Fiery chef Gordon Ramsay is known for throwing chefs out of “Hell’s Kitchen,” but this time, he admits the drama happened off camera. During a recent appearance on “The Graham Norton Show,” the celebrity restaurateur shared a hilarious story about the time he “accidentally” kicked a Hollywood legend out of his restaurant, and why she supposedly never let him forget it.
The Hollywood Legend Has ‘Never Forgiven Him’
While on “The Graham Norton Show,” Ramsay talked about how he snubbed a Hollywood legend years ago “by accident,” and that she’s “never forgiven him.” That Hollywood legend? English actress and author Joan Collins.
Gordon said, “You know I kicked out Joan Collins by accident.” Norton and Ramsay were talking about if the legendary restaurateur reads reviews or not.
Apparently, Collins was the guest of a critic named A.A. Gill, who apparently had “panned” Ramsay’s now-closed London restaurant, Aubergine, shortly before this took place. The critic showed up at his restaurant. Ramsay told him, “Um, thanks, but not thanks,” and asked him to leave.
As it turns out, Collins was Gill’s guest, and Ramsay said “she was furious.” Then Ramsay just made it even worse. He said, “They refused to go, so I just asked my mate to strip the table down to the bare wood.”
Jennifer Garner, Charli XCX, and Benicio Del Toro were fellow guests on the couch with Ramsay, and they all gasped at the story.
Gordon said he did later apologize to Joan, “but still to this day, she’s never forgiven me.”
Their Beef Was Squashed
Ramsay was joking about Joan still being upset over it. He said the duo cooked together in the past. They put their drama to bed after that when she appeared on his “The F Word” in 2009.
While Collins was on the show, he made amends by teaching her how to make an omelette.
During the episode, Gordon said, “I would just love to show you something that you can turn around and say, ‘Yeah, hated the little schmuck seven years ago, however…’” But Collins interrupted, saying, “No, I didn’t hate you. Life’s too short to hate!”
While Ramsay is the one giving critiques and feedback on shows like “Next Level Chef” and “MasterChef,” it was not easy for him to take the criticism back in the day. Ramsay said, “It’s hard… when you’re being judged by individuals that know less about food than you. Today in the restaurants, everyone’s got a phone, everyone’s a critic.”
