Gordon Ramsay is one of the most famous culinary personalities in the world. Given his ability to improve restaurants on shows like Hell’s Kitchen and 24 Hours to Hell & Back, some may be curious as to many restaurants Ramsay owns himself. According to Ramsay’s official website, he owns a total of 35 restaurants throughout the world.
“Originally routed in fine dining, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants has expanded to include more casual fine dining sites.” the site reads. “[We offer a] wide variety of guest experiences around the globe, such as London House, Pétrus and Union Street Café in London, Gordon Ramsay Steak in Las Vegas, Gordon Ramsay at Forte Village, Sardinia, as well as Bread Street Kitchen & Bar, Hong Kong, a concept taken from the Group’s Bread Street Kitchen, St Paul’s, London.”
Gordon Ramsay Owns 35 Restaurants Throughout the World
Ramsay has 14 restaurants in London, while the rest are spread throughout the aforementioned locations. He has owned or operated restaurants since he first became head chef of Aubergine in 1993. He was given 25% of that restaurant, and later broke off to open his own establishment, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. In 2001, the restaurant enabled Ramsay to become the first Sottish chef to win three Michelin stars.
Several of Ramsay’s locations have closed down, with the most recent being Gordon Ramsay At the London in West Hollywood, California. The location closed down in February 2015. The most recent location that’s opened up was the Bread Street Kitchen in Sanya, Hainan, China, which opened May 1, 2018.
Ramsay Was the First Sottish Chef to Earn a 3 Michelin Star Rating
During a 2009 interview with Bon Appetit, Ramsay spoke about his infamous temper, and how he prefers to operate a restaurant. “When I get angry, I’m just being honest, and I don’t think it’s ever going to be any different. I, like any good chef, want everything to be perfect,” he said. “The kitchen is a highly pressurized and heated environment and sometimes it just comes out. When you are in the middle of service, it’s like four to five hours of being in a pressure cooker. When you’re trying to get a full restaurant served with the quality of food they expect, the smallest issue can throw your whole system into a spin.”
“The customers don’t need to know about what it takes to ensure they have a great experience, so you just get on with it, and the pressure builds and builds,” Ramsay continued. When asked which of his restaurants he would keep if he could only have one, he picked the original Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. “Our flagship in Chelsea, London. It’s the only restaurant in London to hold three Michelin stars and is absolutely exquisite,” he said. “I have an incredible team there, led by Clare Smyth. She’s 30 years old and is the only female three-Michelin-starred chef in the U.K.”
Ramsay also said that he considers himself a chef first, and a celebrity second. “I am constantly being asked, are you a celebrity first now rather than a chef? The answer is, and always will be, no,” he explained. “I haven’t spent the last 20 years in the kitchen and built up the company to go and sit on a yacht in the south of France. The shows have come along and done very well and I’m proud of them, but at the end of the day it’s the restaurants and the incredible teams running them that take precedence.”