Ramsay, Gordon James (1966– )

Scottish chef, restaurateur, and television personality. A former footballer with the Scottish champions Glasgow Rangers, he worked at several of London's top restaurants before opening his own Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea in 1998.

His Gordon Ramsay restaurant was awarded three Michelin stars in 2001. His other London restaurants include Pétrus (1999), Gordon Ramsay at Claridges (2001), Verre (2001), and The Boxwood Cá (2003). He opened Amaryllis, in Glasgow, in 2001, and with his Pétrus partner Marcus Wareing, he formed a company that took over The Savoy Grill in 2003. He also opened restaurants in Dubai, Tokyo, and New York. After his reality-TV success with Boiling Point, which exposed the stresses of trying to open a restaurant as well as his own explosive temper, he starred in two 2004 series: Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, in which he attempted to rescue failing restaurants around the UK, and Hell's Kitchen, in which he attempted to train contestants to become Michelin-star quality chefs in two weeks. Kitchen Nightmares, the US version of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, appeared in 2007.

He was born in Scotland but grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. After leaving his football career, Ramsay attended a course in hotel management in 1981. During the late 1980s he worked in several well-known London restaurants including Maxim's, Harvey's, and Le Gavroche. After further training in France and a year as a personal chef on a yacht, he returned to London in 1993. He soon became chef at Aubergine, where he earned two Michelin stars.

His cookbooks include Passion for Flavour (1996), Passion for Seafood (1998), A Chef for All Seasons (2000), Just Desserts (2001), Secrets (2003), Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Heaven (2004), Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy (2005), and Gordon Ramsay Easy All Year Round (2006). He published the memoir Humble Pie in 2006.