19 Surprising Things You Never Knew About Gordon Ramsay

AKA everything we learned during his recent Reddit AMA.

1. He uses microwaves but not all that safely.

CBS

Ramsay is a fan of microwaves only to lightly fry herbs without having to deep fat fry, but he shared that he puts tinfoil in the microwave, which is a BIG no-no.

Use "a plate, plastic wrap, and then rub a whole basil leaf in just a touch of olive oil and then lay it on the tinfoil. Press for 45 seconds in the microwave. They come out crispy!"

2. He loves to eat out, even though restaurants always expect a camera crew to follow.

FOX

"You know I love going to restaurants and I love going to enjoy myself without having to work at them. The first thing they look at when they see me standing in reception, A) is there a camera crew behind him? B) did you book? and if you did book, did you book under your fucking name?!"

3. Surprisingly, he's a big fan of In-N-Out Burger.

FOX

"I wish that they were set up in London because if there's one thing I miss flying out of LA, it's an In-N-Out Burger."

4. He fucking hates when people ask him what his last meal would be.

FOX

"A) I'm not that bad to be on death row, and, B) If it was my last supper, ask me that question in 40 years time when I'm 90 years of age, I can't go to the bathroom properly, and I need my ass wiped on a regular basis."

5. In a normal day, he only really has about three to four hours off.

FOX

"I work incredibly hard. I have about three to four hours a day off and I work my freakin' ass off because I get so excited with projects! I never started cooking because I wanted to become rich, I have an incredible amount of energy."

6. He's actually a fan of (good quality) tinned tuna, and feeds it to his family.

FOX

He cooks a dish of spaghetti, shallots, garlic, and chilli. He tops it off with "very good cans of tuna", fresh capers, parsley, and some preserved lemon.

7. He's had the same team running his flagship restaurant since it opened.

FOX

He says that professionally it is what he's most proud of.

"The same chef, the same maître d', 18 years later. Retaining the three Michelin stars that we've done now, for 14 years."

8. He actually did offer that prisoner a job, but he reoffended almost instantly.

Channel 4 / Via youtube.com

"I'm a firm believer that everyone deserves a second chance. So, I did offer him a job [but] he reoffended within days of coming out. I was excited to have him by my side, and the offer is still open today providing he comes back into society better placed.”

9. And his critique of the blind MasterChef contestant's apple pie was 100% genuine.

FOX

"She made this incredible apple pie, and it brought tears to my eyes. She was doubting her ability, she was doubting the level of execution, and she was upset with something that she couldn't see or taste it, but it blew my mind. I still revert back to that amazing apple pie."

10. He thinks everyone needs to know how to cook five dishes.

FOX

A "great burger", a "healthy breakfast", a "braising dish ... the kind of thing you can cook on a Monday and still eat on Friday", a "chicken dish", and "some amazing cake".

11. And that the easiest dish you can fuck up is a steak.

FOX

"Serving a New York strip, for instance, for me the most important thing is taking it out of the fridge 15 minutes before you actually use it, so it gets to room temperature. Season it properly, and then cook it once it's up to room temperature. You've got to let the steak rest for as long as you cook it. The difference is night and day. So, great sear, but let it rest."

12. He has perfected the ultimate meat burger blend.

FOX

"All beef with a fat percentage of 10%, brisket and chuck, and then short rib. So for me, the secret behind any great burger is the fat content." Plus, "basting your burger with Devonshire butter puts a completely different spin on it".

13. He will always order a Wellington if he sees it on a menu.

FOX

"So the first thing I would want to order if I see it, if there's a Wellington on any menu, whether it's in the middle of Milan or the middle of Paris or the middle of New York. I grew up with beef Wellingtons."

14. He attests that all you need for a good grilled cheese is some Red Leicester.

FOX

"Red Leicester is a really beautiful cheese; it's a very strong, mature cheddar. Strong mature cheddar that gets sort of caramelized and bubbly is the best for a toastie."

15. And that the concept of foam on food is fucking stupid.

FOX

"I think foam should be used for shaving, not go on top of food. Because when a foam hits a plate, unless you've eaten it within three or four seconds, at the end it looks like sort of toxic scum on a stagnant pool."

16. He will literally eat anything at least once.

FOX

"As a chef, I think my job is to discover as much as I can. You know, anything black or under-seasoned I find really hard to eat. So I'll eat anything from a beating open heart, live, to a jellied eel, to beans on toast. I'll eat anything provided it's got season."

17. The favourite production he's done isn't Hotel Hell or Kitchen Nightmares, it's Shark Bait the documentary.

FOX

"So, Sharkbait was an amazing documentary where I went off to Taiwan, got on a boat, hijacked it, and you know, tried to stop finning--shark fins and the decimation of sharks and the population. So Sharkbait was one of the biggest and most prolific I've ever done."

18. He believes he can go 60 minutes live without swearing.

FOX

"It's fucking hard, but I'll have a good go."

19. And naturally he is still a savage, even when not on TV.

FOX

Someone took the AMA opportunity to ask Ramsay if his girlfriend, an unadventurous eater, should try casu marzu, otherwise known as maggot cheese.

Ramsay replied savagely with, "So, casu marzu is a very strong cheese. If she's not a very adventurous eater, I don't think she's going to be too keen having maggots in her mouth. But, I don't want to just talk about your willy."

H/T Reddit.