Gordon Ramsay
"I tell these young guys, 'Look, if you want to get ahead leave the parents, get out on your own and learn to stand alone'," says Gordon Ramsay. "If you're still at home nice and comfortable and secure by the time you're 21 or 22 you will have no ambition to bust your arse and become a great chef."
Those words of advice from the tempestuous TV chef stem from personal experience. Born on November 18, 1966, in Johnstone, south west Scotland, Gordon was just 16 when he left home and his abusive, heavy-drinking father to move into a council flat with his sister. A troubled start in life instilled in him a "hunger to succeed", he says, giving him an edge over his contemporaries.
A talented football player he was scouted by Scottish club Glasgow Rangers, but after a knee injury at 19 ended his dreams of being a professional footballer he refocused his efforts on a career as a cook. Lacking the qualifications needed for the Royal Navy or the police force he enrolled in culinary college, often working two jobs to pay the rent.
Moving to London to pursue his career, he landed a position with respected chef Marco Pierre White. Four years later he was off to France to work at a ski resort restaurant in the Alps. This was followed by a stint in Paris where he shared a kitchen with Michelin-starred chefs for the first time. Three more years training in France followed, before he accepted a role as a personal chef aboard a luxury yacht in the Bahamas.
Upon his return to the UK, Marco Pierre White impressed by the young chef's potential invited him to come in on a new eaterie he was opening in Chelsea. The high profile chef's faith proved well founded when, in 1994, the restaurant, Aubergine, earned a Michelin star. It went on to win a further two, making Gordon the first Scot to receive a total of three of the prestigious awards, and one of only three chefs in the UK to hold the honour.
After Aubergine's success, Gordon set about founding a culinary empire, with an initial overseas eaterie in Dubai being followed by establishments in Tokyo, New York and LA .
At the same time he was establishing himself as a larger than life personality on British TV. He first appeared on the small screen in 1998 with Boiling Point, which followed his quest for a Michelin star. A reputation as an unrelenting perfectionist, along with his legendary short temper, made for riveting watching and shows such as Hell's Kitchen, in which he trains celebrity contestants to be chefs, and The F Word, drew him to the attention of audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
Although he spends much of his time globe-trotting, Gordon is based in Wandsworth, London, where he shares a home with his former schoolteacher wife Cayetana Elizabeth Hutcheson - known as Tana. The couple, who married in 1996 have four children - Megan, born in 1999, twins Jack and Holly, who arrived in 2001 and Matilda, born a year later.
A talented football player he was scouted by Scottish club Glasgow Rangers, but after a knee injury at 19 ended his dreams of being a professional footballer he refocused his efforts on a career as a cook. Lacking the qualifications needed for the Royal Navy or the police force he enrolled in culinary college, often working two jobs to pay the rent.
Moving to London to pursue his career, he landed a position with respected chef Marco Pierre White. Four years later he was off to France to work at a ski resort restaurant in the Alps. This was followed by a stint in Paris where he shared a kitchen with Michelin-starred chefs for the first time. Three more years training in France followed, before he accepted a role as a personal chef aboard a luxury yacht in the Bahamas.
Upon his return to the UK, Marco Pierre White impressed by the young chef's potential invited him to come in on a new eaterie he was opening in Chelsea. The high profile chef's faith proved well founded when, in 1994, the restaurant, Aubergine, earned a Michelin star. It went on to win a further two, making Gordon the first Scot to receive a total of three of the prestigious awards, and one of only three chefs in the UK to hold the honour.
After Aubergine's success, Gordon set about founding a culinary empire, with an initial overseas eaterie in Dubai being followed by establishments in Tokyo, New York and LA .
At the same time he was establishing himself as a larger than life personality on British TV. He first appeared on the small screen in 1998 with Boiling Point, which followed his quest for a Michelin star. A reputation as an unrelenting perfectionist, along with his legendary short temper, made for riveting watching and shows such as Hell's Kitchen, in which he trains celebrity contestants to be chefs, and The F Word, drew him to the attention of audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
Although he spends much of his time globe-trotting, Gordon is based in Wandsworth, London, where he shares a home with his former schoolteacher wife Cayetana Elizabeth Hutcheson - known as Tana. The couple, who married in 1996 have four children - Megan, born in 1999, twins Jack and Holly, who arrived in 2001 and Matilda, born a year later.
Biographies:
Profile Search:
Canada
Russia
Greece
Spain
Mexico
