Ramsay's Early Career as a Commis Chef at Wroxton House Hotel in the 1980s

Gordon Ramsay's interest in cooking began in his teenage years. Rather than be known as 'the football player with the gammy knee,' he decided to pay more serious attention to his culinary education at age 19. Ramsay enrolled at North Oxfordshire Technical College, sponsored by the Rotarians, to study hotel management. He described his decision to enter catering college as 'a complete accident.' In the mid-1980s, Ramsay worked as a commis chef at the Wroxton House Hotel. He ran the kitchen and 60-seat dining room at the Wickham Arms until he quit after having sex with the owner's wife. Ramsay then moved to London, where he worked in a series of restaurants until being inspired to work for Marco Pierre White at Harveys. White discouraged Ramsay from taking a job in Paris, instead encouraging him to work for Albert Roux at Le Gavroche in Mayfair. Ramsay decided to take his advice, and there, Ramsay met Jean-Claude Breton, who later became his maître d'hôtel at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. After Ramsay worked at Le Gavroche for a year, Roux invited him to work with him at Hotel Diva, a ski resort in the French Alps, as his number two. From there, a 23-year-old Ramsay moved to Paris to work with Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon, both Michelin-starred chefs. He continued his training in France for three years, before giving in to the physical and mental stress of the kitchens and taking a year to work as a personal chef on the private yacht Idlewild, based in Bermuda. The role on the boat saw him travel to Sicily and Sardinia, Italy, and learn about Italian cuisine.