Chef interview: Gordon Ramsay

It’s not easy to get a hold of Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay — he’s a busy man, and his PR team controls his media appearances with chilling precision. When the announcement was made that Gordon Ramsay was going to return to Dubai, it would be fair to say expectations were high, and everyone wanted to speak to him about it. After all, his first foray in the emirate was with Verre at Hilton Dubai Creek (now Table 9), and his exit in 2011 was a shock to many.

But after months of chasing, we’re told we can have 15 minutes. And no photographers. It’s like trying to get near the Queen. But then again, Ramsay is like F&B royalty.

While waiting for my interview slot at the venue, which is located in The Avenues of Atlantis, The Palm, I look around at the interiors, meant to exude a similar vibe to its sister locations around the world.

The restaurant has an expansive indoors, along with a terrace, with a brick wooden oven, two bars (both indoor and outdoor), show kitchen, live cold kitchen station and ice cream counter opening onto The Avenues. Sat in the corner of the glittering bar, the 15-minute countdown begins and Ramsay says to Caterer: “Dubai’s always been a little mecca for me, and it [Verre] was my first big restaurant I opened when I won my third Michelin star, even before I opened Claridge’s. So I look at it as a platform and training ground.”

He references chefs like Angela Hartnett and Jason Atherton, who “all studied here, worked here, they came back to London with this amazing, broad spectrum of another culture”. I wonder what he thinks about his protégés like Atherton opening up in Dubai, adding to the competition. Ramsay heads me off, and says: “Brilliant. It’s absolutely fantastic. I’ve been one of the most unselfish chefs anywhere in the world so I wouldn’t be where I am today without that level of tuition, and I hope they do the same that I do and spur on their new sous chefs, and their new head chefs, and in 10 years’ time you’ll see them.

“Growing up in the environment I did, in London, and standing on my own two feet, I’ve always been excited about competition. So Angela Hartnett, Jason Atherton, Darren Velvick, to have worked with me and be part of that initiation here in Dubai and to see them thriving now — it’s great for my customers. And also I think it’s a nice alternative. Brilliant, and long may it continue.”

The chef is honest about why he left the first time, after opening in 2001. “Verre became the appendix of Dubai — the bit that everybody wanted out. Because it was miles away, then the crash came in 2008, and the restaurant was static, the area was static. I wasn’t excited by it. I fell out of love with it so I decided to hand my notice in and get out, with always the option of coming back.”

Stressing that it was important for him to come back to Dubai, Ramsay says the positioning for round two was critical. “First of all I wanted to come back with something that was a little flamboyant, something a little bit more current in the market.”

He then drops the news that he’s not stopping. “I will do another Gordon Ramsay in Dubai, fine dining, there’s no two ways about that.”

After teasing that he’s going to look at a potential site right before his flight out of Dubai International, Ramsay says the second restaurant will have 60 to 70 seats and will be “something of a showcase”.

Returning to Bread Street, he describes the restaurant as East End of London meets Manhattan. The fit-out began in June 2015, just four months before the grand opening at the end of October, and Ramsay claims the logistics are extremely easy compared to his first outing.

He reveals: “Ten or 15 years ago, it [delivery] was every other day or twice a week, produce was sparse on the ground. We have a lot more varied ingredients now because we get produce three times a day. And that’s one of the big differences working with Kerzner — you get access to some unique ingredients. The logistics are so much easier than it was in 2001.”

The team, which is led by head chef Cesar Bartolini, has more European staff than any other restaurant opened by the Gordon Ramsay Group, its leader reveals.

“Look at the success of La Petite Maison, Nobu, Qbara — that’s a localised phenomenon and we’re going to be on the same level. So the investment from our end is so much more substantial in order to get it right. And look at it, it’s absolutely gorgeous. So the stakes are high.” He adds that he’s keen to be as involved as possible with the new venue: “Dubai is what it is because of what’s happening locally, this culture is bloody foodie, way better than it ever was before. So coming up and label slapping, sticking your name above the door, and thinking you’ll get away with it once a year to turn up…”

And even though the restaurant is looking the way he wants it, with a team he approved of, and a menu he likes, Ramsay is a self-confessed perfectionist. “I’m never happy. I walked around this morning at 3:30am, tweaking things, there’s another session this afternoon, tweaking. Restaurants take three to four months to get the cogs turning. The problem is, when your name is Gordon Ramsay, everyone expects it [clicks fingers] from day one, so that’s the headache. So you have to live with that, and we will.”

Ramsay is also seen tweeting and responding to fans on social media like Twitter. Does he do it himself? “Yeah I’m very naughty, I do it myself,” he says, pooh-poohing the idea that anyone else controls that aspect of his life.

And then the media team says we’ve got one minute left before his next appointment, and I indicate we’re finished with the interview. “D***, we’re done,” he says with a smile.