The Reason Gordon Ramsay's The Fat Cow Closed Down

Gordon Ramsay, as everyone knows, is one of the most successful chefs of our times. The British legend is known for his strong persona, his outspoken personality, his TV appearances on shows like MasterChef and Kitchen Nightmares, and of course, his affinity for cooking. According to Insider, there are some rather interesting things worth knowing about the legend such as the fact that he has over 30 restaurants and has a hotel management degree. 

Ramsay became a big deal fairly early in life. He was just 27 when he first became head chef at London's Aubergine restaurant, and it took him just three years to take the restaurant to great heights and earn a two-star Michelin rating. In 1995, Ramsay earned a glorious title: Newcomer of the Year at the Catey Awards. While it's hard to argue that Ramsay has seen a lot of triumphs in his career, it's also true that he's faced some failures. For example, his restaurant, The Fat Cow had to shut down in 2014. Here's why it happened.

Ramsay's Los Angeles-based eatery, The Fat Cow first opened its doors in 2012 and was no stranger to early troubles. For one, the restaurant didn't receive glowing reviews from food critics who were disappointed by the quality of the food and believed that it didn't work in terms of quality (via Eater). Basically, the food's price tag wasn't justified as per critics. The brand also ran into trademark issues because of its name.

All of this led to the eventual decline of the eatery. But before Ramsay could close that chapter of his culinary career, he had some major legal issues to overcome first. For example, a contractor took Ramsay to court and alleged that his team was still owed around $45,000 for their work, according to Eater. Additionally, employees went ahead with their own lawsuits and complained that Ramsay didn't even compensate them with minimum wage or overtime pay.

What's more, Ramsay was also taken to court by one of his Fat Cow business associate, Rowen Seibel for a staggering amount: $10 million (via Eater). Ramsay's team issued a statement back then, which read, "We're surprised that Mr. Seibel has the audacity to file this ridiculous suit when he and his team were responsible for the day to day running of The Fat Cow and spectacularly mismanaged it resulting in a string of financial and legal issues." They also added that Siebel was uncooperative and impossible to work with.