Gordon Ramsay reveals family was so poor as a child he ate toothpaste and didn’t have dinner for multiple nights’
GORDON Ramsay has opened up about his childhood – revealing he was so poor he ate toothpaste and didn’t have food for days.
On Wednesday his new six-part Netflix documentary Being Gordon Ramsay airs, detailing his efforts to launch his latest ambitious project.
Britain’s highest eaterie, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High is on the 60th floor of skyscraper 22 Bishopsgate in the City of London.
Having trained under Marco Pierre White, aged 35 he set up his first eponymous restaurant, winning three coveted Michelin stars shortly after.
He now has eateries all across the globe, and is arguably the planet’s most famous chef.
His work ethic is relentless – possibly a result of his humble upbringing.
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In one episode, Gordon gets emotional recalling his own childhood struggles, growing up on a council estate in Glasgow.
Relying on food vouchers at school to eat, he speaks powerfully on the embarrassment of being desperately poor.
Today, he has teamed up with a fantastic charity, Feeding Britain, to tackle child poverty. The aim is to provide Britain’s 800,000 kids in poverty with affordable food.
Gordon has quietly and personally donated “very heavily” to the cause.
Shockingly Gordon recalls: “I was hungry all the time, there was no food in the house.
“I was sometimes too embarrassed to use my vouchers to get mt free shepherds pie in case, you know, aged 15 or 16, a girl I fancied saw me.
”I was a skinny f***ing bean. I remember eating toothpaste thinking that was delicious because there were multiple nights where we never ate.
“It is appalling that we’re in this situation now. It’s disgusting, an embarrassment. The system’s dysfunctional.”
While Gordon’s father, who died from a heart attack aged 53, was an alcoholic, his younger brother Ronnie is, tragically, a heroin addict.
Having gone for long swathes of time not speaking, he reveals the pair had a reconciliation of sorts on the phone last week.
Becoming visibly emotional, Gordon recalls: “It was just sad because at the end of that call he said, ‘did I hear you ask for my bank details? I’ve got no electricity’.
“And so I said, ‘Come on, Ronnie, you know damn well if I knew that was going on electricity, I would. But I know full well that’s going to go on drugs.’
”’And it pains me, it kills me, mate.’
“We’ve been down this road so many times.”
Gordon’s new Netflix series will see the star put all his energy into his new project, 22 Bishopsgate.
Home to Britain’s tallest restaurant, its Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High, an intimate 12-seater chef’s table experience, has already earned him another Michelin star.
I’ve seen the show, and it’s brilliant, giving viewers a fly-on-the-wall look into Gordon’s frenetic and fabulous – he and Tana are parents to six kids – home life, as well as the sheer hell of getting a new business off the ground.
”I won’t watch it,” he smiles. “I never ever watch myself on telly because it’s just incredibly nerve-wracking.
“I think when you’ve done it and lived it, the last thing you want to do is sit there with lots of popcorn. There’s a level of embarrassment.”
Even without Gordon’s viewership, it is sure to be another Netflix smash.