Tilly Ramsay, daughter of Gordon Ramsay, is a 23-year-old chef, presenter and digital creator
I’ve been lucky enough to watch Mum and Dad be in the food industry from a very young age and I got an amazing opportunity to present my first cooking show for kids on CBBC, Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch.
It was very family led, my siblings would go out and do these amazing adventures, come home and we’d cook an incredible meal and share it together.
Being the one to serve a nice spread to the dinner table was new to me, but it was the best way to learn. Coming from a family of foodies, there were so many tips and tricks that I picked up along the way and I had the best time doing it.
I was between the ages of 12 to 16 during the series run. We had an amazing producer and I was lucky enough to have known the cameramen since I was young because they also worked with Dad. I never felt too daunted, but obviously it’s not the most natural thing talking to a camera.
I was at that kind of young teenage age where Dad also thought it was really funny to talk about boyfriends. We’d have this chat at the end of each episode called Chef to Chef where we’d go over the food of the day and talk about what was great and what I could do differently. He just always found a way to bring in boyfriends and there I was going really red, asking him not to bring that up on TV.
But having my Dad and Mum as role models was amazing for me because I saw the way they were able to handle it all and act as if they’re having a conversation with a friend.
The culinary world can be full of mistakes but often people don’t talk about it. Yet every great chef I’ve always spoken to has said that you learn most from them. When things go wrong in the kitchen it’s actually a great thing because you learn how to pivot and how to change. Never be afraid of that.
I had an amazing time at university but knew that I really wanted to dive back into the foodie world. I went to culinary school, had an opportunity to film a new cooking show and I just really loved being able to share things both on television and social media.
In today’s world, it’s really important to find what your niche is. Everyone has that thing that makes them stand out a little bit. If you allow yourself the time to explore options, try new things and find your groove before diving straight in, I think it will set you up really well.
When I was at culinary school, I loved baking. I was doing bread, fish, meat and vegetarian food. We did food from all around the world. I enjoyed it all, but I think it’s my next step that’s going to help me.
Do I want to go into more fine dining or more casual? But before I make those decisions I need to spend time in all those different areas, see what I gravitate towards and what I really enjoy.
Creating content today is amazing because it’s a way to learn from other people and show people a bit of your daily life.
The collaboration with Royal Doulton has been an incredible process to see ideas come to life. I had no idea that there were so many different colours and glazes that you could put onto plates and mugs and even the shape of them.
I came up with the idea for different pastel colours because as much as I love them, I also think they can help bring a bit of joy to your dinner table. Mealtimes were always so special for us as a family, with everyone being so busy.
I’d never even thought about this when I’ve been eating food off a plate, but now I’ll always think about the different way they’ve coated it and the design. It was really cool to see it happen.
I’ve got to meet some incredible chefs and the thing everyone always talks about is always remember why you’re doing this. If you want to create a successful business you’ve got to remember it has to be high quality.
You have to be resilient in an industry like the culinary one. Everyone’s got an opinion and everyone likes different things, but if you remember the quality of your food, work hard, stay humble, then these are all things that I’ve seen my Dad do.
It’s great to learn from him and see how he faces what some people might say is an intimidating world — but it’s also such a creative and wonderful one.
