive and believing
what you are putting out there.
And then, you know, I've done it, you know.
I bounced back from adversity.
And I've always said, look, you know,
failure is healthy because you never
make that same mistake twice.
And so take that feedback and run with it.
SPEAKER 4: Dad.
Get out.
Out of the kitchen.
Out.
GORDON RAMSAY: Seriously?
Seriously?
How did you do lamb sauce in 10 minutes?
SPEAKER 4: Mom could do it.