Gordon Ramsay

Reporter Fiona Sims, who profiled the chef for Caterer magazine in the midst of his recent global expansion, said this was one of the first things she noticed about their long conversations. ‘Ramsay dishes out the credits constantly,’ she noted. When she pointed this out to him he said shared credit was vital to his success.

So forget crowd-pleasing French food. Instead he imported Scottish lobster and langoustines, Aberdeen Angus beef and British hand-dived scallops. ‘When I learned to cook in France chefs used to buy British produce and take the labels off. Well, we’re going to stand British and proud. When they ask me why I’m not using the scallops from Brittany I will say, “Because I know I can get better.”’

.’

He certainly didn’t take any easy options there, just as he wouldn’t do in LA. One thing Gordon has never done is compromise

He did what he always did when the heat was on. He got back in the kitchen. He cooked up a storm. He checked up on every last detail of the menu, the service and the complete dining experience in that most stunning of Parisian settings. ‘There’s not a day or a minute that goes by that I’m not thinking about it,’ he said of the Trianon’s opening. ‘Of course I’m nervous but then I shit myself with every fucking opening. I’m not so cocky to take it for granted that it will be a success.

He did what he always did when the heat was on. He got back in the kitchen. He cooked up a storm. He checked up on every last detail of the menu, the service and the complete dining experience in that most stunning of Parisian settings. ‘There’s not a day or a minute that goes by that I’m not thinking about it,’ he said of the Trianon’s opening

So what did Gordon do to beat back against those critics?

Gordon hit that most snooty and food-obsessed of cities in typically fiery style

No. Having taken Manhattan, squeezed in a new restaurant in Prague and finished the plans for another in Heathrow’s new Terminal Five, he was ready to take on Paris.

He got proof within the year when he was awarded not one but two Michelin stars. So did he rest on his laurels and take a well-earned break? Does that sound like Gordon Ramsay?

And, whatever the critics said, it did the trick. Shortly after opening, the new restaurant was taking 600 calls a day from people desperate for reservations.