Gordon Ramsay: 'chefs are control freaks. They’re delicate, dainty, insecure individuals that don’t like being told to stop.'

To manage the requirements of running a professional kitchen, chefs need rules. One of Gordon Ramsay's rules is never to exceed six or seven ingredients on a plate. 

In an interview unearthed by Elite Life, Gordon Ramsay - whose flagship restaurant is the longest standing three Michelin-starred restaurant in the UK - explained why he thinks chefs tend to make their food more complex than it needs be. 

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“Chefs are control freaks. They’re delicate, dainty, insecure individuals that don’t like being told to stop," he said. 

“We are such complex control freaks that we overcomplicate things."

One of the fundamental problems with a lot of modern restaurants, he said, is that they cook for chefs, "with no understanding of what customers need." 

The chef recalls his first restaurant, Aubergine, where, he said: "I wouldn't stop adding things." 

“It’s an easy trap to fall into because when chefs get to a level of perfection, they try to change it. The thing about perfection is the level of simplicity. Very few chefs understand that.”

Happily, he said, some restaurants are getting to grips with that idea. 

“Right now is the best time in any good restaurant because we’ve got rid of that snobbery. We’ve got rid of that level of ‘over-the-topness’ and we’ve made it so much more simple.”

Now, he sticks to his rule: " If it goes past more than six or seven ingredients on a plate – stop," he said.

Watch 3 Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay talk to The Staff Canteen about how he utilises his media presence to keep his restaurants busy, why he is not just a TV chef and his goals for Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in the next five years.