9 Delicious Facts About Gordon Ramsay

Chef Gordon Ramsay’s favorite curse word in the kitchen is “f*ckos.” This should come as no surprise, given his reputation as a potty-mouthed culinary firebrand. Ramsay, the first Scottish chef to be awarded three Michelin stars, describes himself as “a crazy f*cking psycho!” in the kitchen, and it would seem that few who have worked with him over the years would disagree. I mean, you don’t get yourself put on TV Guide’s list of the "60 Nastiest Villains of All Time" for nothing.

But with more than 30 restaurants around the world, several Michelin stars, and a bevy of popular television shows—including Hell’s Kitchen and MasterChef—it’s hard to argue with Ramsay’s success in the entertainment universe. Here are some things you might not have known about everyone’s favorite foul-mouthed gourmand.

1. HE ONCE THREW JOAN COLLINS OUT OF HIS RESTAURANT.

Technically, Ramsay threw noted food critic A. A. Gill out of his flagship London restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay; but Gill’s companion for the evening and witness to the gastro-ejection, actress Joan Collins, was kicked out by default. As it turns out, Ramsay had a beef with some of Gill’s past criticisms of his food, including the time he said that, “The menu was, in some respects, utterly tasteless and embarrassing.” Gill went on to describe his nemesis, Ramsay, as “a wonderful chef, just a really second-rate human being.” Ramsay’s mother was apparently not pleased at all with her son’s behavior in this instance.

2. HE NEVER MUCH CARED FOR VEGETARIANS … UNTIL HE LEARNED ABOUT PIGLET CASTRATION.

Ramsay has never made a secret of his disdain for vegetarianism. On one occasion, he bragged about telling a table of vegetarians who were eating artichoke soup that he had made it “with vegetable stock, when it was chicken stock.” On an episode of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, he let an unwitting vegetarian eat a slice of pizza with ham on it—and didn’t divulge the ingredients until after the diner had consumed it (which Ramsay found quite humorous). The chef seemed to have a change of heart, however, after seeing a video of the horrors of commercial pig farming in Europe—including the practices of tail docking (removing a piglet’s tail) and piglet castration (self-explanatory).

“It’s enough to make anyone turn f***ing vegetarian for God’s sake,” Ramsay said. “And I’ve always sort of knocked vegetarians and vegans for, you know, missing out on the most amazing flavor you get from meat, but you can see why so many people change instantly.”

3. HE AND MARIO BATALI ARE NOT FANS OF ONE ANOTHER.

As noted in the New York Post in 2009, the feud between the two chefs began when Mario Batali criticized Ramsay’s food, calling it “dull and outdated.” Ramsay retaliated by nicknaming Batali “Fanta Pants” (a knock on his signature orange pants), which led Batali to ban Ramsay from all of his restaurants. “Ramsay’s people call, trying to book tables, and I say no,” Batali told The Guardian. “I won’t have him in there … Gordon bugs me … Now he goes about town calling me Fanta Pants.” But Batali seemed open to burying the hatchet, saying that, “If Gordon called me himself and said, ‘Let’s sit down for a drink.’ I’m sure it would be fine. We’d be cool. But right now it’s not cool.”

4. HE HAS HAD SOME COSMETIC SURGERY.

"I've got four children, and they've become 'Dad, why have you got so many wrinkles on your face when Clementine's daddy has no wrinkles?,'” Ramsay told The Guardian in 2010 of his decision to have the blemishes removed via cosmetic surgery. “The lines were pretty horrific, like Scarface, and I was never embarrassed by it, but my children helped me become more paranoid about it. You've seen the articles: craggy face, map of Wales, ugly, deflated rugby ball. There's only so much sh*t you want to take.”

But don’t expect Ramsay to go under the knife again. “Of course I'm not going to have any more f*cking work done,” he asserted. “The amazing guy who did it said to me, 'Let's get one thing right: I am not, under any circumstances, ever going to touch that forehead.’”

5. HIS FAVORITE MIDNIGHT SNACK IS BAKED BEANS.

When asked about his favorite midnight snack in an interview with Bon Appétit, Ramsay said, “That would be baked beans. Chili flakes, garlic, Tabasco sauce, hot sauce. Sourdough bread—grilled—baked beans on top, with a duck egg, covered with Parmesan and gratinated under the grill.”

6. HE’LL ALWAYS ORDER THE BEEF WELLINGTON.

No matter where in the world Ramsay is, if he sees beef Wellington on the menu, you can bet that’s what he’ll be ordering. “So the first thing I would want to order if I see it, if there's a Wellington on any menu, whether it's in the middle of Milan or the middle of Paris or the middle of New York,” Ramsay said. “I grew up with beef Wellingtons."

7. HE CAN’T BELIEVE THAT EDIBLE FOAMS HAVE STUCK AROUND.

When it comes to cooking, Ramsay likes to keep things simple and stick to the classics—which definitely does not include any type of edible foam. When asked during a Reddit AMA "What is the dumbest trend in food that you thought would not have lasted, but has?" Ramsay was quick to respond that, “I think foam should be used for shaving, not go on top of food. Because when a foam hits a plate, unless you've eaten it within three or four seconds, at the end it looks like sort of toxic scum on a stagnant pool."

8. HE’S NOT A FAN OF GIRL SCOUT COOKIES.

And on a 2016 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ramsay, who had confessed to never having eaten a Girl Scout Cookie before, was challenged to taste the confections on air. “They look like dog biscuits,” was Ramsay’s response upon looking at plates of Tagalongs, Samoas, and Thin Mints. His opinion didn’t change after trying them.

9. HE’D LOVE TO COOK DINNER FOR HILLARY CLINTON.

Ramsay told Bon Appétit that if he could cook dinner for one celebrity it would be Hillary Clinton. And what would he make her? “I would say something authentic, rich, and a sauce that had been doused with lots of red wine. Like a braised short rib, because she’s of that era—of that age—that she understands fine food.”