The chef speaks: Gordon Ramsay

FOR A chef with a pop culture reputation of being a screamer, Gordon Ramsay was remarkably soft-spoken when he made an appearance in Manila on Jan. 20.

The chef, known for his multiple Michelin-starred restaurants but also his TV appearances, appeared to a diverse audience at the Newport Performing Arts Theater including a block of culinary arts students, whom he stopped and shook hands with before moving on up to the stage.

Forced to give up football after an injury as a teen, Mr. Ramsay studied at the North Oxfordshire Technical College and worked as a chef, moving to France to further his learning in his 20s. He rose through the ranks, and now has restaurants that bear his name, such as Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London, with three Michelin stars, among other restaurants such as Hell’s Kitchen — which he announced during the Jan. 20 event that he might open here, along with three other restaurants.

“As of 6:30 tomorrow morning, we’re looking at potential three-new restaurant site here in Manila,” he said. “Maybe a Hell’s Kitchen restaurant as well.”

Mr. Ramsay was known as the hothead chef in television shows like Boiling Point, Kitchen Nightmare, Hell’s Kitchen (after which the restaurant is named), MasterChef US, and MasterChef Junior (where, unlike the other shows, his soft side comes to the fore), among many others. The stereotype of the angry chef was once occupied by Frenchmen, and stepping into those shoes marked a renewed culinary dominance for the UK (a land whose food was often disparaged).

RAMSEY RESTAURANTS IN PHL
Mr. Ramsay appeared onstage at 2 p.m., an hour late for the 1 p.m. call time. He had been visiting his restaurant at Newport World Resorts, Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill, and checking in with the staff. He mentioned that some of them have to travel four hours to go to and from work: “That means so much to me. It reminds me of myself at 22.” The restaurant has been a success since its opening in August 2024: Mr. Ramsay reported receiving 10,000 bookings in its first 30 days.

At the end of the program, Mr. Ramsay held a big check onstage with Kevin Tan, CEO of Alliance Global Group, Inc. which owns Newport World Resorts, and�� Nilo Thaddeus Rodriguez, Newport’s President and CEO. The resort, with Mr. Ramsay, pledged P10 million “proudly supporting sustainable food and community development in the Philippines.”

“We focus on training,” he said, responding to a question by host Issa Litton about how he keeps a tight ship. “Having that consistency is crucial for us. We have some academies now popping up around the globe.” While traditional culinary schools offer programs for two or three years, his does it with 60-to-120-day intense training.

“We have an amazing team. I run things, it’s me, but honestly, my team is incredible. They have a huge responsibility,” he said.

IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
He has recently moved on from TV to become a social media star in his own name, but for him, it’s more than just a game. “I love that intrusion from social media, because we could be in New York and there could be a guest eating lunch here at Bar & Grill, and we’ll get the feedback instantly,” he said. “We take negativity very seriously. We listen to the comments, we listen to the critics. We hold the bar high.”

Even more than that, he encourages chefs to take up space in their social media platforms. Responding to whether it’s harder to be a celebrity than a chef, he said, “They need to know how to market themselves,” pointing out that the culinary students in the audience might well become stars and have their own ventures someday. “As a professional chef, I think they’re a little bit awkward about the intrusion of social media, and so I teach all our kids: embrace it. It’s a great way of establishing confidence… looking at yourself, and judging yourself on a global platform.”

“No one gets to see the 12 hours of prep for the three-minute devour,” he said, nor the early mornings on the bus, or the midnight drives alone. “I think they deserve that platform,” he said. “What that intrusion does, it gives you such evidence. You can learn from that. We never that any of that access growing up in culinary school. Even during my time in France, at 22 years of age… we didn’t have that inter(action). It’s a plus. It’s a big advantage. You learn so much.”

ASIAN CUISINE
Speaking of stars, later in the program, a screen rose above the stage to reveal a mock-up of the MasterChef set, with four local contenders coming onstage: social media cooking star Ninong Ry (Ryan Reyes), award-winning actress (and, yes, trained chef) Judy Ann Santos-goncillo, culinary student Danica Lucero, and the Head Chef at Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill Philippines Bea Qua. They were each tasked to make halo-halo (a Filipino layered ice dessert), with their own secret ingredients. Ninong Ry made his with coco jam, Ms. Santos made hers with a black sesame polvoron (a milk powder dessert), Ms. Qua made hers with asin tibuok (a local artisanal salt), while Ms. Lucero made hers with a kamias compote (bilimbi or cucumber tree). Ms. Lucero won that day, receiving a signed jacket from Mr. Ramsay as a prize.

Mr. Ramsay discussed what he liked about Asia (hence his expansion here). “Your heritage is incredible,” he said, noting that some basic recipes take multiple generations to develop. “The culture. The complexity of Filipino cuisine. It’s so regionalized as well, which is so lovely.”

He noted that one of his recent finds was a sisig taco from Melbourne — Ms. Litton pointed out that sisig (chopped and grilled pork’s face) goes well with beer, to which he joked that Filipinos don’t like drinking — before lunch, that is.

“We evolve it, we don’t disaparage it. We respect the ingredients,” he said. He noted visiting the market in the morning (Mr. Ramsay was spotted a day after the event at Cubao’s Farmers Market with renowned Filipina chef Margarita Fores). “It’s just awash with incredible ingredients,” he said (which market he went to first, we don’t know).

“I’ve said before: Filipino cuisine for me is like a Sleeping Beauty of Asia. It’s now prominent,” he said. He noted the country’s sweet tooth, meanwhile, noting that we use evaporated milk “in pints.” “I have a very sweet tooth,” he said, remembering a white pudding he had as a child with evaporated milk and sultanas. “These little nuances always take me back to my childhood.”

OF TRENDS AND LESSONS
He also responded to a question about food trends, noting that fermentation might be big this year, but, “The gimmicky ones are the ones I pass on.”

“Understanding what’s important for you, what’s missing in your culinary program, and then focus on that,” he said. “That’s how you stay away from fad trends and get involved with… important longevity trends.”

A student asked him about the lessons that he learned in culinary school and which he still deems important today. “Get comfortable being uncomfortable,” saying that at the age of 18 to 26, one must be “the most energetic sponge.” “Understanding different cultures, crucial. Travel is obvious. Travelling to different cultures, and understanding — you never get… to speak the language, but you can speak through the food, and understanding what they’re about, and learn to master what they’re about it crucial.” — Joseph L. Garcia