Hell’s Kitchen can be seen Thursdays at 8 pm on Fox. Photo: Brian Bowen Smith / FOX / Courtesy
After working for a decade in restaurants in England, France and even on a private yacht, in September 1998 Gordon Ramsay (Johnstone, Scotland, 1966) opened a restaurant with his name in London’s Chelsea neighborhood. It was the first stone of an empire that today consists of more than 60 restaurants around the world and such popular TV shows as MasterChef and Hell’s Kitchen .
This week started the 19 ª –and it seems to be the penultimate– season of Hell’s Kitchen on the Fox network . The big news is that the show takes place in Las Vegas . 18 applicants Chefs from across the United States will be divided into two teams each week to endure the outbursts of the fiery Ramsay, famous for keeping quiet and brutally honest with contestants. The winner will become Head Chef at Hell’s Kitchen Restaurant in Lake Tahoe.
With an estimated fortune of more than $ 220 millions of dollars and after decades of work at a Hellish, Ramsay seems ready to enjoy other things in life, especially in the wake of the birth of his fifth child, Oscar, who is not yet two years old. Although he has no regrets about the past, the chef promised to spend more time with Oscar than with his four first children, three of them women who keep him abreast of the latest trends, such as the explosion of plant-based food, as he told us in an interview held more than a year ago, when the recordings of the seasons began 19 ª and 20 ª from Hell’s Kitchen.
Question: What is the secret to keeping a show for so many years?
Gordon Ramsay : That’s a good question. I work with a group of very crazy executive producers, and I am also an executive producer. For me the secret of longevity is that I have restaurants in this business, so everything I learn from those restaurants I turn into competition: the challenges, the trends in food, the competitive advantage and the opportunities. I am not a TV chef; I work in television. And behind 20 Hell’s Kitchen seasons there is a real chef. What I’ve done since day 1 is keep that: it’s a living restaurant. If you ask me what’s going to happen on the show tonight, I have no fucking idea! He can’t tell you what’s going to happen. We are going to have a red team and a blue one. Is the red going to be good? Is the blue going to fall asleep? I don’t know!
Q .: Because the show doesn’t have script…
GR: That’s it. I manage both kitchens, I go from one to the other. And I want them to be successful, so I push for that success. It’s red against blue, but the reason I think it’s still on the air is because it’s unscripted drama with exciting challenges.
Q .: Why the switch to Las Vegas?
GR : Filming in Las Vegas is a great advantage for the opportunities it gives to have fun, the Grand Canyon, a race track, mountains, beautiful shows … It makes everything bigger and more entertaining.
Q .: And after Las Vegas?
GR : I don’t know. I like to stop every now and then and take a break. After seasons 19 and 20 I think I will have done enough.
Q .: So the season 20 th will be the Hell’s Kitchen ending?
GR : I don’t know. Maybe they will find an amazing new chef and it will be good for them. But for me personally I think 20 seasons is amazing, I’ve been very lucky. What I would like to do is stop and reflect.
Read more: Gordon Ramsay comes out of the kitchen to explore six countries in “Uncharted” Q .: Do you consider yourself more of a chef, a TV personality or a businessman? Because you have many restaurants all over the world and many shows.
GR : It’s a good question. At heart, I am a chef. But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life behind the stove. I am 52 years old, not 21. . I’d be a fool if I was still in the kitchen 14 hours a day. This September we celebrate 21 years from Restaurant Gordon Ramsay [en Londres] and 19 years of having three Michelin stars. Right now I’m enjoying it, but I don’t know how long it will continue. Now I am more of a “restauranteur” than a chef. I was a cook who became a chef, then I became a restaurateur and now I have an incredible team that helps me manage all those businesses.
Q .: Latinos like to celebrate around the table. You’ve worked with a lot of Latinos, even on this show. Do you feel that connection?
GR : It’s true. We had Mia [Castro], who reached the final in the season 18. Aarón Sánchez is another great chef with whom I worked very closely at MasterChef and Masterchef Junior. The important moments of the week with the family, in which you realize that there are many more things in life, for me happen with children. And the moment when we understand each other more than ever is around food. Family time around the table is an important factor, sharing bread, talking, asking questions, listening and addressing all the little weaknesses. There are few things more fun than a large family around a table. And this season we have two nights dedicated to families. That creates a very nice atmosphere.
Q .: Does it bother you that people take photos of the dishes and upload them to the networks?
GR : The intrusion of social networks is healthy. It bothers me that there are chefs who complain about people taking photos of their dishes. That is good for us. Because that feedback is instant. I want negative comments to improve. Nets have helped kick chefs in the butt. Anyone can be a critic; we have to accept it. When we screw it up, that goes straight to your feed . We should not be rigid about that. It’s an advantage, because we can correct mistakes faster and not wait for the food critic article three weeks later.
Q .: So many photos on Instagram should put pressure on the presentation of the dishes.
GR : It’s exciting. We are constantly sending each other things. From a chef who is in Australia, another who is in Madrid… We all see what others do. The presentation is key, but there is a point of no return where if it is too worked, it looks fantastic, but you try it and it is not as good as it looks. You have to find a balance. We teach that here. The presentation must have a purpose. Very beautifully executed, but there is a moment when you say: Stop! No more fiddling, let it breathe.