What Other Chefs Have Said About Gordon Ramsay

Love him or hate him, to know Gordon Ramsay is to have a strong opinion about Gordon Ramsay. The opposing feelings likely have to do with his split public persona. On one side is the Michelin star-winning chef who owns some of the finest restaurants in the world. The other side is the rude, crass, demeaning chef he often portrays on television. How much of his brashness is just for cameras depends on who you ask. But even if it's all an act, there is a danger in displaying that kind of behavior to impressionable audiences.

Whether because they know him personally or simply because they work in the same profession, fellow chefs have often been the most vocal in expressing their opinions of the controversial celebrity. And, as you would expect, their opinions vary considerably. From former friends and past employees to fellow Michelin star winners and television personalities, here are some of the chefs who have voiced their opinions on Ramsay.

Jacques Pépin is one of the most celebrated individuals in the culinary world. Some of his career highlights include working as the personal chef for French President Charles de Gaulle, publishing more than 30 cookbooks, and winning a staggering 23 James Beard Awards. With credentials like these, you can be sure that when Pépin speaks, people listen.

In 2014, Pépin wrote a piece for The Daily Meal in which he criticized television cooking competitions. According to him, these shows depicted a high level of cruelty and chaos that did not reflect real-life restaurants. The only show he singled out by name was Gordon Ramsay's. "The cruel rivalry and conflict depicted in "Hell's Kitchen" may be good for ratings, but it is unjust to dedicated cooks and unfair to the trade," he wrote. "In my opinion, nothing good enough to eat can be concocted under such conditions."

Many people interpreted this as a personal slight against Ramsay, and Pépin was quick to clarify his point. "It was certainly not my intention to insult Gordon Ramsay, who in my opinion is a very good, professionally trained chef, or anyone else for that matter," Pépin wrote in a Facebook post. "And I understand well the demands that television has put on him and others like him to create excitement." He went on to explain that his article was simply meant to reassure aspiring chefs that what they see on television is not reality.

While some chefs have criticized his work, those around Gordon Ramsay say you cannot question the man's work ethic. Few people have worked more closely with Ramsay in recent years than chef Aarón Sánchez, who co-hosts "MasterChef USA" and "MasterChef Junior" with the British star.

In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Sánchez dished about the mercurial television personality — and only had good things to say. Sánchez is quick to give Ramsay credit for his behind-the-scenes work that has helped make the show a hit. "I've done television for a long time, but I've never done it with a personality and a talent like Gordon," Sánchez said. "The fact that he's a chef, one of the more premier chefs in the world, and he's an executive producer, makes a big difference. Because he's the one that can make the decision of like, 'Well, look, I don't think they're ready for soufflés yet.'" Sánchez went on to say that Ramsay has taught him how to be more thoughtful with his own time.

His dedication to "MasterChef" is even more impressive when you consider the vast number of business ventures Ramsay has going on. "He's on the phone to his restaurants. He's dealing with multiple different things at one time," Sánchez said. "But when the cameras go on, he's ready to go, always extremely well-prepared, high energy. He'll come in very early, pumped, ready to go."

Have you ever watched Gordon Ramsay verbally eviscerate someone on television and wonder, "Why does he act that way?" He likely picked it up while working at the English restaurant Harveys, where head chef Marco Pierre White was known to humiliate, curse, and throw things at his staff. (Ramsay certainly learned a few things in the kitchen, as well, as White would become famous for being the youngest chef to earn three Michelin stars.)

But after Ramsay left Harveys, the relationship between the mentor and his most famous protégé eventually deteriorated. In a 2006 interview with The Telegraph, White detailed a few of the events that caused the split. First was an interview in which Ramsay, according to White, implied that his former boss was not a good restaurateur. Then there was the issue of Ramsay bringing a camera crew to White's wedding without permission. "In fact, the first we knew about it was when we switched on the television to watch one of his programmes and saw footage of our big day on the screen," White said. "Now, that is disgusting behaviour, isn't it? You tell me. Is that the correct way to treat a so-called friend? I don't think so."

As a final putdown, White went as far as saying Ramsay isn't even a chef anymore. "You can't be a chef and appear on television all the time. It's impossible. At least when I earned my stars I was always behind my stove."

Marcus Samuelsson is one of the great success stories in the culinary world. Born in Ethiopia, he was adopted by a Swedish family after his mother passed away. His adopted grandmother introduced him to cooking, igniting a passion that would eventually make him one of the best chefs in the world.

It's a story Samuelsson retold in his 2012 memoir "Yes, Chef," a book recounting many other tales from his career, including a troubling interaction with Gordon Ramsay. Let's set the scene: Samuelsson was about to begin a stint working at a London restaurant when a reporter asked him about his favorite British chefs. He did not mention Ramsay. A few days later, Ramsay called the restaurant to voice his displeasure with Samuelsson. "How the f**k can you come to my f**king city and think you are going to be able to cook without even f**king referring to me?" Gordon yelled, according to Samuelsson. "'I'm going to make sure you have a f**king miserable time here. This is my city, you hear? Good luck, you f**king black bastard.'" After about five minutes of this, Ramsay finally hung up.

It ultimately proved to be a turning point in Samuelsson's career when he realized that as a well-established chef, he no longer needed to put up with such treatment. "In the years since, I haven't felt a need to [...] go out of my way to be his friend," he wrote in his book. "I have better things to do."

Marcus Wareing may not be a household name on this side of the pond, but he is one of the most celebrated chefs in Great Britain. For a long time, he was closer to Gordon Ramsay than almost anyone else. The two worked side-by-side for years after Ramsay hired Wareing at his first restaurant back in the early 1990s. They remained close friends for the better part of two decades, and Ramsay was even the best man at Wareing's wedding.

But nothing good can last. The friendship started to deteriorate in 2011 when Wareing expressed interest in moving on from Ramsay's restaurants. It was a move Ramsay did not support, according to Wareing. "When you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and all you see is a man who is constrained, confined and trapped, then you've got to change," Wareing told Waitrose Food Illustrated (via the Standard). "My level of desire to expand has been reined in from time to time."

Years later, Wareing expanded on the acrimonious split. "I wanted to run my own future and I'll kick sand in your face until you tell me to f**k off," he told GQ in 2018. "[Ramsay] was all over the world, like Mick f***ing Jagger. What did he care about me? One thing I do know is that neither one of us would look back at any of that time with any regret. Massive learning curve, for both of us."

While many in the culinary world have criticized Gordon Ramsay for the crass behavior he displays on television, few have had as much to say as J. Kenji López-Alt. That shouldn't be too surprising as López-Alt, in addition to being a professional chef, is a distinguished author and columnist.

In 2021, López-Alt posted a lengthy takedown of Ramsay on Instagram, focusing on the British chef's behavior toward his employees. "This man should be in therapy, not running kitchens or being looked up to as an inspiration," López-Alt wrote. "Kitchens have a long history of being abusive, crappy workplaces and @gordongram, with his normalization of this behavior, plays an outsized and active role in perpetuating it."

López-Alt's screed included a hopeful message to Ramsay and his audience, particularly those in the restaurant industry. "If he wants to make a positive change, I would love to see him change his ways and acknowledge the extent of the harm he has done with his influence," he wrote. "Please do not be inspired by him. Please do not think this is how a restaurant kitchen needs to be run, or worse that this kind of behavior is OK because 'this is what it takes' to get [Michelin] stars."