3.67 of 5 Votes: 5

0007229682 (ISBN13: 9780007229680)

English

harpertorch

Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble

Humble Pie (2015)
About book: This is a surprisingly good biography, written in the no nonsense style that you would expect, complete with expletives.He talks frankly about his shocking childhood-his mother used as a punchbag by his cheating alcoholic father, the poverty the family lived in, the frequent moves all over the country each time his dad lost a job, the family going hungry while his dad wasted all his money on his dead end singing career. It's pretty shocking to imagine families having to live like that. He goes on to talk about getting his chance to join Rangers as a youngster, hoping to be good enough to get a chance in the first team, but injury preventing him from getting even close to that goal. From there, he goes towards a career in cooking.This part of the story is better known and was interesting to read from Ramsay's point of view. We know about his battles with mentor Marco Pierre White who is viewed here as a violent bully who assaulted his staff and tried to cheat Ramsay in their professional dealings. I'm not passing comment on this as I've yet to read Marco's book and his version of the events. Either way, it was a volatile relationship. It was also interesting to see the reliance that Ramsay had on his father-in-law in business matters, especially with the two of them at loggerheads in court recently. Again, I'm not going to comment on the court dealings as I don't know the full story but it must have been a nightmare for his wife to end up stuck between her husband and her father.Ramsay found fame on TV with Boiling Point where he came over as being the psycho chef from hell. He admits that this was being filmed at the time when his relationship with Marco was deteriorating, his dream of opening his own place was hanging by a thread and he was under extreme stress. It's no surprise that he was losing his rag. Add in the issue of dealing with a drug addicted brother and you can imagine why he was stressed.People don't like Ramsay and I fully understand why. But you can't ignore the fact that he worked bloody hard to get to where he is and be a success. These chefs work long hours in difficult working conditions and have to take massive financial risks to get that big break. Even when they open that dream place, the hard work is just beginning. It is not for the lazy or faint hearted!Too many people grudge hard working people their success and think the world owes them a living instead. People like Ramsay get out there and work hard for a living and deserve a bit of credit for it. He is at least providing a good life for his kids so they don't experience his kind of childhood.I like the honesty in the book. Ramsay admits his faults and explains why he does the things that drive people crazy. I liked his admission that he was too much of a control freak to be at the birth of his kids and not able to deal with anything gooey! You can imagine him all hyped up, pacing the delivery room, effing every ten seconds, feeling sick and winding up the staff AND his wife! Maybe he is the sexist git that he is supposed to be but if his wife is happy with him and his faults, I'm not going to judge him. Besides I think his wife seems well capable of keeping him in line!I find Ramsay to be entertaining on TV and I like to watch his shows. I loved the UK Kitchen Nightmares series. I've yet to get the chance to watch his US Hell's Kitchen which I look forward to. I found the books equally entertaining and you could imagine that he was sitting beside you in the pub, telling his story. That is the style it was written in, which was better than some of these biographies that go for fancy writing and leave you needing a dictionary!If you like his TV work, this book should interest you.
Roasting in Hell’s Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay, or as it’s known in the UK Humble Pie is an autobiography about the celebrity chef. The book is interesting. If you’re a fan of Gordon Ramsay’s television, or like to hear about famous chefs the book delivers that. However the book has a few flaws. The writing in the first couple chapters is slow, and Ramsay’s discussion of how he learned to be a master chef. While he goes into a lot of detail about his relationship with his father, and his initial jobs it’s laid out in a weak format. Ramsay spends a lot of time describing his relationship with his father, however he doesn’t give strong examples and in fact his discussion of his father later in the book (when talking about his sisters) gives a better explanation than the 30 pages devoted to him earlier in the book. In fact a SINGLE line in the second to the last chapter, made me understand his father far better than anything in the chapter about his father. Waiting til 90 percent of the book was done to get that information was not a good decision, especially considering his father is mostly isolated to the first chapter. It’s small decisions like this that makes it hard to really get into the early parts of the book. I understand what a Michelin star is and I have a solid understanding of an american kitchen, but the british and the fine dining is unknown to me, and Ramsay writes the book almost as if he assumes the reader is a chef, or at least has a full knowledge of the process. Small things like “What a Michelin star” probably should be explained. “What a commis” is almost definitely should be explained (in the American version at the bare limits) When he’s going through the first jobs he also has a tendency to name drop. A number of people are just dropped as if he expects the reader to understand the prestige of the person. However as an American, I don’t know every famous chef in America let alone all of Europe. Even most of the names dropped aren’t known to me. I have trouble knowing if this is due to my lack of knowledge or just name dropping people that I don’t need to know about.Halfway through the book, Ramsay finishes learning and starts to grow into his own. He discusses his first restaurants that he ran by himself and the book changes. From a bit of a weak work, the book turns into a more passionate and interesting biography. I love hearing about his job on a yacht, his first restaurants, and his rise to fame. Everything after the halfway point becomes an absolute joy to read. The second half is almost perfect. The fact is if you like Ramsay this is a great book to read. It’s not necessary, and it won’t change a lot of people’s opinions of him, but it builds up the man so the reader can understand how Ramsay started and where Ramsay’s passion comes from. Overall I think the deciding factor is as simple as “Do you enjoy watching any gordon ramsay show and want to know more about him rather than his television persona?” If you do, grab a copy and read it. If you don’t, well there’s many fine other books out there but I doubt this book will do much for you.

