Gordon Ramsay takes aim at fat chefs, diets, the restaurant industry and negligent parents
GORDON Ramsay has served up a big slice of commonsense with a side of profanity, as the globetrotting celebrity chef took aim at fat chefs, crash diets and negligent parents in one of his most honest interviews yet.
Confidential
Don't miss out on the headlines from Confidential. Followed categories will be added to My News.
GORDON Ramsay has served up a big slice of commonsense with a side of profanity, as the globetrotting celebrity chef took aim at fat chefs, crash diets and negligent parents.
“I used to be a fat f ... once,” the outspoken British chef told The Daily Telegraph, admitting that he once weighed 120kg.
“I’ve never been lazy but you get consumed, it sucks you in and you forget to put your head above the parapet,” Ramsay said.
“For me, the thing that scares me the most is not having a healthy lifestyle is that at 53 my father died of a heart attack so that is a constant reminder of being super fit.”
And the 51-year-old said being overweight was no sign of quality in the cooking profession.
“All that bullshit about never trusting a skinny chef, you should never trust a fat f ... because they’ve eaten all the best parts,” he said.
“It is the skinny (chefs) you should be in awe of because they’re saving the best bits for you. Every time I see a fat chef, having been one, I cringe.”
Ramsay is in Australia promoting his new book, Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Fit Food, and his ongoing collaboration with Royal Doulton. He’ll be at Westfield Bondi Junction today from 11.30am to meet fans.
And the straight-shooting star of hit shows Hell’s Kitchen and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares will no doubt be dishing out a few opinions with his autograph. Such as his views on amateur restaurateurs.
MORE: WHY GORDON WON’T EAT AIRLINE FOOD
MORE: GORDON SLAMS MARCO PIERRE WHITE — AGAIN
“The problem in my industry is the fact that anyone can open a restaurant, it is not like a doctor’s surgery or a f ... king lawyer holding court, you can have a dinner party, have smoke blown up your arse and someone tell you to open a restaurant,” the Michelin Star chef said.
“They fall in love with this image of being a restaurateur, no they’re not, they’re going to be a f---king nightmare. That is the base qualification to open a restaurant and sadly 85 per cent of them are shit. It is sad, you could literally go and open a restaurant in a week’s time if you’ve got the money.”
But Ramsay praised Australian food culture, saying he had one of his best meals at Firedoor in the inner Sydney suburb of Surry Hills this week. Eating well, whatever the meal, is a message he’s keen to share — especially with parents.
“I am fed up with all of these f---ing campaigns, giving the kids a conscience,” he said.
“It is the parents that should be nailed because it is them who are shoving that shit down their throats without questioning anything.
“Being at school overweight is hard enough. Having lazy parents that are turning you into overweight kids is 10 times worse.”
He does not support diets though. “When they go on that strict diet, there are mass complications because they slam it too hard and their body is in shock. It is about moderation and finding that balance but the last thing I will ever go on in my entire f ... ing life is a diet. How could a chef be on a diet?”
RELATED
Ramsay said he was careful with his collaborations and had a passion for Royal Doulton for 12 years.
“There are certain chefs out there that label-slap on supermarkets and the next day they are trying to tax sugar but they wouldn’t think of those kind of campaigns while they’ve been employed by supermarkets ... I don’t want that hypocritical stance under my name,” he said.
editorial p70