This story about Gordon Ramsay first appeared in the Down to the Wire issue of TheWrap’s Emmy magazine.
Gordon Ramsay has been a beloved, foul-mouthed TV star in America for years, so we’re completely effing shocked to learn this year’s Emmy nomination as reality-show host was his first ever.
Apparently, voters like the proudly abrasive personality who created barking franchises like “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Kitchen Nightmares” when he tones things down — it’s the decidedly gentler “MasterChef Junior,” where Ramsay minds his mouth around child cooks, that earned him the nom.
“It’s all about that level of losing yourself and becoming an individual,” Ramsay said of the lessons the show teaches its young contestants. “Starting off with humble ingredients and transforming them across 60 minutes into something magical is an amazing accomplishment, and that cooking also draws personalities.”
He picks up a thing or two from them in return. “I love the fact that they come in with no fear,” he said. “I’ve got four kids of my own, so I’ve gone through these stages. I learn daily how brutally honest they are. There’s a vulnerability there, and a sincerity.”
And because we couldn’t resist: Ramsay’s cheat meal is “a hat, sunglasses and the drive-through at In-N-Out Burger.”
His virtuous meal? “The most amazing oatmeal with caramelized banana, that I have before my Saturday bike ride.”
See TheWrap’s video interview with Gordon Ramsay above.
