There’s a reason Gordon Ramsay has endured so much success dating back to the early 2000s. As he admitted with Variety, his work ethic and professionalism are what continues to set him apart, “The secret of my success is that I take nothing for granted, I go into every restaurant, every program, as if it’s the first day. And I give 110%. Because it’s not that money that turns me on. I find that side slightly embarrassing. It’s wonderful and it’s nice, but it doesn’t make you a better chef. The fundamental crux of a successful chef is being true to what you do.”
He made his television debut in the early 90s and according to Deadline, he started to find some serious success in 2004 with none other than ‘Kitchen Nightmares.’ At that point, reality TV was on the upswing and Ramsay was a pioneer in a sense.
Kitchen Nightmares Booms To Popularity
Quite simply, Ramsay states that it was the realism aspect that captivated the audience, especially given that it was a more intelligent and informed audience in the early 2000s, “Viewers are so much savvier now than even a few years back. So the integrity and the intelligence of the viewers today are far more important than ever before. Youngsters, especially my demographics, are bored more easily nowadays. So I’m trying to change up the formats, I’m making them more vibrant and bringing in a little bit more realism in there, less fake. I think today you have to a little bit more honest and I’m trying to sort of almost deglamorizing some of the shows which are far more pleasing to the high octane sets and formats that worked 10 years ago. I take nothing for granted.”
Of course, Ramsay would continue to find serious success over the years as he continued to pivot with so many other shows, including Hell’s Kitchen, Hotel Hell and Master Chef.
A lot of fans are left wondering, what happened to the successful show that started it all and why was it pulled off from FOX?
Gordon Pulled The Plug
After six seasons of FOX, Kitchen Nightmares was taken off the air. Fans wondered if it was the network or Gordon, turns out, Ramsay pulled the plug before it was too late. He didn’t want to get canceled by the network, “I’m not very good at being canceled,” he says. “So before anything cancels, I’ll take it down first. And that’s not being derogatory to Fox. It’s just having the confidence to come back in two years’ time, with a new, fresh idea.”
Clearly, he’s always reinventing himself while finding that same amount of success as years past. We look forward to seeing what’s next but for the time being, we know he has his hands full at home with the kids!
Sources: Deadline, Variety & IG