30 • Resident The Week Of September 23, 2008

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Pressure CookerWhen he’s red-faced and screaming

and calling someone a donkey, it’s easy to forget that Gordon Ram-

say, TV’s most feared chef, is also among the world’s greatest. His empire includes 25 restaurants around the world. He’s written nearly 20 books and has one of the most rec-ognizable scowls on TV. (In case you’ve lost count, he hosts three programs in the U.K., two in the U.S. and another, Man Camp, on the way.) His telegenic temper has made him the world’s third highest-earning chef, but un-like other celebrity cooks, Ramsay is a force in the kitchen. He currently holds a stagger-ing 10 Michelin Stars, three of them at New York’s own Gordon Ramsay at The London NYC hotel. With a new restaurant open in London and new seasons of Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen just begun, Ramsay contin-ues to take over the world — one four-letter word at a time. —Heather Corcoran

Resident: How would you character-ize your food philosophy?Gordon Ramsay: I love fresh food cooked simply, using top quality, seasonal ingredi-ents and not over-complicating fl avors.R: Between all of your restaurants, TV shows, books and projects around the world you must be so busy. How do you manage it all?GR: The real secret is that I absolutely love what I do, so being busy is what keeps me on my toes — I work best when I’m under pres-sure. I have the most talented and loyal staff in all of my kitchens keeping everything straight. People like Angela Hartnett, Josh Emett, Mark Sargeant, and Jason Atherton have been work-ing with me for years and there’s a real level of trust that we all have with one another. R: So tell me about your latest book, Fast Food…GR: “Lack of time” is the number one rea-

son people give for not cooking at home, so there is this dependence on take-away foods and ready meals from the freezer. The idea behind Fast Food was to redefi ne the concept of “fast food” to show people that fresh, healthy meals can be prepared simply in minutes. It doesn’t take hours of prepara-tion and hard to fi nd ingredients to create an amazing meal — it’s really about being creative and using just a few of the right in-gredients. Instead of plopping down in front of the TV you can get the kids involved and enjoy something great together. I want to get people excited about getting back in the kitchen and back around the kitchen table. R: Of all your projects do you have a favorite? Above all, what would you like to be known for?GR: I don’t really have a favorite project, I’ve put my all into building the company and into creating each project from start to

Gordon Ramsay’s culinary empire heats up.

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fi nish. I do have a soft spot for the Chelsea restaurant, of course. It was my fi rst. But we’re not out to replicate the same experi-ence and concept everywhere we go, that would get dull fast. How do you compare Royal Hospital Road to West Hollywood to writing cookbooks to creating menus in Tokyo? It’s always a challenge and therefore it’s always exciting for me. But more than anything else, I would like to be known fi rst and foremost as a chef. My passion for cook-ing and drive for delivering perfection on the plate is what has gotten me to where I am today.R: Describe how it felt when you got your fi rst Michelin Stars at Aubergine?GR: Amazing. Everyone in that restaurant was working so hard to get those stars. We got the fi rst star a year after opening and two stars two years later, then we were back in the kitchen the very next day trying go-ing for three. There is no great secret to getting stars. Of course, you need to have skilled and talented staff in the kitchen to create great dishes, and service that’s always spot-on, but more than that it’s about con-sistency. It has to be perfect every night, all the time. You always have to be on top of it, constantly looking for ways to improve and perfect what you’re serving.

R: This year Gordon Ramsay in [Lon-don’s] Chelsea turns 10. How has your career changed since then? What do you know now that you didn’t know then?GR: Everything has changed. Gordon Ram-say Holdings has grown exponentially since then, and now we’re fortunate enough to have the most talented brigades around the world in each of our restaurants, constantly working to improve ourselves, and there’s no stopping there. The company has expanded in ways I hadn’t even dreamed of when I fi rst opened Royal Hospital Road. I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I think I’m a better chef, businessman and person because of it.R: On Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen we get to see some pretty outrageous behind-the-scenes ac-tion. What’s the most shocking thing you’ve seen happen while working in a kitchen?GR: Some of these restaurants had the most god-awful walk-ins [refrigerators] with ingredients that would make anyone’s stom-ach turn. I’ve seen so many moldy vegetables and rancid meats, and it’s truly shocking what I fi nd in some of those kitchens. And they’re always so surprised business is bad!

