Born in the Scottish town of Johnstone in 1966, Gordon Ramsay moved to England with his family at the age of nine, where his first experience of the culinary trade was working as a pot washer in a local Indian restaurant.
Originally he wanted to be a professional footballer, but his sporting dreams were ended by injury before he turned his attention to hospitality, studying hotel management at North Oxfordshire Technical College.
A number of chef postitions followed, culminating in a move to London and a job working for the temperamental Marco Pierre White.
Television success arrived with the BBC miniseries Boiling Point in 1999, establishing his trademark fiery temperament and torrent of bad language.
Since then his restaurant empire has been awarded 17 Michelin stars, he has written numerous bestselling books, and he has enjoyed a string of hit TV shows both in the UK and America, including Hell's Kitchen, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, The F Word and the American versions of MasterChef and MasterChef Junior. These successes have led to him amassing a huge fortune (Forbes estimated his earnings for 2022 alone to be around $70 million).
Here are 13 interesting amusing quotes from the star chef.
5. Gordon Ramsay on...football
"I still love football, though, and I think cooking is like football. It's not a job, it's a passion. When you become good at it, it's a dream job and financially you need never to worry. Ever." Photo: Ethan Miller
6. Gordon Ramsay on...ambition
"As a soccer player, I wanted an FA Cup winner's medal. As an actor you want an Oscar. As a chef it's three-Michelin's stars, there's no greater than that. So pushing yourself to the extreme creates a lot of pressure and a lot of excitement, and more importantly, it shows on the plate." Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez
7. Gordon Ramsay on...chefs
"Chefs are nutters. They're all self-obsessed, delicate, dainty, insecure little souls and absolute psychopaths. Every last one of them." Photo: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN
8. Gordon Ramsay on...fatherhood
"I've never been a hands-on dad. I'm not ashamed to admit it, but you can't run a restaurant and be home for tea at 4.30pm and bath and change nappies." Photo: Frederick M. Brown