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A brief history of Gordon Ramsay's epicurean empire

A brief history of Gordon Ramsay's epicurean empire

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"Right now I'd rather eat poodle shit than put that in my mouth."

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By Katie Drummond and Michael Zelenko

Simmer down, Gordon.

When The Verge features editor Michael Zelenko logged onto Hulu this weekend over dinner, eager to gorge himself on both an entire rack of ribs and programs hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay — Zelenko’s celebrity chef du jour — he found himself lost in Ramsay’s all-you-can-eat menu of programming. "It’s unbelievable," says Zelenko, a 29-year-old self-identified "foodie" and cooking reality television enthusiast. "Seriously, how many shows can one man have?" he asked me at work this morning through a mouthful of morning glory muffin. "When does the man sleep?" the surprisingly svelte editor exclaimed.

Three years ago, at the tenderized age of 25, I met Ramsay when he shot a commercial for a company I was affiliated with at the time. The man radiated raw, unrelenting energy — to the extent that I wondered whether he had a problematic relationship with cocaine (he would later tell me that he was training for an Ironman triathlon and I concluded that his vitality was of a biological, rather than narcotic, nature). "But how does he do it?" I wondered.

A little bit of research indicates that, indeed, Ramsay burns so hot that you could flambé an Anjou pear on his chiseled chest. From television programs to books to restaurants, Gordon Ramsay produces more content than a line cook at Olive Garden on the breadstick beat. In honor of Gordon Ramsay — a culinary god as attractive as his offerings are abundant — Zelenko and I are poached with pleasure to present a timeline showcasing a sample platter from Ramsay’s buffet of accomplishments.


Did you know IBM's supercomputer Watson is learning to cook?