What It really takes to earn a Michelin Star – Gordon Ramsay’s new series tells all

Apple TV+ has unveiled a new eight-part documentary series, "Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars," produced by Gordon Ramsay’s Studio Ramsay Global.

The show will be hosted by award-winning food and travel expert, Jesse Burgess, and Gordon will serve as one of the executive producers.

How did Gordon Ramsay become a chef?

As famous for his colourful use of words as for his culinary prowess, Gordon Ramsay is a TV chef and an internationally-acclaimed cook.

Not only has he broken records as the only Scottish chef to achieve and retain three Michelin stars, Gordon's popularity has led him to become one of the most successful chefs in the restaurant business.

Although you wouldn’t believe it now, Gordon didn't always want to be a chef, in fact he wanted to become a professional football player. He joined the Glasgow Rangers pro club football team at 15, but a knee injury when he was 18 cut his ambitions short.

Instead the chef decided to go to North Oxfordshire Technical Culinary College to complete a course in Hotel Management, which led him to train with some of the world’s leading chefs, including Albert Roux and Marco Pierre White. In the early 1980s, he worked as a commis chef at the Wroxton House Hotel then ran the kitchen and 60-seat dining room at the Wickham Arms.

After working at Harveys for two years and ten months, he gained a taste for the variety of culinary traditions and decided he wanted to further advance his career by studying French Cuisine.

This encouraged him to get work at Le Gavroche under Albert Roux. Roux invited him to work as his number two at Hotel Diva, in Tignes, the famous ski resort in the French Alps.

From there, he moved to Paris and worked with Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon (1945-2018), both famous Michelin-starred chefs.

Having dived into the deep end and learned with the world's best, when he returned to London in 1993, Gordon was offered the position of head chef at Pierre Koffmann’s three Michelin star Restaurant, La Tante Claire.

INSIDE THE SHOW

The new show offers rare access to the Michelin Guide’s world, following elite chefs across the globe over a year as they battle to earn, keep, or regain Michelin Stars — the most prestigious award in fine dining.

Filming takes place in cities including Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, and Copenhagen, capturing the pressure, passion, and personal sacrifice behind the hospitality industry.

Gordon said: “You can’t underestimate the drive, ambition, and sacrifice chefs go through chasing a Michelin Star.

Jesse added: “There’s no honour like a Michelin Star, we’re excited to tell the stories of some of the most extraordinary restaurants on the planet.”

With anonymous inspectors judging dishes to the highest standards, the stakes are high, and not every chef will succeed.

The premiere date is yet to be announced.

written by abi kinsella