Roasting in Hell's Kitchen: Temper Tantrums, F Words, and the Pursuit of Perfection (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

'Gordon Ramsay's Humble Pie -- so exuberantly angry boastful, cliche-ridden, expletive-laden and touchingly sincere that I can't believe that a single sentence has been written by anyone but the failed footballer, great cook, telly star and businessman himself. He's the genuine bollocks, as he's so fond of saying, and this is the tale of his personal class struggle.' -- The Observer 'Inspirational stuff.' Heat 'A mesmerising tale. It reads like a conversation and exudes personality. Ramsay finds it hard to dodge the f-word, but despite the defensiveness that comes accross, the book is an inspiration.' Irish Examiner --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

Everyone thinks they know the real Gordon Ramsay: rude, loud, pathologically driven, stubborn as hell

For the first time, Ramsay tells the full inside story of his life and how he became the world's most famous and infamous chef: his difficult childhood, his brother's heroin addiction, his failed first career as a soccer player, his fanatical pursuit of gastronomic perfection and his TV persona—all of the things that made him the celebrated culinary talent and media powerhouse that he is today.

In Roasting in Hell's Kitchen Ramsay talks frankly about his tough and emotional childhood, including his father's alcoholism and violence and their effect on his relationships with his mother and siblings. His rootless upbringing saw him moving from house to house and town to town followed by the authorities and debtors as his father lurched from one failed job to another.

He recounts his short-circuited career as a soccer player, when he was signed by Scotland's premier club at the age of fifteen but then, just two years later, dropped out when injury dashed his hopes. Ramsay searched for another vocation and, much to his father's disgust, went into catering, which his father felt was meant for “poofs.”

He trained under some of the most famous and talented chefs in Europe, working to exacting standards and under extreme conditions that would sometimes erupt in physical violence. But he thrived, with his exquisite palate, incredible vision and relentless work ethic. Dish by dish, restaurant by restaurant, he gradually built a Michelin-starred empire.

A candid, eye-opening look into the extraordinary life and mind of an elite and unique restaurateur and chef, Roasting in Hell's Kitchen will change your perception not only of Gordon Ramsay but of the world of cuisine.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks (November 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061191752
• ISBN-13: 978-0061191756
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #528,639 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest voice, December 13, 2006

By	Antonio P. Manahan "Tonico Manahan" (Makati, Philippines) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is quite a pageturner. My wife and I rarely finish the same book within the same day. We live an era of ghost written celebrity biographies written with boring pedantic voices. I have no illusions that Ramsay wrote this book without assistance (whether an editor or overzealous assistant)but the book certainly captures his voice. The result is an honest unapologetic narrative of the life of a remarkable man. There are lessons to be learned, hard work as the solution for overcoming adversity. Readers of food porn may be dissapointed in that the book is less about the food than the man behind the food. Fans of Ramsay will be delighted because of the insight into the method behind his madness.

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New intensity..............., February 5, 2007

By	Patricia Carter "king" (Portland, Maine) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Imagine if every person on earth put the same level of passion, intensity and energy into their jobs as Gordon does to his. Imagine a world where half-a%# workmanship and pathetic laziness was unaccepptable, as it is in Ramsay's kitchens. Just imagine.......
An amazing book was this. I wished it could have gone on and on. The real story behind a driven man whose ethics of perfection can be easily applied to every work situation in the world, regardless of occupation. Challenge yourself to accept Ramsay's standards of excellence. If being the best was easy, everyone would be great. This book shows why Gordon Ramsay is the very best chef in the world.....

57 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gordon needs a hug.., December 29, 2006

By	R. McCarthy - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been a massive Gordon Ramsay fan since the first time I glimpsed him on BBC America, then came Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares to feed my obsession. I purchased two of his cookbooks for my friend for Christmas and as we were exchanging gifts it turned out that she had done the same. Secretly I purchased Roasting in Hell's Kitchen all for myself and read it cover to cover the day after Christmas.

Having just finished watching the first run of the F-Word on BBC America (because everything comes over here a year late at least from the BBC) I was expecting lots of dish on his television ventures and his rise to culinary stardom. This book completely surprised and enthralled me. If there was a ghost writer for this book I'd be gobsmacked, as the writing style is completely in keeping with the way Gordon talks about things in his cook books and on his television shows, no holds are barred and no f-word gets left behind. It is a rare auto-biography that is penned so true to it's author's voice and raw with authenticity.

I had no idea that this brash, confident, gorgeous man in the kitchen who is so engaging and fun has had so much to overcome and in such a short amount of time. One might think that reading 300 pages of heartbreak, abuse and grueling work (nothing short of a Dickensian tale) would change the way I look at a person, and truthfully it has. I'm even more impressed and amazed by Gordon Ramsay now than ever.

His story is one that took immense amounts of bravery and bullocks to tell, and he has done so in a way that is astoundingly heartfelt and never hopeless. Gordon's incredibly recent bout with success is well deserved and I hope it lasts long enough to provide material for additional updates on his fascinating life.