R: Early in your career you worked under some of the world’s most im-portant and infl uential chefs. Who was the most infl uential for you and what is the most important thing you learned?GR: Early on in my career, I trained in Paris for three years — those were some of the toughest and most rigorous years of my life, but at the same time, they were also some of the most rewarding. My fi rst job in Paris was at Guy Savoy, which had two Michelin stars and when I fi rst walked into that kitch-en, I’d never felt so remote, so far removed from anywhere in my entire life. Everyone was ignoring me. On my fi rst day, somebody nicked my socks. But I immersed myself in my work — I became fl uent in French and I did nothing but cook — I did the overnight shift in bread and pastry, then moved on to the fi sh section when the sun came up. I learned total respect for food, and how clev-erly you can make something out of noth-ing. Take a leek. You’d use the best white bit for the soup, but then you’d use the rest for the sauce, the top of it for a mousse, and then the very top of it, you’d use in a staff meal. Nothing went in the bin. It was an amazing experience.

Continued on page 33

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R: And now you give back to future chefs through “The Gordon Ramsay Scholar Award…” GR: The Gordon Ramsay Scholar Award is about fostering the next generation of tal-ent and providing the best and brightest as-piring chefs with opportunities to learn and grow. It’s something I truly believe in. This year, the winner will be cooking live onstage with me at the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham, and get some of the most amazing prizes and kitchen equipment, and also the opportunity to do a three-city stage at my restaurants in London, Paris and New York.R: Are there any young or up-and-com-ing chefs that you’re excited about?GR: I’m always looking forward to seeing what the chefs I work with are coming up with. I encourage them to be creative and come up with new ideas. Josh Emett, for in-stance, my executive chef at Gordon Ram-say at The London and maze in New York, and who’s also overseeing the menu at the new West Hollywood restaurant, has been working with me for nine years now. We speak quite often, but he runs quite a tight ship over there and has certainly been re-warded for a job well done — two Michelin stars less than a year after opening. For any chef, New York is the toughest place to suc-ceed, so I’m so impressed at what’s he’s been able to accomplish there.

The same goes with Andy Cook, who’s now heading up the kitchen in West Holly-wood. He was my head chef in Tokyo for years, and I think the West Hollywood res-taurant is off to a great start. Then there’s the whole brigade over in Europe — An-gela’s just opened Murano, and she’s gear-ing up to open York & Albany soon. Mark Sargeant is doing incredibly at Claridge’s, Jason Atherton at maze, Simone Zanoni at Trianon on Paris, everyone. I’m their biggest supporter, and it’s rewarding to see them all succeed. R: Where are your favorite places to eat in New York?GR: When I’m in New York I spend a lot of time in the restaurant, but I did just re-cently have a great meal at Adour, Alain Ducasse’s new restaurant. He’s one of the people I look up to most. I think The Spot-ted Pig is fantastic as well, April Bloomfi eld

is so talented and the place reminds me a bit of home.R: Is there a trend in the restaurant/food world that you wish would go away?GR: There isn’t one I want to go away, though as you can see on Kitchen Nightmares, I do hope the trend toward using locally sourced and seasonal ingredients continues to hold. Using top quality ingredients is so incredibly impor-tant in running a kitchen, creating a fantastic menu and keeping your guests happy.R: How does New York compare with London on the culinary scene? How does New York stack up globally?GR: There’s so much competition in New York, and it’s probably the most challeng-ing place to succeed. New Yorkers are quite honest though; you’ll defi nitely know when they like or dislike something, and I certain-ly appreciate their honesty. It’s how we learn from our mistakes and learn about what re-ally works. It’s how we learn to adapt. Then again, we’ve had a lot of Londoners who’ve dined in the restaurant as well, and at the end of the day, everyone just wants a good meal, regardless of where they’re from. R: Some people say you’re mean. Do you have any words for your critics?GR: I’m always very fi rm but fair, and I’m the fi rst one to admit I’m a perfectionist. It takes a lot of hard work, concentration and precision to run a kitchen, to work in a

