Inside Gordon Ramsay's Happy Home Life & Being a "Softie" as a Dad to 5 Kids

My dream of becoming a professional soccer player got taken away early on with a horrific injury. And so I had to bounce back from adversity and then go back and live in a sort of one-room dwelling with my big sister and then go and educate myself. So I know deep down inside when you push and strive for excellence, you will get there, even without any pre-knowledge of food. So yeah, I never take that stuff for granted. And then I sort of, I calibrate. I never take things for granted and every time I go into something, whether it's Kitchen Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen, The American Dream, well, that's my American Dream. I started in 2005 on Fox. And if you told me that was going to be a prevalent, mainstream, major network cooking show, Hell's Kitchen, it was all about Food Network then. So no one had broken through. And Food Network was incredible and had some incredible chefs on there. But Fox let me be me. I ran a restaurant. They ran a show. And still to this day, the bookings are real. The reservations, the chef's tables, the guests, and the sequence of events, the red team versus the blue team, it's powerful. So giving these individuals that platform, they get me at my best. And what I don't get from my flagship, Russian Gordon Ramsay, I get from Hell's Kitchen. And then when it's not, you know, as raw as I'd like it to be, then I'll flip into Kitchen Nightmares to go back to the grindstone of being behind the line and pushing those young chefs that want to be successful in this business. The menu is going to be shortened and the standards go up. A new beginning. I'm pleased Kitchen Nightmares is back because, honestly, I think it's me at my best. I think it's me. Kitchen Nightmares is something that I take so seriously, honestly. I mean, I think I've consumed more in Pepto-Bismol than anyone on the planet. And the fact that I've given my tummy a rest for the last 10 years, it's time to bring it back. I've never felt this frustrated on what the industry got set back with, with COVID. Landlords were unforgiving. Customers were freaking out. They couldn't break bread. They couldn't get into restaurants. And then chefs were sort of left stranded. And so the demand for help was off the charts, even within the first two months of COVID back in spring 2020. And so we were stranded and no one's ever said to me, hey, time out. You can't travel. There's no planes in the sky and everything's switched off. And that's the first time ever in 20 years it's come to a halt. So we went to hell and back. It was a rough ride. I was pushed to the extreme. So Kitchen Nightmares was a personal thing that I wanted to sort of respond to the demand to bring it back. And then, you know, it's a double-edged sword for me, because when they're off and running and successful, you don't get praise. When they fail and don't listen and take the prescription you subscribe to them, you get blamed. So it's back. It's the first time in 10 years. I tried my best. I got to bed at night with both eyes closing comfortably that I gave it my all. What are you? An idiot sandwich. Idiot sandwich what? An idiot sandwich Doug Ramsey. Idiot Sandwich is a unique meme. In fact, we are shooting a new series called Idiot Sandwich. And you're the first to hear that. We start shooting in November, and it's an amazing competition about who is an idiot sandwich. And so James Corden's a dear friend, and we were doing a little skit, a Hell's Kitchen skit, and we were playing around, and all of a sudden got these two slices of bread. What are you? Idiot. Idiot what? Idiot sandwich. And so then it just grew. And it's really weird, isn't it? Because wherever I go, there's some young kid somewhere that wants to be called an idiot sandwich. So we did the creative a couple of months back, and we started shooting a really exciting show. A bit like the Hot Ones, but for Idiot Sandwich, where the winner will be crowned an idiot sandwich. And this thing has traveled, man. This thing has gone ballistic. Oh God, what do they see? What don't they see? I'm full on, and I absolutely strive for perfection. And so I think when we go to the restaurants, especially on the East Coast, the West Coast, and I was in Washington and Vegas recently, and when I go into the restaurant, it just causes a massive disruption, because everybody wants to come up and say hello. I'm still going to go back to the original restaurant. And so with 75 restaurants across the planet, I still treat everyone like the first. We're there to give. And then I don't want to talk to people when they're eating, but they want to talk to you. And so you've got to get out of that conversation quick, because the food's getting cold. So yeah, that's the one thing that's misconstrued, just how normal I am. I think the kids have brought the most emotion out of me. And it's funny, isn't it? Because everyone thinks, God, you must be an absolute arse to be at home with as a dad. Tana's super fierce. Ex-Montessori school teacher, so correct. And so I'm the softie. But it's a testament to her guidance, and we have five amazing kids. One's a Royal Marine Commando of defending the country and in some of the most extreme conditions. The other one's an incredible police officer, took a degree and got into the Metropolitan Police. Holly's gone into fashion. Tilly's studying at university for her degree. And Tana and I came from a family with no degrees, no further education. And so I'm more concerned that there's no one following in my footsteps, except Tilly. Tilly cooks a lot. She does cook a lot, and that's exciting. But secretly, unbeknownst to Tana, I'm putting a whisk and a wooden spoon in Oscar's hands at night when he's in bed. I'll go upstairs and stick a whisk in his hand so he wakes up like that in the morning with a spoon and a whisk thinking, what the f*** are these for? So yeah, I think Tilly's the only one. But one out of five is not a good record. I think they've seen too much of me on TV saying, God, f*** that. I'm not following in my father's footsteps. My kids always push my buttons. Yeah, if they've got a view, or they want to tell me I'm wrong, or they want to critique the food, I