The stats say it all. Gordon Ramsay is one of the world’s most Googled chefs. He boasts 40.9 million followers on TikTok, 21.2 million on YouTube, 18.5 million on Instagram. He currently holds eight Michelin stars for restaurants in the United Kingdom and France, operates close to 100 restaurants worldwide, has starred in countless television shows (Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Masterchef, to name a few) and documentaries, written 20-plus cookbooks, and oh yes, manages to find the time to train and compete in triathlons. He has also won multiple awards, foremost as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II herself. In the 40-or-so years since he got his start as a professional chef, this Scottish-born chef seems to have lived through several careers, accomplishing much more than many of the most successful chefs around. There is nothing he has not done yet—except visit the Philippines.
Well, that can now be checked off his bucket list, because Ramsay finally descended on Manila last January 19th for a whirlwind three-day trip to check on his first ever restaurant in the country, Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill, which opened last August 2024. In between meeting with his team of chefs, planning more restaurant openings in Manila with business partner Kevin Tan, Chairman of Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., and conducting a fun meet-and-greet with an admiring crowd, he found a bit of time for a one-on-one with Esquire held at his restaurant on the 2nd floor of the gleaming Grand Wing of Newport World Resorts.
In person, Gordon Ramsay cuts a striking figure. He is much taller in person than on screen, with his tailored chef’s jacket accentuating his trim, athletic figure. His pale blonde hair was styled with his trademark tousled waves, giving him a youthful appearance and belying his 58 years. He had been giving interviews all morning, but he was still full of energy, shaking the hands of each person on the Esquire crew, pausing to admire the cool eyeglasses of one of the team members, before settling down as we asked him what exactly keeps him ticking these days.
Loving sinigang and adobo
For one, it is Filipino food. “Some of the best restaurants in some of the most exciting cities in the world are Filipino… We’ve removed this blanket of discovery. There’s this incredible excitement behind Filipino cuisine,” he enthuses. I was heartened, actually, that he knew so much about our food, acknowledging its complexity, nuance and regional diversity. “The acid, the vinegar, the fish stews, the marinades, it’s, it’s, it’s fragrance,” he waxes poetic, proclaiming that he sees our food at par with the more globally recognized Thai cuisine. “I’ve been a big lover of Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino cuisine now is ranked certainly in that top five.” When I asked him about his favorite Filipino dish, he thought about it a bit, searching for the correct name. “There's a beautiful white fish stew with the vinegar marinade. The name is…?” I guessed sinigang and his eyes lit up. “That for me typifies Filipino cuisine in there, with the acid, the flavor, the strength, and then just the richness, the complexity of those flavors,” he gushes. But it’s adobo that he most enjoys cooking. “Mastering the technique of a great adobo for me was crucial, especially with the braised belly of pork.”
Even at Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill, Ramsay manages to “sneak in” local produce, namely our very own lapu-lapu or grouper into his classic Fish and Chips, providing a distinctly Filipino touch to his Western-centric menu. “I didn’t think I could create a better fish and chips outside of London and to do it here in Manila with the lapu-lapu fish, it’s extraordinary,” he raves.
Passing the baton
With close to 100 restaurants around the world, Gordon Ramsay is always on a worldwide hunt for talent to run his concepts like Gordon Ramsay Steak, Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips, Gordon Ramsay Burger, Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen (named after the TV show that made him famous), to name just a few. “Consistency is number one on our agenda wherever we are in the world and so it goes down to the training program,” he shares. Thankfully, the mostly Filipino crew at Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill have not disappointed. “I look at the attitude of these young Filipino chefs and it’s majestic. They remind me so much of myself at the age of 22. They don’t want to go home after their shift. They want to come in on their days off. They want to continue educating their palate.”
Ramsay is no longer that 22-year-old who would spend 18- or 19-hour shifts in the kitchen. “Am I behind the line running the fish station? No. Am I at the front of the orchestra conducting it? Yes I am! If we stay behind the line, then no one gets taught, so that next stage of evolution and developing in terms of how to aspire to become a great leader, you need to transition.” For examples of great leaders, Ramsay looks up to French culinary stars Alain Ducasse and the late Joël Robuchon who have collected Michelin stars and built their own restaurant empires, just like he is doing now. He explains, “I think my responsibility now going forward is to emulate what I’ve been taught, to teach and to become the most unselfish chef on the planet. And so that’s the generosity in me to teach them, to get them as good as or if not better than Gordon Ramsay.”
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Like a proud teacher, he brings up Claire Smyth who ran his flagship Restaurant Gordon Ramsay before moving on to become the first woman chef in Britain to earn three Michelin stars. “She was by my side for 12 years, so for her to step out on her own and to win is the ultimate accolade.” He cites Matt Abé and Kim Ratcharoen, both currently at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, as next in line to go big. He goes on to speculate, “There could be a rising star in the kitchen here from a young talented Filipino female chef! So yeah, we want future-facing chefs and that’s the role. I want to pass the baton over soon.” Then he adds, “But I’m not done yet!”
