Gordon Ramsay's Most Notable Feuds

It was Gordon Ramsay's skills as a chef that first brought him fame, winning two Michelin stars as head chef of London's Aubergine before opening his namesake Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in 1998. This proved to be the first brick in what would become a restaurant empire, with his Gordon Ramsay Restaurants group eventually encompassing dozens of eateries throughout the world.

While Ramsay's cuisine may have made him a top chef, it was his hair-trigger temper and propensity for foul language that made him a television star, displayed in such series as Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares and more. Yet anyone under the impression that Ramsay's abrasive, contentious temperament was an act he turned on for the TV cameras merely had to look at the headlines that followed him throughout the years, chronicling disputes with fellow chefs, other celebrities, and even the occasional family member.

There's no denying that Gordon Ramsay has brought television viewers countless hours of entertainment, yet there are also numerous well-documented examples of him butting heads with others — stories that, to be fair, have proven to be equally as entertaining as any of his TV projects. Read on for a deep dive into some of Gordon Ramsay's most notable feuds.

Marcus Samuelsson can be added to the list of people who've publicly feuded with Gordon Ramsay. In fact, his 2012 memoir Yes, Chef contains a shocking allegation about the celebrity chef. 

In an excerpt shared by Eater New York, Samuelsson recalls picking up the phone and hearing Ramsay yelling at him. The issue: Samuelsson had earlier been asked by a reporter to single out his favorite British chefs, and Ramsay's name was left out. According to the book, Ramsay ended his diatribe with a threat. "I'm going to make sure you have a f***ing miserable time here. This is my city, you hear? Good luck, you f***ing black b***ard."

Ramsay's rep issued a denial, telling the Daily Mail, "We're shocked by these completely false and extremely offensive accusations." The rep continued, saying, "We can only think this bizarre denial and these malicious comments have been made in order to garner publicity for Mr. Samuelsson's book and therefore we will pursue such actions as we deem appropriate against Mr. Samuelsson and his publishers." A spokesperson for Samuelsson's publisher, Random House, issued a statement in response, insisting Samuelsson "stands by his statement regarding Mr. Ramsay and has no further comment."

Sometimes Gordon Ramsay's feuds hit uncomfortably close to home, which was the case with the chef's father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, who had run Ramsay's business empire until the chef fired him in 2010. At the time, Hutcheson told the Mail on Sunday that Ramsay "locked me out of the business and sacked me and tried to make me the scapegoat, the bad guy (via the New York Post)." Admitting he'd "taken money out of the company," Hutcheson insisted he didn't do it "unethically."

More information emerged when Ramsay sued his wife's father the following year. The Daily Mail outlined the lawsuit's shocking claims that Hutcheson hacked into Ramsay's computer and had embezzled more than $2 million for his own personal use. 

Hutcheson countersued, alleging he was dismissed unfairly, but the whole thing was laid to rest in 2012 when Ramsay and Hutcheson agreed to a settlement. According to a statement provided to The Telegraph, the settlement's terms were "confidential but we can confirm that Chris Hutcheson is no longer a director or shareholder of Gordon Ramsay Holdings and all civil litigation and employment tribunal claims brought by each of the two parties and other family members have been withdrawn." Still, you have to imagine those family dinners are awkward, to say the least.

When speaking with The New Yorker in 2007, Gordon Ramsay made mention of his mentor Marco Pierre White, admitting he owes "everything" to the iconic chef. "Lightness, delicacy, finesse, balance — I wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for Marco," Ramsay declared. 

Of course, working with the mercurial White was no picnic. According to an excerpt from White's memoir White Lies, which appeared in The Independent, he once berated Ramsay so badly he brought him to tears. "I don't recall what he'd done wrong but I yelled at him and he lost it," said White. "Gordon crouched down in the corner of the kitchen, buried his head in his hands and started sobbing."

That may not have been just tough love, though. Ramsay and White engaged in a series of verbal altercations since that time. Speaking with The Telegraph, White had nothing but scorn to heap on his former protégé. "I will never speak to him again," he said. White elaborated in a 2012 GQ interview with Piers Morgan, who pointed out that White had "severed" his relationship with Ramsay. "I had good reason to," White explained, revealing "the straw that broke the camel's back was when he arrived at my wedding with a camera crew and filmed from the bushes."

British restaurant critic A.A. Gill, who passed away in 2016, was known for his acerbic wit and scathing reviews. One of his most legendary, recalled Eater, was Gill's critique of Gordon Ramsay while he was head chef at Aubergine. He reportedly described Ramsay — who'd once envisioned a career as a professional soccer player — as a "failed sportsman who acts like an 11-year-old."

Gill and some companions — including Dynasty actress Joan Collins — subsequently paid a visit to Ramsay's then-new eatery, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, but their dinner didn't last long. Shortly after they ordered, Ramsay ejected Gill and his pals, claiming he'd insulted a waiter who asked if he could take Gill's coat, reported The Independent. "Don't you have one of your own?" the critic quipped.

Ramsay later explained himself in an op-ed he wrote for The Independent, accusing Gill of "insulting" his staff. Gill "is not welcome at my restaurant," Ramsay wrote. "I don't respect him as a food critic and I don't have to stand there and cook for him." The Daily Mail's obituary of Gill included a quote by the critic in which he described Ramsay as "a wonderful chef, just a really second-rate human being."

One of Gordon Ramsay's most notable dust-ups took place in the British town of Cornwall, where Ramsay purchased a home in 2015. Ramsay's neighbors were irked, reported the Daily Mail, when the chef tore down the original structure and built a new, modern-looking estate described as "a monstrosity" that looks like "a stack of containers."

Andrew Nisbet, Ramsay's next-door neighbor, griped about the celebrity chef to local newspaper Cornwall Live. "Considering the scale of the development and the detrimental effect it will have on the enjoyment of our property and others it is disappointing and demonstrates a lack of consideration for local residents' concerns," Nisbet said.

Perhaps not all neighbors were angry about the new build, though. When one neighbor in Cornwall sent him a gift of local asparagus, Ramsay took to Instagram, writing, "Now that's what I call love thy neighbor, see?" However, he couldn't help but take a shot at his less-friendly neighbors, adding, "I'm sure one local will whinge about the asparagus. God bless you (via Cornwall Live)."