Gordon James Ramsay (born 8 November 1966) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. He was born in Johnstone, Scotland, and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Ramsay founded his global restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, in 1997. It has been awarded 16 Michelin stars in total and currently holds a total of seven. After rising to fame on the British television miniseries Boiling Point in 1999, Ramsay had become one of the best-known and most influential chefs in the UK by 2004.
As a reality television personality, Ramsay is known for his bluntness, as well as fiery temper, strict demeanour, and frequent use of profanity. He combines activities in the television, film, hospitality, and food industries and has promoted and hired various chefs who have apprenticed under his wing. Ramsay is known for presenting TV programmes about competitive cookery and food, such as
- The British series Hell’s Kitchen (2004),
- Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (2004–2009)
- The F Word (2005–2010),
- The latter winning the BAFTA for Best Feature at the 2005 British Academy Television Awards
- The American versions of Hell’s Kitchen (2005–present),
- Kitchen Nightmares (2007–2014), MasterChef (2010–present),
- MasterChef Junior (2013–present), as well as
- Hotel Hell (2012–2016),
- Gordon Behind Bars (2012), and
- 24 Hours to Hell and Back (2018–present).
Ramsay was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 New Year Honours list for services to the hospitality industry. In July 2006, he won the Catey award for “Independent Restaurateur of the Year”, becoming only the third person to have won three Catey awards. In 2020, Forbes listed his earnings at $70 million for the previous 12 months, and ranked him the 19th-highest-earning celebrity in the world.
Gordon Ramsay’s Success Lessons:
Here are some of Gordon Ramsay’s success lessons that he has passed on to entrepreneurs, colleagues, to succeed in both business and life.
1. Don’t be Afraid to Talk to People
This sort of ties in with the ask for help part, but you should still be willing to talk to people, whether it be your employees, fellow businesses in your niche and so on.
Networking is a big thing and if you’re not putting yourself out there then how do you expect to be heard and noticed by others. After all, that is how you become successful right?
2. Never let your thirst for knowledge die out
You have to be on student-mode all the time. Whatever it is you want to do in life, keep doing it. Keep learning and keep trying new things. Never let your thirst for knowledge die.
Tell yourself that it is never enough. However much you think you have learnt or have within you, you’re always a student. So don’t get complacent.
3. Always Be Getting Better
If you’re not improving then what the hell are you doing?
Just waiting for things to start getting better? Always try and improve yourself and get better at what you are doing. It’s how your business will be able to grow and will mean that you’re able to keep up with any changes in the environment around you.
4. Stay true to yourself
Gordon Ramsay willingly and proudly says he’s a chef, no matter what. What are you?
I think it’s easy to get lost in the sea of life today. We attach ourselves too easily to different identities, such as the name of our jobs, until we forget our own roots. That’s how we become unhappy, unmotivated and eventually lost.
Stick to your roots. Never forget who you are. Have your one passion and hold on to it tightly. Let these be your guide in life.
5. Always Communicate
What’s a business without communication?
Especially when it comes to a team of cooks working in a high profile restaurant. If you didn’t have good communication with those around you, you’d get absolutely slaughtered.
Remember this as it’s incredibly important. Keeping up the level of communication means that you’re always kept in the loop and that you’re always aware of what’s going on around you.
6. Manage your time well and vehemently stick to it to make things work
Make a plan, create good habits, do the work daily and don’t slip. There’re no excuses here. If you want to get the results you want, you need to have a plan and a daily schedule that will keep you motivated.
Also, stand by your convictions. Whatever goal you’ve set for yourself, always work towards it and never give up.
7. Quality Can Never be Compromised
You should never rush anything just to get it done, or move forward with something when you know it’s not good enough. You don’t win any medals for ‘nearly amazing’. Either what you’re offering is amazing, or it’s not good enough to be amazing.
Not being too concerned with consistently high quality, is where mistakes are made and people are left less satisfied, or even unsatisfied all together. Take the time to do the job properly, or do it again until you get it right.
8. Open up your eyes and broaden your horizons
Whether it is what you love or how you live your life, your world isn’t the world. There’s always so much more to learn out there. Get out there, travel, meet new people and expose yourself to different things so you can truly experience things on a different level.
