Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/733014
What can we expect from Fish & Chips? A little bit of cool Britannia, a bit of nostalgia—I've been dying to do it. It's a grab-and-go fish and chip shop. In the UK we call them chippies. The first treat we ever had, you know with mum and dad, was a fish supper and it was just fish and chips. We never had the money to have our own so we had to share with our siblings. That was a huge treat. I am excited in general, but I've never been this excited! Going down to the local chippy on the corner and picking up the fish and chips with the little extra batter bits, the scraps we call them, was a dream. To have that now on the Linq in Vegas is sort of the icing on the cake for me. Four years in, is there anything that surprises you about Vegas? Well, we are in the middle of the desert, but the level of ingredients and products that gets into Vegas is extraordinary. Whether it's Santa Barbara prawns or the most amazing shellfish from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts—everything is in abundance. So there are no excuses. The produce is a bit of a chef's dream, which I didn't expect. The quality of the proteins is equal to anything in New York, Paris, London, and I can confirm that because I have restaurants in them all. Let's talk Masterchef Season 7: The audience pulls for a contestant they like, but you are known for your exacting standards—so what's your strategy? Having been such a selfish individual to get to the top, I am the opposite when it comes to amateurs. I put them through a rigorous path in a way—I push them to the limits. Are you doing this for TV or are you doing this because you really want to learn the best? So I have to wear that hat because they are amateurs. You executive produce these shows. On Masterchef, poor Nathan Barnhouse had a break- down and fainted, so you are sympathetic but as a producer, let's be honest, it's TV gold. We set out these challenges before the contestants arrive. They get better as we turn up the heat so we adjust that on a daily basis. So when we are live and the challenge is on, I am a mentor. When we are down and creating that kind of unscripted drama, I am an executive producer. People who work with you say lovely things. Yet, on camera you are ferocious. Are you playing to the camera a wee bit? That jacket goes on and I become a different beast because it's about standards and I want to be remembered for that. So am I hamming it up for the camera because I think it looks good? Far from it. It's real. So that level of passion gets misconstrued for anger. I'm live, it's just the way I am. Has your direct, keep-it-very-real manner ever had any repercussions you've regretted? There are times I've felt I've gone too far but yeah, I've made amends to pull it back up and put it back on track. Yeah definitely, but I suppose that's the guy I am. It's all or nothing. I don't think it's… listen, you guys nominated Donald Trump for president! That guy thinks it's a reality TV show. No one has told him yet that this is real. So anyway, those closest to me and those that work alongside me, not for me—because we are all a team—will give you the real insight. Many chefs fall prey to TV "glamour" and neglect their restaurants. Yet you are main- taining high standards and opening new concepts. Why? I started from zero and it's so incredible. So I can't sit back at 50. Am I ready to stop? No. I've found the balance in terms of family, profession and then this sort of empire size. I have seen so many chefs fall to the wayside because they got wrapped up in the glamour of fame and adula- tion—it's gone to their head and they are turning out a pile of shit behind the scenes. That would be the death of me—I couldn't live with myself on that one. You are becoming king of the Vegas kingdom… Don't say that, I will get into more shit now! I threw down a challenge for Bobby Flay to go live and do a cook-off and put all the money to charity, and honestly now I'm like, C'mon Bobby, sign the deal. "Gordon Ramsay takes crown from Bobby Flay!" [Laughs] No! "Takes the crown of Vegas"—I can live with that! Failure doesn't seem to be an option for you—have you ever failed? I have failed. I failed at turning up for parents evening at my kids' school. And then when I went to the next one with my youngest, Tilly, I asked the headmaster for a selfie, after which I got kicked out, and so I really f-cked that one up! The following day I received an email saying, "Can you please refrain from the next parents evening—we do not need the presence of Mr. Ramsay." You have reached the upper echelon of the culinary and media worlds, raise loads for charity, and are a family man. What do you want the Gordon Ramsay legacy to be? My legacy would be just like my mum taught me: It's important to share and keep both feet firmly on the ground. Continue with that and I think I'll be in business a long time. . "the level of ingredients and products that gets into vegas is extraordinary. everything is in abundance. so there are no excuses." — gordon ramsay vegasmagazine.com 87 PhotograPhy courtesy of foX