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Celebrity autobiographies are always a mixed bag. They're equal parts self-promotion and self-medication more often than not. But sometimes they're revealing in ways they don't intend, and occasionally the author (or, frequently, the ghost writer) is pleasant to read.So let's take it in reverse order.The writing is not objectionable. There is an over-reliance on the simple declarative sentence. I'm not sure if that is pandering to the perceived audience or if it is a style choice/author ability statement.For me not much was revealed. But, to be fair, I've seen most episodes of every one of his TV series (ones from Channel 4 in Britain included) except for the British version of Hell's Kitchen, and only about half of the Master Chef episodes. So I have a sense of the public persona that is Gordon Ramsay, and occasionally there are hints of who the man is Tana married, and who the kids call Daddy. If you've only seen Hell's Kitchen that only a slice--authentic, but just a slice. All this book did for me was fill in some chinks of what I already knew.So--self-promotion and self-medication. Yes. But that's alright. Poor boy makes better than good, and wrestles some formidable demons along the way. And maybe the writing of it, the publishing of it, allows him to put some of the demons to bed, and have his say on some of the more scurrilous bits the British tabloids have been tossing about for the last decade and a half.To be honest, I'd rather read his cookbooks, and watch the shows (particulary The F Word and the British version of Kitchen Nightmares than pick up the inevitable next volume in the Gordon Ramsay written word oeuvre. But, then, for me, it's all about the food.

Anyone who enjoys the Hell's Kitchen series will enjoy this book. Surprisingly, Ramsay admits that he has some problems with his mouth! Sheesh, do ya think? lol After perusing this bio, you'll come away with a completely different respect for those who endeavour to take up the Chef profession and it is by far a hell of a ride. You'll also have a deeper understanding and respect for what goes on in the kitchens of the world you visit. To you, you order an item off the menu and bam! it's put on the table in front you. Read the book..you'll feel differently.From inside dusk jacket:'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 the 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 laters, 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, restuarant by restaurant, he gradually built a Michelin-starred empire.A candid, eye-open 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.Gordon Ramsay's radical career change at the age of seventeen led him to London and to huge success as chef, restaurant-empire-builder and celebrity. At thirty-two Ramsay established 'Royal Hospital Road', which has received three Michelin stars. He has since opened seven additional restaurants in London, taking his tally of Michelin starts to eight, and has started global expansion with restaurants in Tokyo and Dubai. Ramsay has published nine bestselling cookbooks and stars in the successful television series 'Hell's Kitchen.'From the back cover of the dust jacket:'I've got the wonderful family, the big house, the flash car in the drive. I run several of the world's best restaurants. I'm running round, cursing and swearing, telling people what to do, my mouth always getting me into trouble. They probaby think: that flash bastard. I know I would. But it's not about being flash. My life, like most people's, is about keeping the wolf from the door..When I think about myself, I still see a little boy who is desperate to escape, and anxious to please. The fact that I've long since escaped, and long since succeeded in pleasing people, has made little or no difference. I just keep going on, moving as far away as possible from where I began.'

This book was phenomenal. I saw so much of my personal life in Chef Ramsay's. I lived with my mom, grandmom (if you could call her that), my sister. No father in the home. I had the same horrid, rough upbringing, but in my home my grandmother ruled with an iron fist. She was psychopathic, brutal, violent, verbally abusive. Very few times was she calm. I felt fear creep over me when she got into one of her 'spells' and it would last for days. And I prayed on my knees every night it would be over.My sister, who is 12 years older than me, drowned herself in crack cocaine to numb the violence. She eventually moved out and my mom and I endured the roughest parts. Now being clean my sister doesn't want to own up to what happened.All the strain caused my mom to have open heart surgery but she died 5 years later. Grandmom died 5 years after that. I did not attend her funeral. My sister went and made excuses for me. I did go to view her body but I felt nothing but numbness. I was 32. People say I have a very gruff exterior also, but I think it's a constant self preservation mode you're in. You don't want to end up like them and you've taken so much crap for years that your guard is constantly up. You strive to make what is left of your world the best way you know how. You feel like your voice needs to be the biggest one in the room because you've been held down a good part of your life and achievement is like a balm on a sore wound. I'm in therapy now. I have panic attacks and depression. I pushed the memories down so far that they finally exploded, coming to the surface when I was 45.Thanks, Mr. Ramsay, for such an open, honest, raw declaration of your life. It resonated with me in more ways than you could ever imagine.