Eating out doesn’t have to be a formula. Eating out is about having fun. I get really frustrated when it’s badly done.
What’s frustrating more than anything is when chefs start to cut corners and believe that they are incognito in the way they send out appetizers, entrees, and they know it’s not 100 percent, but they think the customers can’t spot it.
I’m Gordon Ramsay, for goodness sake: people know I’m volatile.
Being assertive and somewhat really firm has to be backed up with being fair.
As a soccer player, I wanted an FA Cup winner’s medal. As an actor you want an Oscar. As a chef it’s three-Michelin’s stars, there’s no greater than that. So pushing yourself to the extreme creates a lot of pressure and a lot of excitement, and more importantly, it shows on the plate.
My wife, a schoolteacher, very disciplined. If you think I’m tough, trust me, and wait till you see when the children are on the naughty step. It’s hilarious. So we decided that I’m going to work like a donkey and provide amazing support for the family.
Cooking is about passion, so it may look slightly temperamental in a way that it’s too assertive to the naked eye.
Kitchens are hard environments and they form incredibly strong characters.
Push your limit to the absolute extreme.
I train my chefs with a blindfold. I’ll get my sous chef and myself to cook a dish. The young chef would have to sit down and eat it with a blindfold. If they can’t identify the flavor, they shouldn’t be cooking the dish.
Find what’s hot, find what’s just opened and then look for the worst review of the week. There is so much to learn from watching a restaurant getting absolutely panned and having a bad experience. Go and see it for yourself.
I still love football, though, and I think cooking is like football. It’s not a job, it’s a passion. When you become good at it, it’s a dream job and financially you need never to worry. Ever.
I’ve always said that I think females make the best chefs anywhere in the world.
I hid myself in food.
When you cook under pressure you trade perfection.
The pressure on young chefs today is far greater than ever before in terms of social skills, marketing skills, cooking skills, personality and, more importantly, delivering on the plate. So you need to be strong. Physically fit. So my chefs get weighed every time they come into the kitchen.
I suppose your security is your success and your key to success is your fine palate.
My mum doesn’t enjoy sometimes listening to me tell staff off, and I say to my mum, it’s a kitchen, not a hair-dressing salon.
When you find a guy who is powerful, a big father figure, you latch onto him immediately.
Would I swap what I have achieved as a cook if I could have been as successful as a footballer? Definitely.