Head Chef Gordon Ramsay Critiques Food Harshly, but How Many Michelin Stars Does He Have?

Gordon Ramsay, a student of Marco Pierre White and celebrity chef known throughout the world after hosting hit shows like Master Chef and Hell's Kitchen, has a lot to say about other people's food, and what he says matters, considering how many Michelin stars he has. Some of the restauranteurs he tears apart in Kitchen Nightmares will now and then retort by asking him what makes him so much better or why his opinion on food matters more, and those people have no idea who they were talking to.

Gordon isn't just a Simon Cowell-type character, though he does fit the trope of a loud and aggressive man with a British accent. His skills as a chef and restaurant owner are just as good if not better than his skill at marketing himself. Boisterous and rude when it's entertaining but good-hearted and educational when he needs to be, Gordon Ramsay holds himself and others to a high standard when preparing food, and that shows itself in the reviews his restaurants receive.

Gordon Ramsay has earned the third most Michelin stars in the world behind Alain Ducasse and Jöel Robuchon. Gordon has run 58 restaurants over the course of his career and currently runs 35, seven of which have Michelin stars right now. Throughout his career, Ramsay has earned a total of 17 Michelin Stars, starting in 2001 when his namesake restaurant was awarded three stars. His culinary and television success go hand in hand with his brash and uncompromising personality. His hot-headedness and demand for perfection show themselves in his restaurant's food.

He's not just blowing hot air when he talks about how good his skills are or when he's ripping apart someone's dish. He's speaking from a place of authority you can only get to by being an extreme stickler for detail. Michelin stars are only awarded to the very best restaurants, and the list is constantly updating, with 2,817 restaurants worldwide on the list in 2022. The acquisition or loss of a single star can have a dramatic impact on how well the business does, so there's no wonder Ramsay is so uptight about maintaining food standards.

Gordon Ramsay's Michelin-star restaurants currently include: Petrus, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Le Pressoir d'Argent, and Gordon Ramsay au Trianon. While he comes off as abrasive at times, that personality was fostered by his equally hot-headed mentor and apparently leads to success in the culinary world as someone who doesn't take no for an answer when it comes to detail-oriented work.