Entertainment
Top 10 GORDON RAMSAY Simple Pleasures
While Gordon Ramsay is mostly known for the way he responds to things he disapproves of, he obviously isn’t capable of being the British “No” version to the “Yes-Man” Jim Carry portrayed in the movie, ‘Yes Man’. How could he be? If he only said no to everything he’d end up being an angry and negative person, which is totally contrary… to… Wait a minute. But really, as a married father of four and a human being, it’s obvious that Ramsay does have a few things in his day that actually bring a smile to that typically scowling face of his. So, we delved through as much Ramsay related video, interview articles and audio to hopefully find the answer to what brings Ramsay happiness that also doesn’t cost an arm and a leg in the hopes that it’ll bring some happiness into your world. Beyond that, though, you may also find some tricks that Ramsay has used to basically use everyday, simple pleasures to become even more successful than he already was as a restauranteur and that’s really the sort of info you’ll need if you plan on being a celebrity in today’s day and age.
10. Trying New Foods
Thanks to his television shows, Ramsay is perhaps known as the world’s pickiest eater as he won’t hesitate to scream at a chef if something is prepared wrong or, god-forbid, overcooked. Ramsay has made it clear through interviews, though, that he doesn’t act the way he does on his shows in real life for a couple of reasons, most of which just boil down to entertainment, preparing people for a potential role in one of his kitchens or him showing legitimate disgust at the state of some of the kitchens he comes across on his show Kitchen Nightmares. Beyond that, though, he’s actually not a super picky eater at least when it applies to trying new food. Ramsay has stated that he’ll try any food once and considering the travels that he’s done around the world (see number seven on this list) that’s a ton of food. It may also surprise you that a man who has also been referred to as the rudest chef in the world also likes to try out the cuisine of the countries he’s visited as a way to not be exactly that, rude. Beyond that, though, it gives Ramsay the ability to try new food and that’s what keeps his menus fresh and his knowledge ever-expanding, something that you might want to keep in mind in whatever pursuits you follow as you’re never too old to stop learning about your craft.
9. Getting back to Basic Foods
Beyond learning about and trying new cuisine, there’s also nothing wrong with going back to basics from time to time and that’s something that Gordon Ramsay has admitted to in interviews. In one interview in particular, with Playboy back in 2011, Ramsay admitted that the main thing he misses when he leaves Los Angeles, California is access to good old fashioned In-and-Out Burger, burgers. That’s right, the most famous chef in the world actually really enjoys fast food burgers from at least one location and that may come as a surprise to people who’d assume that Ramsay would be eating Beef Wellington for every meal in his amazing fleet of Ferraris. There’s nothing wrong with going back to basics as it helps remind people like Ramsay where they came from and while it’s pretty literal in the sense that food can remind him of his childhood while also helping him get back to basics in the kitchen, it can work in other instances as well. Granted, there weren’t any In-and-Out Burgers in England where Ramsay grew up, but you get the idea.
8. Cocktails
Considering Ramsay’s huge temper and foul mouth you may not be surprised that he also goes in for a cocktail or two at night to unwind. Finding ways to de-stress, especially after super stressful peaks in work or even personal affairs can be an extremely important way to continue succeeding at what you’re doing and Ramsay has not only made that clear but has also made a lot of money off of it as most restaurants make their highest profits when serving alcohol. Ramsay has a favorite drink, or at least his favorite drink to pimp while on The Tonight Show, the aptly named “Wake Up You Donkey”, which is a shot of Tequila mixed with cider, honey and smoked elderflower. Ramsay actually brought this drink on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon as he was advertising a new restaurant but did say that it was his favorite cocktail, so while it seemed like a shameless plug it at least was a good gift for the host, as Fallon is known for his drinking. Beyond that, it allowed Ramsay to take the edge off a bit, or perhaps too much, as he exclaimed how good the drink was with his favorite four-letter word (We’ll give you a hint, it rhymes with “Tuck”).
7. Traveling
New things new ideas, french cuisine showing him he didn’t know what he thought he did. Outside (or part of) trying new food also includes finding new places to try that food and part of what Ramsay both loves and needs to do as a world-famous chef and restauranteur is travel. Now, while a lot of these simple pleasures are exacerbated by his fame and wealth, a lot of people who will never be able to afford to travel to Singapore, for example, can still learn from Ramsay’s Wanderlust as traveling need only be defined by the person itself. You can travel from your home state to a new state, or from your town to a new town and really still be traveling as long as you’re defining what you’re looking for in your travels. Obviously, Ramsay travels because he’s selling something like a restaurant, a book or a television show but beyond that he takes the time to learn about local cuisines to really learn more his craft and that’s something you can regardless of what you do. If you’re a sports writer, learn more about what other teams’ writers talk about, if you’re into photography, drawing, really any of life’s pursuits, you can always learn more by experiencing more and the best way to experience more is to travel someplace else. Ramsay has done that by adding new flavors and approaches to his cuisine, something he learned very early on while visiting Paris, France and still shows to this day.
