While most of the world was under lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was at home in Cornwall, Britain. It was during this time that he started a series of lives on Instagram wherein he would cook a meal in roughly 10 minutes. Ramsay's social media project was a huge hit among his fans and now it has been converted into his 31st book! Titled 'Ramsay in 10', Gordon Ramsay's latest cookbook was published by Hachette Book Group on November 2, 2021.
Talking about his new cookbook, Ramsay told The Associated Press in an interview, "There’s so much fun to be had in cooking food that doesn’t need to take 60 or 70 minutes at a time... 'Ramsay in 10′ was a bit of a miracle because it’s the first time in 20 years anyone’s ever said to me, `Stop. Time out.’”
Sharing the idea behind the concept of cooking a meal under 10 minutes, Ramsay further said that he had the pandemic’s strains on families top of mind. “Every doctor and nurse was on their knees, and every hospital was bursting with anxiety and pressure. And so what I wanted to do was to take that pressure off.”
Ramsay filled his book — his 31st — with shortcuts and tips on how to stock a pantry and fridge for home cooks on the go. He calls these recipes fast food at its finest — not quicker than a frozen meal tossed into a microwave but faster than a takeout delivery. And he gives home cooks grace on the clock, acknowledging his status as a seasoned pro.
“The way I used to write cookbooks was thinking I’m going to be judged by every chef on the planet. The recipes were laden with 152 ingredients. Cooking at home is completely different, and I’ve learned that so much more,” Ramsay told. The chef lives with his wife, Tana Ramsay, and their kids, ranging from 2 to 23 years of age.
The 54-year-old Ramsay seems ever-present on streaming and TV networks in the U.K. and U.S. With his own production company, the shows keep coming. There’s 'Hell’s Kitchen', 'MasterChef' and 'MasterChef Jr.', 'Kitchen Nightmares' and 'The F Word', to name a few. His latest, 'Next Level Chef', is set to premiere on Fox in January 2022 with line cooks, home chefs, social media stars and food truck owners competing to be crowned culinary king or queen.
Among his reasons for taking to television as long ago as 1997 was to promote his restaurants. With seven Michelin stars, Ramsay now has 50 restaurants scattered around the world. And he’s thankful all survived the pandemic. His latest is due to open at the end of the year in Edinburgh.
Another thing that keeps him on screens, he said, is his lust for discovering new talent. The money ain’t bad, either. His net worth has been estimated at roughly $220 million.
Ramsay started out modestly after moving from Scotland to Stratford-upon-Avon as a boy. He washed dishes in restaurants and watched his mom toil as a restaurant cook, with a second job as a nurse. He links the restaurant world to high-pressure competitive sport, which he caught a taste of as a teenage footballer in England before injuries took him off the pitch for good.
“So at the age of 18, when you’re down on your knees, mum always taught me from a very early age, never get bitter, just get even. Dust yourself off and pull yourself together,” he said. “So the escape in food was meant to plop myself in an area where nobody knew who I was.”
He went to France for three years to study the cuisine there, and a career was born.
“My mum was the early influencer in terms of food. We were taught not just to respect food, but not waste it. She always said "Eat with your belly, not your eyes".”
