Whether you love watching Gordon Ramsay encourage little ones in their white coats on “MasterChef Junior” or you can’t get enough of his super-tough-love attitude on “Hell’s Kitchen,” there’s no doubt that the British-born multi-hyphenate is a culinary phenom. The most shocking fact about the 17-Michelin-star chef’s formal culinary education? He doesn’t have one. Believe it or not, Ramsay never set out to be a chef (which is especially hard to believe if you’ve ever tasted Ramsay’s beef Wellington recipe). While he enjoyed cooking as a teen, he had his sights set on becoming a professional soccer player — until he endured a career-ending injury.
After realizing a professional soccer career was no longer likely, Ramsay decided to pursue higher education at North Oxfordshire Technical College, where he took courses in hotel management and began to develop his passion for the culinary arts. He first made his way onto the culinary scene at the Wroxton House Hotel before moving to London and working under chef Marco Pierre White (who also trained chef Mario Batali) at the now-defunct restaurant Harvey’s. The choices made at the start of his career are in line with the advice Ramsay gives young chefs today — to get out of their comfort zone, stop relying on others, and build their character by putting themselves in tough situations that build their self-esteem. He’s also talked about how important it is for chefs to put their own ideas on the plate, rather than copying others.
How a chef without a culinary school education made it to 17 Michelin stars
When Marco Pierre White learned of Gordon Ramsay’s desire to segue into French cooking, he discouraged his protégé from taking a job in Paris. Instead, White suggested that Ramsay work with Albert Roux at Le Gavroche, a French restaurant that served London from 1967 to 2024. After working at Le Gavroche for a few years, Ramsay began to work as a chef in France before taking a break from restaurants to work as a chef on a private yacht.
Over the course of his career, Ramsay’s restaurants have been awarded a total of 17 Michelin stars, which is a seriously big deal. He retains seven of them today (Michelin stars come and go — the award isn’t necessarily a lifelong deal). After Ramsay had enough of a break from restaurants living the yacht life, he returned to London and began working as the head chef at Aubergine in London. Within three years, the restaurant was awarded two Michelin stars. A few years later, he branched out on his own and opened Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, and the establishment was quickly awarded three Michelin stars — the highest Michelin honor a restaurant can earn. Today, Ramsay is still heavily involved in running his restaurants, with locations in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Versailles, and across the United Kingdom. In addition to his restaurants and endless TV show roster, Ramsay’s known for his various charitable ventures through the Gordon and Tana Ramsay Foundation he runs with his wife.