6. Cars
Another entry on this list that really feels unattainable is Ramsay’s zest for fine automobiles, which is projected mostly by his love for and ownership of multiple amazing Ferraris. In fact, Ramsay is so well-known in the Ferrari community that he is often on the short list to buy new and exotic versions of the famous Italian supercar. He owns a couple Ferraris that were created in extremely short supply (he typically owns one of a five-hundred fleet) and thus are extremely rare and valuable (he actually owns one of the cars that actually were recently sold as the most expensive automobile manufactured in the 21st century in the Ferrari LaFerrari. Now, it may feel like it’s impossible for “normal” people to obtain things like even a used Ferrari but that’s not the point of his love for cars. Ramsay grew up loving cars and that love didn’t change because he wasn’t as rich or famous as he is now, back then, and that’s something that can apply to everyone’s life. Whether it’s a car (go to an auto show) or a sports team that you can’t afford to see in person (watch on television), there’s a ton of different ways to exercise one’s love for something and Ramsay has done that by owning multiple Ferraris, but considering there was a love for that car that existed before then, by his focusing heavily on that one hobby, can be applied by everyone to everything.
5. Time
As someone who has multiple television shows in multiple countries as well as owns and operates restaurants around the world, Gordon Ramsay clearly has limited time. One way he’s chosen to spend the money that comes from all the time he spends working is by acquiring fancy timepieces, or watches, namely in a couple highly collectible Rolex Submariner watches, including some from the 50’s right around the time that they were released and marketed as the first waterproof watch ever produced (down to 100 meters). Like his love for automobiles, Ramsay has the money to take his love of watches to a level that most people aren’t able to but it’s really about the message behind it that’s important in this instance. Because he needs to spend his time wisely, it makes sense that he’d focus on keeping time in the best way possible and there’s really no better watch than those Rolex timepieces. So, keep that in mind, even if you’re rocking a battery operated Casio, that we all only have 24-hours a day to work towards our goals and so in focusing on the time you spend you can perhaps run multiple empires at once, like Gordon Ramsay.
4. Home
Another simple pleasure that Ramsay has clearly the money to make extremely comfortable is in his home (or rather, homes, considering he owns real estate around the world, namely in his native England but also in California, in the United States). Ramsay also has vacation homes in Cornish England (or Cornwall, England as us on the other side of the Atlantic might better know it), or rather purchased one mansion for his family to stay in awhile an adjacent mansion was torn-town and rebuilt to meet his families needs (mostly in the kitchen, as his other homes have had kitchens large enough to require entire new additions and appliances large enough to require cranes during the loading process). However, it’s the old adage that home is where the heart is that applies to any home, of any size, and while the super rich/famous typically are also extremely busy and thus it makes sense for them to have larger homes (especially since they can’t just leave their home to run to the local pool), it’s again all about the message and the message here is that nothing is more important to Ramsay than the concept of home… At least in terms of what makes it his home.
3. Family
As the last entry implied, family is what makes a house a home and clearly with four children, he needs a lot of room as well. Ramsay is still married to his wife Cayetana, whose maiden name was Cayetana Elizabeth Hutcheson, a school-teacher who he went in 1996. They live with their family mostly in Wandsworth Common, an area of London. Their children are named Megan, Holly, Jack and Matilda and they also lost a pregnancy in 2016 after five months. The oldest Ramsay child, Megan, ran the London Marathon in 2017 in honor of her unborn baby-brother, who the family named Rocky. Beyond his immediate family, his wife’s father, Chris Hutcheson, actually ran the business operations for his massive restaurant empire up until 2010 and was actually convicted (along with his sons (Ramsay’s brother-in-laws)) of conspiring to hack a computer system in related to Ramsay’s business operations 2,000 times over the course of the year after he was fired. That family trouble has shown Ramsay just how important his immediate family is and because of that their homes are all built with his family in mind. That means swimming pools, entire floors dedicated to his children, tennis courts and being right next to the beach for the Ramsay’s but that could be as simple as a fire-pit or Xbox in yours.
2. Job
Few people end up being famous for a regular job, and that’s just what Ramsay does, a regular job. Every town has thousands upon thousands of chefs to keep their people fed (well) and while lots of towns also have actors for theater productions of plays, it’s a bit different as the idea of a celebrity-chef is more akin to the idea of a celebrity-cobbler (someone who fixes shows) or a celebrity-postal clerk. So, Ramsay was lucky in that he’s only a handful of people in the world who can make an impressive living as a celebrity chef but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t also do the same work that people do that build successful restaurant empires, it just means that his have the added benefit of their owner being an advertisement for each restaurant. All of that boils down to the fact that Ramsay found a job doing what he loves and every aspect of that benefits both him personally but also him professionally, which ends up snowballing into a sort of self-improving snowball that clearly has worked out well for the Brit. That’s really the key though, in a life full of simple things made extravagant by wealth and celebrity, that he does really love what he does for a living, how else could someone get that worked up over how well down a hamburger is cooked? So, if you can find your passion and then find a way to make a living at it, you’ll be as happy as Ramsay as there’s really nothing that’s simpler in the world than that.
1. Social Media
As any celebrity, owner of a business (especially a restaurant) and host of a plethora of television shows knows, you have to be good at not only establishing your brand but also keeping that brand fresh and in front of people online as well to be successful. Clearly Ramsay is a master at that, as he’s one of the most famous people on the planet and definitely one of the most famous people on the internet (you’re watching this list, aren’t you?). Ramsay is older, though, and so he sort of fell backwards into internet fame as his television shows and appearances were basically made to be cut up into small, internet attention-span sized portions, and so it’s actually the internet that sought out Ramsay versus Ramsay seeking out internet fame, which is an interesting change to the typical approach to starring in tons of memes, short clips and lists like these. Beyond that, Ramsay does a great job of sharing just enough of his personal life online to keep people interested in what he’s doing and that’s something that can help blow off steam between takes or bring in more diners to your restaurant(s). It’s his take on the internet as a simple pleasure that really shows how different he is and why he’s been so successful.