GORDON RAMSAY'S BIO

Football and Food
From the day that Gordon Ramsay swapped his sporting ambitions (playing professional soccer aged 15) to the day when his restaurant group became the only one in the UK to hold seven Michelin stars, there have been some major highlights in Gordon's career that have made his name synonymous with outstanding fine dining.

Having made the difficult decision to leave professional soccer after suffering a serious leg injury, Gordon decided to go back to college to train in hotel management. His first position in the restaurant kitchens of London was with Marco Pierre White, a Michelin-starred chef. A couple of years later Gordon moved to Le Gavroche to work alongside Albert Roux, followed by three years in France in the kitchens of Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon.

In 1992, Gordon took a year off to cook on the yacht of a media tycoon but was soon drawn back to London where he became chef of the newly opened Aubergine. Within three years, he had won many accolades including two Michelin stars.

The Restaurants
In 1998, at the age of 32, Gordon set up his first wholly owned restaurant, Gordon Ramsay, in London's Chelsea area.

A year later he opened Pétrus with his protegé, Marcus Wareing, as Chef Patron in London's St. James's Street. Within seven months, it had won a Michelin star. That level of success followed him when, in October 2001, Gordon opened Gordon Ramsay in Claridge's, which gained a Michelin star in 2003.

During this time, he also launched The Gordon Ramsay Scholar Award, which aims to encourage young chefs, along with opening Verre in The Dubai Creek Hotel.

By 2002, he had set his sights on a new restaurant. This time, it involved his other protégée Angela Hartnett. Set in London's Connaught Hotel, Angela was overseeing two restaurants, MENU and The Grill Room, both won a Michelin star for her in 2004.

By 2003 Gordon's award-winning food was now being served in another famous London hotel, The Savoy. Set inside the art-deco splendour of the hotel, Banquette followed the earlier opening of The Savoy Grill, which also won Marcus Wareing a Michelin star in 2004.

Books and TV
Over the years, Gordon has published numerous books including, Passion for Flavour, A Chef for all Seasons, and Secrets. He's also made several TV programs and recently published a companion book to the UK broadcast of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, titled Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Heaven.

His latest endeavor is the TV reality show, Hell's Kitchen, in which Gordon has two weeks to train budding cooks into Michelin star chefs. An American version of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares has also aired to great success.

In 2006, Gordon Ramsay published his autobiography, Humble Pie, which tells the story of how Gordon rose from a difficult childhood to become the world's most famous chef.

Other Awards
Gordon's restaurant, Gordon Ramsay was voted the Top Restaurant in the UK with a score of 28 in the 2001 London Zagat Survey and the best Fine Dining Restaurant in the 2001 Harden's Guide. These ratings continued in 2002 and 2003 when, for the second year running, Gordon Ramsay was named among the five best restaurants in the world in a Restaurant Magazine poll.

Personal Life
Gordon is married with children and lives in South London. He regularly jogs home from work late at night after a long shift in his central London restaurants.