kitchen, and to run a successful restaurant. There just isn’t time to say “please” and “thank you” when there are a hundred hun-gry people in your dining room. At the end of the day, everything that leaves the pass has my name on it, so I’m always making sure my staff stays on its toes and performs at the top of their ability.R: You’ve famously spoken out against food critics A.A. Gill and Frank Bruni. What do you think about food critics in general?GR: They’re doing their jobs and I do mine. I suppose it’s best that it stays that way. I don’t cook for the critics, I cook for my customers, as they’re the ones who come back again and whose feedback I listen to the most.R: What’s next for you?GR: This September, I’m opening York & Albany with Angela Hartnett on the edge of London’s Regents Park. It will be a restau-rant with bar, delicatessen and will have the most beautiful guestrooms as well — it’s our fi rst hotel so it’s completely new for me and quite exciting. I’ve just signed on with FOX for more Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen in the U.S. so I’m looking forward to spend-ing time in the New York and West Holly-wood restaurants as much as I can. It’s been great being able to show people how a res-taurant and a kitchen need to be run. It’s fast-paced, high-energy, high-stress but God, I do love it.

Pressure CookerContinued from page 31

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34 • Resident The Week Of September 23, 2008

COVER

London in New YorkChef de Cuisine Josh Emett has the seemingly unenviable task of helming Gordon Ram-say’s Manhattan restaurants. But what is it really like working for the toughest boss in the biz? “Gordon leads by example — he has a huge amount of energy and a great work ethic. Consistency is one of the most important parts of running a kitchen. It’s also about main-taining control of your kitchen and brigade and getting them to do exactly what you want, when you want. Being professional, in all aspects of the operation, and cleanliness are also a huge part of our organization,” the chef told the Resident.

“We take a very light approach to our cooking with a big focus on balance and fl avor,” said Emett. “We do not focus too much on signature dishes but are always working on devel-oping new and interesting ideas and also working with interesting and seasonal products.”

Roast fi llet of beef, Kobe short rib with beets and red wine shallot purée

Chef de Cuisine Josh EmettThe roast fi llet of beef dish is a balance between a piece of fi llet being a very tender and leaner piece of beef, against a fattier short rib that brings all the richness to the dish. We also use two separate cooking methods, with the fi llet being slow cooked then sautéed, the short rib being braised then warmed in its own juices.

For the short rib:

1 piece boneless Kobe short rib1 Tbsp white peppercorns1 Tbsp black peppercorns1 Tbsp cardamom pods, lightly toasted 1 Tbsp fennel seed1 star anise1 Tbsp coriander seeds3 Tbsp sugar

Season the short rib and sear in a pan. Separately make a caramel using the sugar and enough water to just cover the sugar. Once the caramel is a golden color, add the toasted spices. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Pass through a strainer. Place the seared short rib into a vacuum pack bag. Add 5 tablespoons of the infused caramel and seal. Place the bag into a steamer; cook for between 8–10 hours, until the short rib is soft. Remove from the steamer and allow to cool, until around room temperature. Place onto a fl at tray and press gently.

Rolling and cooking the beef

Trim and cut the beef into 4-ounce rounds, then tightly wrap the beef in plastic wrap into a perfect cylinder, then knot each end. Place the beef in water bath at 70˚C for10 minutes, then release from the wrap and cook in a very hot frying pan until golden brown, let rest for 2 minutes and slice both ends and serve.

For red wine shallot purée

2 pounds shallots (peeled and sliced)500ml red wine250ml ruby port

Cook the shallots in a large stainless steel pan until golden brown and soft in texture, season with salt and add the red wine then the ruby port, reduce until coating consis-tency. Purée and season until smooth.

For the garnish

1 red beet 4 pounds baby spinach picked2 candy beets 1 tbsp shallot confi t1 baby leeks 50ml double cream1 cippolini onions

Wash and confi t the beets in oil, infuse with garlic and thyme. Prepare and blanch the baby leeks in boiling salted water. Pre-pare and cook cippolini onions in water and butter emulsion and season. Cook the spinach in butter for 3–4 minutes until no texture, chop with sharp knife, season with salt, add shallot confi t and reduced cream.

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