The Reason Gordon Ramsay Values The Humble Frying Pan So Highly
Gordon Ramsay is a celebrity chef known for his scathing takedowns on his shows like Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, as well as his gourmet eateries worldwide. He's a critically acclaimed chef and restauranteur — his London-based restaurant Restaurant Gordon Ramsay has held three Michelin stars since 2001, outlasting any other London restaurants, reports Parade.
Ramsay may have studied French classical technique, according to CulinarySchools.Org, but he was born in working-class Scotland and raised in England. So while we may associate him with all things elevated and fancy, Ramsay still manages to appreciate the little things in life, for instance, the humble frying pan. Ramsay praised this everyday piece of cookware for both its versatility and the kinds of food you can cook in part one of his Ultimate Cookery Course.
So let's dig into what makes this culinary giant fawn over frying pans, and see how the Master Chef himself uses them in his daily cooking.
What Gordon Ramsay fries up in his frying pan
Frying pans are a go-to for everyday cooking that requires shallow frying or sautéing — think frying up over-easy eggs, caramelizing onions, and shaking up stir-fries. In his video Skill To Master Before Christmas, Gordon Ramsay sings his praise of the frying pan, noting its multi-purpose capability in the kitchen. "Great for sautéing, tossing. Great for cooking fish and meat," he says as he cooks a pan full of red bell peppers and red onions. And you don't need to go for a super fancy stainless steel All-Clad frying pan either — Ramsay is rocking a standard issue nonstick model that makes quick work of his sautéing vegetables.
Another benefit of nonstick frying pans is that they are relatively lightweight, notes Consumer Reports, making it easier to lift and shake back and forth than a heavier, cast iron or stainless steel model. After cleaning out his pepper and onion mixture, Ramsay tosses some seasoned pork chops onto the nonstick pan with a dose of olive oil and gets a gorgeous sear on each side.
When he says this tool can take on a lot of duties in the kitchen, he means it.