Gordon RamseyEverything you need to know about celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay (b. 1966).
Gordon Ramsay at a public event in 2008, photographed by Dave Pullig
Ramsay in 2008. Photograph by Dave Pullig (CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons).

Timeline

The key dates — kitchens, stars, shows and honours — from 1966 to the present.

8 November 1966 — Born in Scotland

Gordon James Ramsay is born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

1971 — Move to Stratford-upon-Avon

The family relocates to England when Ramsay is five; he is raised in Stratford-upon-Avon.

c. 1981–82 — The Rangers trial, and the injury

At fifteen Ramsay earns a youth trial with Rangers in Glasgow. A serious knee injury ends his football ambitions.

Mid-1980s — Catering college

Ramsay enrolls at North Oxfordshire Technical College to study hotel management and catering — the accidental start of a kitchen career.

Late 1980s — Harveys and Marco Pierre White

Ramsay works at Harveys in London under Marco Pierre White, the most feared and brilliant young chef in Britain.

Early 1990s — Le Gavroche, then Paris

A stint at Le Gavroche under Albert Roux, then three years in Paris with Guy Savoy and time with Joël Robuchon — the classical French formation.

1993 — Head chef of Aubergine

At twenty-six, Ramsay takes over the kitchen at Aubergine in Chelsea.

1997 — Aubergine's second Michelin star

Under Ramsay, Aubergine earns its second Michelin star.

1998 — Restaurant Gordon Ramsay opens

Ramsay leaves Aubergine and opens his own restaurant on Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea. Channel 4's *Boiling Point* documents the opening.

1999 — Second star for the flagship; *Boiling Point* airs

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay earns its second Michelin star; the *Boiling Point* documentary series airs on Channel 4.

2001 — Three Michelin stars

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is awarded its third Michelin star. Ramsay is thirty-four. Pétrus opens the same year.

2004 — *Hell's Kitchen* (UK) and *Kitchen Nightmares*

ITV's *Hell's Kitchen* and Channel 4's *Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares* launch — the two shows that make him a household name.

2005 — *The F Word*; *Hell's Kitchen* (US); first BAFTA

*The F Word* begins on ITV; *Hell's Kitchen* launches on Fox in America. *Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares* wins the BAFTA for Best Feature.

2006 — OBE and International Emmy

Appointed OBE in the New Year Honours for services to hospitality. Wins the International Emmy. Gordon Ramsay at the London opens in New York.

2007 — *Kitchen Nightmares* (US)

The American version of *Kitchen Nightmares* begins on Fox.

2008 — Second BAFTA

*Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares* wins the BAFTA for Best Feature a second time.

2010 — *MasterChef*; the Foxtrot Oscar story

Ramsay joins *MasterChef* (US) as a judge. In April the *News of the World* reports pre-prepared food at his Foxtrot Oscar gastropub; in 2010 Ramsay calls the practice industry "standard practice".

2012 — *Hotel Hell*

*Hotel Hell* begins on Fox; *Gordon Behind Bars* airs on Channel 4.

2013 — *MasterChef Junior*

Ramsay launches *MasterChef Junior* on Fox.

7 June 2017 — Chris Hutcheson jailed

Ramsay's father-in-law and former business associate Chris Hutcheson is jailed for six months at the Old Bailey for hacking the Ramsays' company emails.

2018 — *24 Hours to Hell and Back*

The Fox series *24 Hours to Hell and Back* begins. Ramsay's fifth child, Oscar, is born in 2019.

2019 — *Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted*

The National Geographic travel-and-food series *Uncharted* begins.

2022 — *Next Level Chef*

Ramsay launches the multi-level cooking competition *Next Level Chef* on Fox.

2023 — *Food Stars*; sixth child

*Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars* begins. His sixth child, Jesse, is born.

February 2025 — 94 restaurants, 8 Michelin stars

PA News reports the Gordon Ramsay group at 94 restaurants worldwide (37 UK, 35 US, 22 elsewhere), with eight Michelin stars currently held across 16–17 historically awarded.

Source notes