We've all watched the shows and seen the memes. There's definitely a reputation for chef and restaurateur extraordinaire Gordon Ramsay, but how much of his persona is true and how much is just for show?
Reddit user, u/MyDogsUhBarking, wanted to hear the truth when they asked:
For those who have worked with or been on a Gordon Ramsay show, what is it really like?
What Is Real And What Is Fake?
Hey I was. I'm an actor and I played a security guard in one of the episodes of his competition show. What I observed was that everything that was part of the actual competition was real but all the stuff surrounding the competition could be fake. Fake food to show off beforehand. I was a fake security guard.
Gordon gave his instructions to the contestants once and then while they ran to cook, he did more takes and actually demonstrated with the food. All that stuff, the contestants never saw, it was only for the TV audience.
How Can You Be Mad At Kids?
Not me but a friend of mines daughter was on master chef junior.
My friend was present during the entire process and said GR was extremely polite to all of the kids. Made sure that if they received any harsh criticism that he sat down and spoke with them afterwards. Made each and every kid feel important and made sure they knew he was rooting for them.
When my friends daughter was eliminated he greeted her backstage and talked to her for what my friend said felt like an hour. Giving her tips and assuring her that she was going to do amazing things in the culinary world if she kept up with it. He gave her a spatula with her name engraved into it and wished them both luck.
Tl;dr - He was a stand up guy. Treated every kid and parent with respect and made sure that kid felt accomplished when she left.
Just Get The Job Done
Not me, but my sister worked in PR for the Atlantis resort in Dubai. Gordon has a restaurant of his there called Bread or Toast, something like that. He comes to check on it from time to time.
Apparently he's really sweet to the workers. Even gave my sister a hug for doing a great job! But he is very stern, doesn't shout like he does on Hell's Kitchen though, all his employees know what has to be done so there's no need for any of that. My sister doesn't work there anymore but she still has his number and I wish she let me meet him just ONCE!
Don't Distract The Master While He Works
Was on the set of Master Chef once. He seemed very nice to everyone. Me and my friends got a little to relaxed while they were filming and we became distracting to Ramsay. So he did the "buzz off motion" with his head and we were politely lead off the set. Totally understandable.
Wow how did you get on the set?
One of the guys in my band knew a guy that was part of the crew.. We were on tour looking for something entertaining . He met as at the gate, parked on the Disney lot and headed in to the set which was right next to where blackish is filmed.
Once You Know How It's Done, You Know How To Behave
He came and ate at a cafe I ran the kitchen in about 20 years ago. Nice enough guy, very polite.
Left his table neatly stacked ready for the waitress to clear away, because you never forget working FOH. I suspect he never has worked FOH but you still don't forget...
Picking On People Who Deserve It
I did a day seminar with him a few years back and he was absolute quality. Funny, smart, charismatic and had some genuinely cool insightful advice for a young head chef. The only person who got any stick was a guy in a suit in the front row who described himself as an executive chef. He took the piss out of him all day and it was funny.
No Proper Place To Drink
He ruined my college town's dive bar, and now the owners are trying to reverse a lot of the changes. The decor could have used some love for sure but people go there for the $2 beer and $1 slice. They changed the menu so that it only has 10-12 items and nothing is cheaper than $15. People stopped coming all together, and this was before Covid.
Was this from his latest show 24 Hours of Hell? Where one of the owners had dreadlocks?
You are correct. I never watched the episode. Was it any good? I'm sure there was a lot of sh-t behind the scenes.
Letting People Do Their Job, Then Getting On With It
A restaurant I worked at in SF was chosen as a reward for a Hell's Kitchen challenge. They filmed their experience during the afternoon while the place was closed. After shooting Ramsey hung out in the bar area with someone from production. At the peak of service, he came back to our open kitchen expo line. Rather than trying to be the focus or distracting our chef he stood back and let the chef know he just wanted to watch his brigade work. He just stood there quietly with the food runners observing for a bit before returning to the bar area.
At the end of service with just a few tickets hanging, he returned to the line. He took a few minutes to visit with each person on the line. Watched then prepare the order they had, asked about their future, where they were from. When the last ticket was done. He posed for pictures and make jokes at our chef's expense.
I was a waiter and had a moment to say hello. With a friendly handshake and looking me in the eye with a smile, I felt his gesture was sincere. Walking away I felt there must be someone at FOX whose job it was, was to poke Ramsey in the a$ with a pin if he didn't curse every two minutes.
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