Gordon Ramsay has revealed the real reason why he never chooses to eat at his own restaurants – as he opened up about his challenging childhood.
The British celebrity chef, 58, is one of the industry’s most famous names, with 34 restaurants in the UK alone.
Meanwhile his flagship Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea has held three Michelin stars for more than 22 years.
But speaking on a new podcast with The Savoy Originals, due to be released on Friday, Gordon revealed he doesn’t enjoy being a guest at his own eateries – despite his huge success.
In fact, he’s only had dinner at one of his restaurants twice in 25 years – once for his daughter Megan’s 16th birthday, and a second time for a dinner with Bradley Cooper.
Speaking to host Alex Zane, he admitted that he finds the experience ‘too posh’ and says it’s not his ‘style’.
He said: ‘Once was for Megan’s birthday and the second time was with Bradley Cooper.
‘Because it’s not my style – it’s too posh for me! It sounds weird right, you build the f***ing place. I can’t sit there.’
Gordon Ramsay has revealed the real reason why he never chooses to eat at his own restaurants
‘So Megan sat and cried at the end of that birthday, her 16th and said, “Dad, I get it. I get it I understand now. It’s taken me all this time, but now I know why you want us all to work hard and find this craft in life.’
Gordon has famously revealed that his children won’t be left his multi-million pound fortune in his will, and has encourage him to forge their own way in life.
In addition, they’re not allowed to sit next to him in first class on a plane – as he hopes to ‘not spoil them’.
His son Jack, for example, has taken a job in the navy, with Gordon revealing a starting salary for a Royal Marine Commander is around £17,000.
‘It needs to be worked for, I tell the kids that all the time. You’ll appreciate it more than it being handed down,’ he explained.
Elsewhere in the podcast, the Hell’s Kitchen star opened up about his own challenging childhood – but credited it with getting him to where he is today.
‘Silver spoon, we had no f***ing silver in the house, so there was no chance of that,,’ he reflected.
‘Born in with that comfort, would I have got what I strived for today? I don’t think I would. Because I’m unspoiled.’
His flagship Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea has held three Michelin stars for more than 22 years
Gordon is pictured in his flagship restaurant in Chelsea in 1999
Gordon (pictured on Kitchen Nightmares) says his own restaurants aren’t ‘his style’ and are ‘too posh’ for him
Gordon and his wife Tana (pictured together) share six children, Matilda, Megan, Holly, Jack, Oscar and Jesse
Gordon has often mentioned his love for his family – but won’t be leaving his children his huge fortune
Growing up on 14 different council estates as a child – moving around Scotland before settling in Stratford-Upon-Avon – he recalled how his mother ‘juggled three jobs’ while dealing with the four children.
He revealed he once got the ‘p***’ taken out of him while queuing up for dinner tickets and lunch vouchers and, while other children would go on holiday to Spain and France, instead they would go to ‘Scarborough, Skegness and Bognor f***ing Regis’.
He said: ‘So you were labeled and then you understand that stamp on your character is already semi-dysfunctional because you and so you want to work to get out of that s*** mess. And I think that’s what I did.
‘Took that inspiration from mum. Realized that’s not how I want to live my life. Seen the way my father attempted to bring us up and that.
‘The perfect analogy to do everything the opposite. And so you, you learn to better yourself even from an early age at 14 or 15, known for well, that food was minimum. We grew up on fussy cause we had no choice.’
Gordon was 19 when he moved to London, later to work under chef Marco Pierre White, where he built the foundational skills for his future success.
He spent two and a half years with him, crediting it as ‘one of the most important times’ in his career.
‘I learned more than just cooking,’ he said. ‘He put food on a plate like Picasso. Picasso, the speed of him and the way his mind worked.
Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White (right) with assistant or second chef Gordon Ramsay (left) at Harveys restaurant in Wandsworth Common, June 1989
Gordon says he didn’t go into the industry to ‘get rich’. Instead it was because of his huge passion for cooking
Gordon opened up about how his mother Helen juggled ‘three jobs’ as he grew up. Pictured together in 2014
‘I could jump above everybody and literally cook with one arm behind my back. And then I knew it was something special that he gave me.’
But he didn’t go into cooking to ‘get rich or buy a Ferrari’. Instead, it was all down to the ‘passion and the drive and the excitement I got from it’.
At 40, he had ‘three Michelin stars, multiple restaurants, incredible family’ – then decided to pick up Triathlons.
Gordon and his wife Tana share six children, Matilda, Megan, Holly, Jack, Oscar and Jesse.
But even now, he remains ‘addicted to perfection’ and says he can’t even make sausages and mash with baked beans without ‘making it look like a f***ing three star Michelin sausage, mash and beans’ – even if if it’s just for one of the children.
And now, at 58, he shows no signs of slowing down.
When asked if he would ever retire, he said: ‘What in the f*** would I do retiring in the countryside? Looking all buffed up in barberware and f***ing wellingtons and a stick.
‘Oh, come on, Alex, for fuck’s sake. What am I going to do? I’ll be the biggest pain in the a*** to ever retire. I’m in control. I’m enjoying everything I do.
‘And I wake up in the morning with something I’ve always wanted to do. And that’s I have a choice in life.’
Gordon Ramsay appears on the latest episode The Savoy Originals podcast, airing on Friday.
