Heat in ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ comes from driven chef

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, February 17, 2007

On his TV shows, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay comes across as arrogant, bullying, impatient and foul-mouthed.

But his new autobiography, “Roasting in Hell’s Kitchen: Temper Tantrums, F Words, and the Pursuit of Perfection,” offers a clue that there’s a human being inside after all.

A human being who learned to hate his father for beating his wife and children, yet yearned to impress him, and shed tears at the old man’s funeral.

A young man with dreams of sports stardom whose professional soccer career was cut down by a knee injury.

A man driven to perfection, striving to succeed in the tough world of professional cooking despite his father’s derisive comments about chefs.

Gordon Ramsay has a beautiful wife and children, big house, flashy car, several successful restaurants, a collection of Michelin stars and TV shows; he plays soccer for charity events and runs marathons, and he still worries it isn’t enough.

He remains driven by the memory of his father, a frustrated small-time singer who couldn’t hold a job.

“There was no way I wanted to be a pathetic dreamer like him for the rest of my life. I wanted to be the best at whatever I did, not the kind of guy that people secretly laugh at behind his back.”

Ramsay’s TV persona is loud and bullying, something that surprised even him when he first allowed British television to film in one of his kitchens. Invited to a preview, he reports: “Seeing myself on the screen for the first time I thought … is that really me?”

But it was great for business. Soon the phones were smoking. Half the callers complained about his language and behavior and the other half said they wanted to eat at the restaurant of anyone so passionate about food.

Being dictatorial in a kitchen is, of course, a chefly tradition. And while Ramsay may appear extreme to outsiders, he seems to inspire loyalty in his staff.

Indeed, at one point when a friend was fired, Ramsay announced he was quitting also.

“On the spot, forty-six members of the staff walked out, and in doing so effectively closed down two of London’s best restaurants,” he reports.

“I have always had a loyal staff,” he wrote, despite “ludicrous allegations that I am a bully.”

So who is that inside Gordon Ramsay?

The book is a tale of a complex man driven to produce the best food possible, but who cherishes his mom, wife and children, is loyal to friends and inspires loyalty, and takes pride in recognition.

In short, it’s a story of a human being, and an interesting one at that.