Roasting in Hell's Kitchen: Temper Tantrums, F Words, and the Pursuit of Perfection

Gordon Ramsay

Oct 2009 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

Everyone thinks they know the real Gordon Ramsay: rude, loud, pathologically driven, stubborn as hell

For the first time, Ramsay tells the full inside story of his life and how he became the world's most famous and infamous chef: his difficult childhood, his brother's heroin addiction, his failed first career as a soccer player, his fanatical pursuit of gastronomic perfection and his TV persona—all of the things that made him the celebrated culinary talent and media powerhouse that he is today.

In Roasting in Hell's Kitchen Ramsay talks frankly about his tough and emotional childhood, including his father's alcoholism and violence and their effect on his relationships with his mother and siblings. His rootless upbringing saw him moving from house to house and town to town followed by the authorities and debtors as his father lurched from one failed job to another.

He recounts his short-circuited career as a soccer player, when he was signed by Scotland's premier club at the age of fifteen but then, just two years later, dropped out when injury dashed his hopes. Ramsay searched for another vocation and, much to his father's disgust, went into catering, which his father felt was meant for “poofs.”

He trained under some of the most famous and talented chefs in Europe, working to exacting standards and under extreme conditions that would sometimes erupt in physical violence. But he thrived, with his exquisite palate, incredible vision and relentless work ethic. Dish by dish, restaurant by restaurant, he gradually built a Michelin-starred empire.

A candid, eye-opening look into the extraordinary life and mind of an elite and unique restaurateur and chef, Roasting in Hell's Kitchen will change your perception not only of Gordon Ramsay but of the world of cuisine.

Ratings and reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed this peek into Mr. Ramsay's life. It's no wonder his face is a bit wrinkled for his age. Keep cooking!

Ï ḧäv̈ën̈'ẗ r̈ëäd̈ ïẗ b̈üẗ ï d̈ö k̈n̈öẅ ẗḧïs̈ ïs̈ ä g̈ööd̈ b̈öök̈ f̈r̈ön̈ r̈ëv̈ëïẅs̈ än̈d̈ ï äl̈̈l̈r̈ëäd̈ÿ k̈n̈öẅ ḧë j̈s̈ ä f̈äm̈ïl̈ÿ m̈än̈ än̈d̈ ä s̈öf̈ẗïë r̈ëäl̈l̈ÿ ḧë ïs̈ K̈ïn̈d̈ än̈d̈ n̈öẗ r̈üd̈ë ïẗs̈ j̈üs̈ẗ ḧïs̈ j̈öb̈,☯

Fantastic book. I like his style and it was hard to put down. A little more "polished" than his earlier work, but still enjoyable.

About the author

Gordon Ramsay's radical career change at seventeen, from soccer player to chef, led to the awakening of exceptional talent. He is now the holder of an extraordinary ten Michelin stars, for his restaurants in London and New York, and is at the head of a food empire, with restaurants in places as far afield as Tokyo and Prague. He has produced a number of bestselling cookbooks, published a hugely successful autobiography, Roasting in Hell's Kitchen, and starred in a stream of successful television series, including the award-winning Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Hell's Kitchen on Fox. Ramsay and his wife have four children and live in England.