Dark Chocolate: An Autobiography

Gordon Ramsay is famous for the culinary empire he built (27 restaurants and two gastropubs), his collection of 12 Michelin stars, and, above all, his provocative temperament, driven by competition and perfectionism. Anyone who sees Gordon Ramsay running the kitchen on Hell's Kitchen has no idea what he went through to become one of the most celebrated chefs in the world. Possessing a strong and explosive personality, Gordon was committed to excellence. And to achieve this goal, he decided he needed to dedicate himself completely and demand the same from those around him. In Dark Chocolate: An Autobiography, the chef opens up in his best style: blunt, extremely ethical, and abusing the acidic humor that made him the most famous chef on television. Gordon comes from a poor family in Glasgow, Scotland. His relationship with his father was not easy, and he was even told that working in gastronomy was not for a "real man." At 15, he secured a contract to play soccer for Rangers, one of the country's most popular teams, but an accident cut short his athletic career and forced him to dedicate himself exclusively to his true dream: to be a great chef. With this in mind, Gordon went to Paris without knowing a word of French, worked with the best chefs in England—not always easy people to deal with—overcame personal problems, such as his younger brother's heroin addiction, and, after a long journey, was recognized by receiving his first star from the highly regarded Michelin gastronomy guide, which later ranked the kitchens he headed as the best in London. Gordon Ramsay reveals the ups and downs of his life story combined with his professional trajectory and tells how he became one of the most important names in world gastronomy.