laugh. Tilly was talking about one of the dishes last week, and I said, look, there's caramelized garlic. And she got her fork in there and stuck it and said, Dad, it's burnt. I said, Tilly, that's caramelized. So I've got my 20-year-old daughter telling me that it's burnt. I'm like, no, it's caramelized. Caramelization is not black, Dad. Look it up in the dictionary. I'm like, oh my God. So yeah, I like it when they test me. I love it. Weekends, when everyone's together, it's mayhem. And so there's a table full of food. I sort of start off the cooking, and then they sort of jump in. And then they want their bits, because they don't want to just listen to Dad's food all the time. They always say that my food's too posh, which is always an insult. But great conversations. Great conversations, from combat intelligence to the most amazing insight. We just have a blast. And Oscar wants to stay up late as well. And so then there'll be a game of cards, and then there'll be clearing up. So time passes quickly with these kids. And when you're breaking bread, it's those memories. Now we have partners at the table where they've got girlfriends and boyfriends. So that table goes from a sort of seven top to a 12 top. But man, it's loud. It's loud. It gets loud. And then you open a bottle of wine, and 10 minutes later, you're opening another bottle of wine because, yeah, these kids enjoy socialising. Losing Rocky was really tough. There's no book or programme you can watch that guides you through that loss. Just being there and watching the sort of trauma unfold. It's just this life-changing moment that you... A, I was grateful that we were there together. B, Tana always struggled with her blood. And so there was always issues with getting those bloods absolutely right. And so there was this incredible celebration that she was pregnant and the baby was doing fine. And all of a sudden, it just changes within 24 hours. So I think, if anything, it brought the whole family together closer because Jack's still got the little dog tag with Rocky, and we've got these little bits of jewellery together that we connect through. And then the picture, and then Rocky Bay House down in Cornwall. It's on Rock Road. So we came up with this amazing name called Rocky Bay House. So we named the house after him. And then it's hard because we wouldn't have had Oscar had we not lost Rocky. And so there was no substitute, far from it. But it brought us a bond that you'd never experience in a normal situation. And so it was incredible. But that's the power of Tana. Incredibly resilient. And then just watching the way that she dealt with it and opened up with other friends and women in close proximity that could give advice. She was incredible straight after that. But the kids get a lot of strength from their mum. And everyone thinks it's easy to be married to a chef. It's tough. And like I said, there's a lot of things that Tana's done that we wouldn't be here today without that strength. And so admirable. I mean, really admirable. I look at the three girls and they adore what their mum stood for. And you'd be amazed how close Jack is. He may be a Royal Marine Commando, but when his mum picks up the phone and asks, it's done immediately. I mean, they pay more attention to her than they do me. And I love that. Yeah, touching moment. But yeah, there's nowhere to go except get stronger and go together on this one. And so that was a tough call, but we dealt with it as the best we could. Marriage advice is about listening to each other and just making sure you set that time together. You know, whether it's a brunch, cinema, a drive in the car, a run, a walk, a hike. What comes out on our walks and our hikes, you know, weekends is incredible. And so, yeah, that time for each other is absolutely crucial. And so, yeah, she's my best mate. I have a very healthy work balance. And now with Oscar, going back for number five, the time is quality. And so he knows how busy daddy is. And so we value that time together. And I still think back to the beginning of Royal Osset Road, the flagship restaurant. When I opened that thing, it was closed Saturday, Sunday, because I wanted the quality of life as well. I'd work now on a Saturday and then take Sunday, Monday off. And so it's sort of, it's switched a little bit. But those two days with him, did my first school run last week with him. I took him to the door and I said, can I come in? He said, no, it's my school. You can't come in. I said, well, what should I do? He said, well, wait there. And he went inside and asked his teacher for a croissant to bring out to his dad. I'm like, and I was just trying to process it on the way home. Wow, my four-year-old son is going to school that give croissants out. It's a little bit different to the school I went. But that was the sweetest thing he ever did, was give me a croissant. And yeah, it was delicious. We're taking advantage of Oscar's age. So he travels a lot. The three of us are always together. And so that upsets the other four. And then we say, hey, you've had your time with mum and dad. It's Oscar's time. So very rare we're apart. And so, yeah, we're in such a lovely routine. And then with Tana's school teaching background, you know, anything that he's missing at school, you know, gets filled in. So it's very rare that we are apart. As Oscar changed me, the older you get, the more worried you get. When you're in your 20s and 30s, you're just driven. And you're less focused on the consequences. And you just get through it. He's helped to make me feel less worried because he's a cool kid. He's only four. So he's grown up rapidly because he's four older siblings. Tana wants another one. So I'm going to be at school, you know, celebrating Sports Day with a f***ing walker. Hey, who's your granddad? That's my dad, actually. So I'm not too sure how many knee-hip replacements I'll get by the time they get 21. But I'm going to try. Tana's eight years younger than I am. She says that she would love another one, obviously, because it's just an exciting thing. However, she said, I don't want Oscar growing up on his own. On his own! He's at school every day and he's got his four siblings. So, oh, man. I mean, oh, man. Watch that space. Oh, man. I'm f***ed.