Scottish by birth, Gordon was brought up in England after his parents moved south to Stratford-upon-Avon. His first career break came whilst playing football for Oxford United where he was spotted by a Glasgow Rangers scout in a F.A. youth club match. After completing trials he was signed by the Scottish champions at the age of 15. Three years later he had given up professional football and gone back to college to complete an HND course in hotel management.
Gordon moved to London where he joined Marco Pierre White in the early days of Harvey´s in Wandsworth. After a couple of years Gordon moved to Le Gavroche to work alongside Albert Roux. This was followed by three years of working in France in the kitchens of Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon. Here he was able to enhance his expertise in classic French cooking.
In October 1993, Gordon became chef of the newly opened Aubergine where he won many accolades including two Michelin stars within three years of opening.
Gordon´s first book, Passion for Flavour, published by Conran Octopus, was published in October 1996. His second book, Passion for Seafood, was published in May 1999. A Chef for all Seasons was published by Quadrille in September 2000 followed by Just Desserts in September 2001 and Secrets in 2003, Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy in 2005, Gordon Ramsay’s Sunday Lunch in 2006 and Gordon Ramsay’s Fast in 2007.
In 1998 at the age of 31, Gordon set up his first wholly owned restaurant, Gordon Ramsay, on the former site of La Tante Claire in Chelsea. On 19th January 2001 it gained its third Michelin star in the Michelin Red Guide Great Britain & Ireland. In September 2006 The restaurant underwent a major refurbishment.
In October 2001 Gordon opened Gordon Ramsay at Claridge´s which gained a Michelin star in 2003. A year later he opened Pétrus with his protégé Marcus Wareing as Chef Patron, in St. James´s. Within seven months it had won a Michelin star. The restaurant relocated to The Berkeley Hotel in 2003 and won its second Michelin star in January 2007. 2001 also saw the opening of Gordon RamsayHoldings first international restaurant, Verre, located in the Dubai Hilton Creek Hotel.
In 2001 ‘The Gordon Ramsay Scholar Award’ was set up to recognise talented young cooks working in catering or studying at catering college. The competition has grown year on year and in 2006 for the first time, it was played out in the public domain, with the entire competition taking place at The BBC Good Food Show.
At the beginning of October 2002, GRH took over the whole of the food and beverage operation at The Connaught Hotel with Angela Hartnett at the helm. Her restaurant MENU won its first Michelin star in January 2004. In 2003 Gordon Ramsay Holdings re-launched The Savoy Grill with Marcus Wareing. The restaurant achieved its first Michelin star in 2004. This was followed with the opening of Boxwood Café at The Berkeley with chef Stuart Gillies.
May 2004 saw Gordon Ramsay star in the Channel 4 series Ramsay´s Kitchen Nightmares, a series of four one-hour programmes, later to be awarded a BAFTA and an International Emmy. The programme was launched simultaneously with Gordon´s recipe book Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Heaven published by the Penguin Group. Shortly after this, Gordon was given two weeks to direct a group of celebrities towards Michelin standard cooking in the ITV series Hell´s Kitchen.
2005 confirmed Gordon as one of the UK´s major television stars. A second series of Ramsay´s Kitchen Nightmares was followed by the very successful US version of Hell´s Kitchen for Fox TV. November brought the debut of Channel 4´s The F-Word, a high-octane food show with cooking, topical VT´s, food campaigns and celebrity guests. All the action was set against the backdrop of a full working kitchen and over the course of the show Gordon and his brigade prepared a three-course menu for diners. The F-Word is now in its third series and is one of Channel 4’s highest rating shows. 2005 also saw the launch of GRH’s eighth UK restaurant, maze, in London´s Grosvenor Square with Jason Atherton and the opening of Gordon Ramsay at The Conrad Hotel in Tokyo.
The year was rounded off with Gordon´s award of an OBE in the New Year´s Honours list.
In 2006, a third series of Kitchen Nightmares appeared on Channel 4. A second series of the US Hell´s Kitchen was shown in the USA and ranked number 1 in its period among key demographics. In May, a range of Gordon Ramsay tableware became available in partnership with Royal Doulton. In October 2006 Gordon’s autobiography, Humble Pie was published by Harper Collins. The book, which details an honest account of his life in and out of the kitchen, has topped the best seller charts and has recently been published in paperback. In November 2006 Gordon made his stateside debut with the opening of Gordon Ramsay at The London. The restaurant, located at 151 West 54th in The London NYC Hotel (formerly the Rihga Royal), is part of the LXR Luxury Resorts collection. Josh Emett, previously head chef at The Savoy Grill is the resident chef de cuisine. In July 2006 GRH opened La Noisette with chef patron Bjorn Van Der Horst, which went onto win its first Michelin star in January 2007, bringing the tally of stars held by GRH restaurants to ten.
In January 2007 GRH opened Cielo at the exclusive Boca Raton resort in Florida. Back in the UK in March of this year, Gordon Ramsay Holdings opened their first pub, The Narrow in London’s Limehouse (44 Narrow Street, London E14 8DP). Located in a Grade II-listed building on the banks of the Thames, The Narrow serves classic British dishes in a relaxed environment. Gordon’s second pub, The Warrington will open in Maida Vale (93 Warrington Crescent, London W9 1EH) following a major restoration and renovation.
The third series of Hell’s Kitchen US has enjoyed more huge viewing figures as the top rated show of the Summer for Fox. This Autumn will see the debut of the American version of the acclaimed Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.
In October Quadrille will publish Gordon Ramsay, 3 Star Chef; a beautifully produced coffee table book containing 50 of Gordon’s signature dishes from Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. This month will also see the publication of the follow up to Humble Pie. Entitled Another Slice of Pie and published by Harper Collins, the book will give an insight into the success of the chef and his company Gordon Ramsay Holdings.
The fifth international GRH restaurant will open in October at theRitz Carlton Hotel Powerscourt, Ireland. Further openings are planned for the end of this year and 2008 in Paris, Los Angeles, Paris, Prague and Amsterdam and the restaurant at the newly built Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.