Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has a lot on his plate, not to mention trying to maintain that firey personality of his.  Despite overseeing nine restaurants in London, eateries in Tokyo & Dubai, gearing up for season three of Hell’s Kitchen and releasing his own line of tablewear, Ramsay has also opened two restaurants in Manhattan.Â
The London restaurant is located in the London NYC Hotel and features fine dining, The London Bar (also in the London NYC Hotel) specializes in a daily menu with small plates & a cheaper price. Recently Wine Enthusiast was able to catch up to the busy boy & give him a little bit of Q & A. Here they are now:
Wine Enthusiast: With so much stiff competition in New York’s fine dining scene, why did you want to chance a restaurant opening here?
Gordon Ramsay: To open a restaurant in New York is to work among some of the best chefs in the world, from Thomas Keller to Jean-Georges Vongrichten. I thrive on the competition.Â
WE: Is it true that you sent a spy over to work undercover in a New York restaurant before deciding to open one yourself?
GR: No, I’m not involved in any undercover espionage! But, obviously, as with any new opening—and particularly this one, given it is my first U.S. restaurant—I and my team have spent a considerable amount of time researching the New York restaurant scene.
WE: So what are some of the highlights of the restaurant cellar?
GR: Our cellar has 5,000 wines from around the world. There are so many beautiful wines including the great Bordeaux vintages of 1982, 1989, 1990.
WE: I hear that Gordon Ramsay at The London has a chef’s table inside the kitchen—can I bring my grandmother to dine there, or will the language be R-rated?Â
GR: Within a kitchen environment there isn’t much time for “please†and “thank you.†Better perhaps that I meet your granny outside of the kitchen.
WE: You’re obviously really busy, but when you do get a chance to relax, what meal do you like to prepare and eat?Â
GR: My wife, Tana, is a great cook; I only claim otherwise to keep her on her toes! Tana cooks a brilliant chicken pie. It is great comfort food. Cloudy Bay is a rich and buttery Chardonnay and lovely with Tana’s pie. And my ideal tipple is a nice chilled Dom Perignon.
WE: I read online that you are recruiting for wine waiters at your restaurants…I’d love to work for you but I’ve watched your TV shows and frankly, I’m scared!
GR: I ask no more of my staff than I do of myself. Do your job and do it well and you’ll be just fine
Well, there you have it folks, the most recent scoop on our favorite foul-mouthed chef!