Gordon Ramsay through the years: How the renowned chef built his culinary empire
Gordon Ramsay is a culinary powerhouse.
The 57-year-old has had quite the incredible career as a world renowned chef, writer, restaurateur, businessman, and TV personality.
But did you know, he dreamt of a different career path growing up? That's just part of his story.
Stream every episode of Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars for free on 9Now.
This year he joined business mogul Janine Allis (founder of Boost Juice), in a brand new Australian season of Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars.
The reality series saw Gordon and Janine go head-to-head to find Australia's next big food idea.
Here, we're taking a look back at some of Gordons career highlights and life milestones – scroll through to see where it all began.
Gordon's early life
Gordon was born in Johnstone, Scotland, and moved to England with his family when he was nine years old.
As a young man, he worked as a dish washer for a local Indian restaurant, but aspired to be a professional footballer.
After a serious knee injury, he was forced to give up the sport. At age 16 he moved into his own apartment in South East England.
At age 19, Gordon enrolled at North Oxfordshire Technical College to complete a course in hotel management – a career move that made him everything he is today.
Gordon marries wife Tana
Starting out as a chef, Gordon's dedication and talent led him to train with some of the world's best chefs, including Albert Roux and Marco Pierre White in London.
In 1993, White made Gordon head chef of restaurant Aubergine in London, and within three years Aubergine was awarded two Michelin stars.
In 1996, Gordon married his wife Tana, a school teacher. They went on to have six children Megan, 25, twins Holly and Jack, 24, Matilda, 22, Oscar, 4, and Jesse, five months.
Gordon and Tana are still together today.
Gordon moves to Paris
At age 23, Gordon moved to Paris and worked with Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon, both Michelin-starred chefs.
He continued his training in France for three years.
At age 35, Gordon branched out on his own and in 1998 opened his first wholly-owned and namesake restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.
He opened the restaurant with the help of his father-in-law and former colleagues at Aubergine.
By 2021, his restaurant received the most prestigious accolade in the culinary world – three Michelin stars.
Gordon goes global
With his name on the map, Gordon's business rapidly expanded over the years.
The chef opened a string of successful restaurants across the globe from Dubai, to Singapore and all major cities in the UK.
Taking on the United States, Gordon has six restaurants in Las Vegas alone including Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen at the iconic Caesars Palace.
Here's Gordon pictured at the restaurant's red carpet opening in Las Vegas, January 2018.
The celebration also marked 20 years since opening his first establishment.
Expanding across the UK, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants evolved to include many exciting formats.
These include iconic brands such as Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill, Bread Street Kitchen, Lucky Cat, Heddon Street Kitchen, Street Pizza and Street Burger, to name a few.
Gordon branches into TV
But it was Gordon's TV career that catapulted the renowned chef into the celebrity spotlight.
Gordon's first known TV role was as a judge for a MasterChef-like series for young catering students back in 1997.
In 1999, he starred in his first fly-on-the-wall documentary Boiling Point.
The five-part series followed eight extremely intense months of Gordon's life as he opened his first restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.
It was because of this series, Gordon's fiery personality became known to the world.
Gordon became an international star of the small screen.
In 2004, fans would remember him from Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares which ran to its fifth series, and reality series Hell's Kitchen (pictured).
Both shows got picked up by FOX network and the US versions were born.
Gordon's iconic 'idiot sandwich' moment
Speaking of his trademark personality...
Fans couldn't get enough of Gordon's hot temper. Turns out he had quite the sense of humour too.
Who could forget this hilariously viral 2015 moment that came to life on James Corden's The Late Late Show.
While filming a parody sketch with talk-show host Julie Chen, Gordon held her head between two slices of bread.
He yelled, "What are you? An idiot sandwich."
The rest, is history.
What's even more hilarious is that you can now buy the Idiot Sandwich for a limited time only at his Bread Street Kitchen & Bar restaurants in London.
The website reads: "Inspired by Gordon's famous line, we've brought the idiot sandwich to life for the very first time.
"This is a sandwich like no other – stuffed with braised short rib, melted cheddar, confit mushrooms and spiced tomato chutney. This exclusive sandwich is available at all Bread Street Kitchens – but only for a limited time."
What a twist!
Gordon tops TV ratings
On top of his YouTube series, Gordon has four top-rated FOX shows that air in more than 200 territories worldwide.
His critically-acclaimed shows include Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, 24 Hours To Hell & Back, and cooking program The F Word...
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