Gordon Ramsay may be a massively successful chef and restaurateur with a fair share of accolades to his name — receiving a great number of Michelin stars during his career — but just like all of us, he’s made mistakes (or at least one). In an interview with Bon Appétit, the “Hell’s Kitchen” host shared a story from the beginning of his career about a time when he really messed up. Explaining that he was working at a resort in the French Alps, he revealed: “One day the head chef asked me to put the fresh bouillabaisse outside in the freezing cold to chill it. By the evening, it had festered and formed a thick froth on top. It was absolutely disgusting.”
If you’re wondering what bouillabaisse is, it’s a traditional seafood soup or stew originating in the south of France. The dish was popularized by fishermen in the port town of Marseille who would make it using leftover catch they hadn’t sold that day. It would usually contain fish that were bony and less desirable to customers, such as rockfish, scorpionfish, and sea robins. Today, both fish and shellfish are commonly used, and some of the best fish for bouillabaisse includes sea bass, cod, shrimp, clams, and mussels. The broth is typically flavored with tomatoes, garlic, onion, fennel, saffron, leeks, thyme, and orange zest. Bouillabaisse is served hot, accompanied by thickly sliced bread and rouille, a spicy French aioli.
How Gordon Ramsay made bouillabaisse British
Gordon Ramsay put a British spin on the classic Provencal fish soup for an episode of his show, “The F Word,” in 2007. The legendary English chef cooked up conger eel, a monstrous looking fish found in the waters around Britain, to make a version of the dish using just conger. The program saw him fishing with an eel hunter and owner of a fish and chips shack off the coast of Devon in England. Once he made his catch and it was prepared to be edible, he drizzled some olive oil — we have a great guide to buying the best olive oil — over the conger and seasoned it with salt, pepper, and saffron.
He then cooked the fish in a pan with more oil, and in a separate pot, combined fennel, carrots, celery, and star anise with garlic, shallots, and cayenne pepper for an added kick. After the fish was done, he mixed it straight into the pot of veggies and added white wine, fish stock, tomatoes, potatoes, and parsley to the dish. Ramsay also ended up pulverizing all the ingredients in a blender for patrons to sip on, and they seemed impressed.
