Gordon Ramsay Holdings
All of Ramsay's business interests (restaurants, media, consultancy) are held in the company Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited, which was run in partnership with his father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, and incorporated on 29 October 1997.[46] Ramsay owns a 69% stake, valued at £67 million in 2007.[47] Whereas previous ventures acted as a combined consultant/brand, in November 2006 Ramsay announced plans to create three restaurants in the United States. These opened in 2006/2007 at the London Hotel in Manhattan, in October 2006, the Cielo in Boca Raton, Florida, and at the London Hotel in West Hollywood, California. Ramsay acts as a consultant to numerous catering organisations. In 2005 he was recruited by Singapore Airlines as one of its "International Culinary Panel" consultants.[48]
In late 2006, Gordon Ramsay Holdings purchased three London pubs, which were converted into gastropubs. These are: The Narrow in Limehouse, which opened in March 2007, the Devonshire in Chiswick, which opened in October 2007 and The Warrington in Maida Vale, which opened in February 2008. Both The Devonshire and The Warrington were sold in 2011.[49] In May 2008, it was confirmed that Ramsay's protege of 15 years, Marcus Wareing, was going solo, having opened and operated Pétrus at The Berkeley Hotel on behalf of Gordon Ramsay Holdings since 2003.[50] With the name Pétrus owned by Gordon Ramsay Holdings, industry sources suggested it was likely to transfer to another restaurant in the group with the former La Noisette site identified as the most likely.[51] In April 2010, Jason Atherton, executive chef of Maze restaurants worldwide, resigned to open his own venue in Mayfair.[52]
On 19 October 2010, the company Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited announced that Chris Hutcheson had left his position as CEO. Shortly afterwards, Ramsay released a letter to the press describing how he had unravelled the "manipulative" Hutcheson's "complex life" after having had him followed by a private detective. His father-in-law's "away days," wrote Ramsay, "were rarely what I thought they were." Company accounts show Hutcheson borrowed up to £1.5 million from Gordon Ramsay Holdings, though Hutcheson says he reported the borrowings to the company and paid the money back. Hutcheson said he had been "vaporised" and subjected to a "public hanging" by Ramsay, whom he described as a friendless egotist.[53] In April 2017, Hutcheson pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to hack into the computers of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited.[54]
In October 2012, Ramsay opened The Fat Cow in Los Angeles at The Grove, a shopping area that is also popular with tourists.[55] Ramsay explained his intention for the Fat Cow in a press release to signify the opening of the venue: "The concept for The Fat Cow came from my desire to have a neighbourhood restaurant that you could go to all the time to just relax and enjoy a terrific meal."[56] The Fat Cow closed in 2014 amid legal issues.[57] That year also saw the opening of Gordon Ramsay Steak in Las Vegas. The steakhouse concept has since expanded to other locations including the Horseshoe Casino Lake Charles, LA;[58] Atlantic City,[59] and Baltimore,[60] with an announced location due in Vancouver in 2024.[61]
In partnership with footballer David Beckham, Ramsay opened the Union Street Café in the Southwark district of London, UK in September 2013. The Italian cuisine of the Union Street Café, with a menu that revolved on a daily basis, was overseen by Chef Davide Degiovanni.[62][63] The Union Street Café's location in Southwark was taken over in 2020–21 by two other Gordon Ramsay restaurants: Street Pizza, and Bread Street Kitchen & Bar.[63] In December 2012, the Las Vegas opening of Gordon Ramsay Burger occurred.[64] Other locations of the gourmet hamburger dining establishment would open up in the 2020s, Notably in Chicago,[65] Boston,[66] Seoul,[67] and at
In October 2013, the Gordon Ramsay at The London restaurant in New York lost its two Michelin stars owing to issues encountered by the Michelin reviewers. The guide's director Michael Ellis stated that he was served "some very erratic meals" and also experienced "issues with consistency." The loss followed the closure of another of Ramsay's restaurants, Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's, in June 2013.[69] In January 2018, Ramsay opened his first location of Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen restaurants, based on the television show. After that site opened on the Las Vegas Strip, six other locations have either been opened or announced, with one in Dubai and the others in the United States.[70]
On 17 April 2018, Ramsay's first Street Pizza opened, situated in the downstairs area of his One New Change Bread Street Kitchen offering "bottomless" pizza.[71] The second "Street Pizza" was opened at the chef's York and Albany restaurant, with further locations opening elsewhere later on in London, Dubai, and the USA.[72] On 26 June 2019, Chloe Sorvino from Forbes magazine reported that Ramsay had struck a $100 million deal with Lion Capital, a private equity firm headquartered in London. Together they formed a subsidiary of the Gordon Ramsay Restaurant group, with Ramsay and Lion each taking 50% ownership, naming it Gordon Ramsay North America (GRNA), and originally intended to open 100 restaurants in the USA by 2024.[73] Those plans were slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic: in December 2021 GRNA CEO Norman Abdallah stated in a new interview that their updated strategy was to open 75 new company-owned locations across the United States between 2022 and 2026.[74]
On 24 March 2020, Ramsay laid off more than 500 staff in the UK after several of Ramsay's restaurants closed temporarily due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.[75] Ramsay, whose personal net income was estimated to be US$63 million in 2019 by Forbes,[76] was criticised for the lay-offs.[77][78]
On 3 December 2020, Ramsay's first Street Burger opened, in the St. Paul's area of London.[63] In March 2021, Ramsay launched his own brand of California wines; produced in collaboration with Master Sommelier Chris Miller and International Wine Expert Nick Dumergue at Seabold Cellars in Monterey, California.[79] The Gordon Ramsay Academy, a cookery school, opened in Woking, Surrey, in September 2021.[80]
On 11 October 2023, Ramsay opened his first restaurant in Macao, Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill, at the new The Londoner Macao hotel and casino (formerly the Sands Cotai Central).[81]
The Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill Philippines opened in Newport World Resorts in August 2024.[82]
Pre-prepared meal controversy
On 17 April 2009, it was revealed that one of Ramsay's restaurants, Foxtrot Oscar in London's Chelsea area, used pre-prepared food that was heated up and sold with mark-ups of up to 586%. It was also revealed that three of his gastropubs in London did the same thing. A spokeswoman for Ramsay said, "Gordon Ramsay chefs prepare components of dishes devised and produced to the highest Gordon Ramsay standards. These are supplied to those kitchens with limited cooking space such as Foxtrot Oscar and Gordon Ramsay's highly acclaimed pubs, including the Narrow. These are sealed and transported daily in refrigerated vans and all menu dishes are then cooked in the individual kitchens. This is only for the supply of Foxtrot Oscar and the three pubs and allows each establishment to control the consistency and the quality of the food served."[83][84] Reflecting on the controversy in 2010, Ramsay was unapologetic: "When I was working at the Gavroche all those years ago, the duck terrine wasn't made there. It was made outside, then brought to the restaurant wrapped in plastic. This is standard practice. What on earth was the fuss about?"[85]
