Gordon Ramsay was reduced to tears while reflecting on his latest achievement during an episode of The Rise of the Rockstar Chef.
The famous chef became tearful while recalling the enormous relief and happiness of finally winning the accolade in 2001: his eponymous restaurant receiving its third Michelin star
It was a culmination of years of ambition, hard work and pressure before achieving his ultimate professional ambition.
The Rise of the Rockstar Chef is about how Gordon, Marco Pierre White and Heston Blumenthal transformed British fine dining into a global cultural phenomenon.
The series also looks into the personal rivalries, ambition and conflicts behind that transformation, after Gordon became Marco’s protege at Harvey’s in the eighties.
During the height of their careers the London restaurant scene was fiercely competitive and stars carried prestige and could make or break a chef’s career.
Discussing how he felt after receiving his third Michelin star, Gordon began to cry and could be seen wiping tears from his face.
He said, “Sorry. S**t. I think in many ways it was a relief. And then just this f***ing weight just disappears and all of a sudden you’ve got this freedom.”
Paul Ainsworth, who worked with Gordon, reflected on the moment, and said, “He just says guys, restaurant Gordon Ramsay is now three Michelin stars.”
Gordon added, “I went into the kitchen and just let out this incredible sort of joy and just this incredible moment that was like, f**k, you know we’ve done it.”
“And we just all screamed and cheered,” Paul further revealed, adding, “Watching Gordon’s trajectory from Aubergine to Royal Hospital Road to winning the third star. You don’t even realise it then. That moment in time you’re a part of something really special.”
The Rise of the Rockstar Chef is a three-part BBC documentary series that premiered on November 5, 2026, on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
The series charts how three chefs, Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay, and Heston Blumenthal, took the British restaurant scene by the scruff of the neck and gave it a good shake.
Set against the backdrop of the Eighties, moving into Nineties Cool Britannia (when bands like Oasis and Blur were dominating the charts) it examines the revolution that turned a generation of chefs into rock-star figures.
