Gordon Ramsay's Favorite Foods Are A Spectrum Of Iconic Dishes

If you've ever watched Gordon Ramsay's hit television shows like "Hell's Kitchen," "Masterchef," or "Kitchen Nightmares," you probably know that the celebrity chef is pretty picky when it comes to food. That's just one reason why he's such a wildly successful chef with multiple restaurants, cookbooks, and cooking shows under his belt. With that in mind, you might wonder which foods he actually enjoys eating. The truth is, Gordon Ramsay's favorite foods include a pretty diverse range of iconic dishes.

It might not surprise you that many of the dishes Ramsay loves are British classics. What may surprise you is that he also adores low-key comfort food dishes and cheap fast food from a particular American burger chain. In addition, there are several international dishes that the chef can't get enough of. Each of these dishes is iconic in its own right, so it's easy to see why the chef is such a fan. Based on interviews he's given and statements he's made over the years, these are some of Gordon Ramsay's all-time favorite dishes.

One question that celebrity chefs are constantly asked is what they would eat for their last meal. It's a topic that Gordon Ramsay hasn't always been so keen to delve into. The chef stated in a Reddit thread that he'd been asked the question about "2,000 times" and said, "I'm never gonna answer that question." However, he finally cracked on an episode of "Mythical Kitchen" where he revealed that his last meal would start with a full English breakfast. 

For those who aren't familiar with the dish, it includes a variety of classic English breakfast foods. Ramsay's dish on the show included scrambled eggs with white truffle, roasted cherry tomatoes, fried bread, potato rosti, back bacon, bangers (sausages), and blood sausage. 

Ramsay said it's a dish that he eats every time he goes home to Scotland and that it brings up mixed emotions for him because it was the last dish he ate with his father before his father passed away. He also said his mother would be livid if she saw him putting truffles on eggs because that was a luxury they never could have afforded while they were living in government housing.

Butter chicken is another dish that Gordon Ramsay considers a must-have on his last meal menu. He told "Mythical Kitchen" host Josh Scherer that his love for curries stems from an experience he had at the first restaurant he ever worked at. While working a night shift, a few of the Pakistani porters shared some salmon head fish curry with him and it was a turning point for him because it instilled in him a deep respect for cooking. The next morning he went straight to chef Marco Pierre White and asked him for a job.

Also called murgh makhani, butter chicken is a dish that rose to popularity in New Delhi, India, and is now popular around the world. It features tender chunks of chicken simmered in tomato sauce with butter, cream, and spices like garam masala and cumin. Ramsay told Scherer the secret to a good butter chicken is the tomato gravy. He said, "It's fragrant, it's got a nice sense of garam masala, and it's not too rich." It's also a dish that's not so difficult to make at home either on the stovetop or with an easy slow-cooker butter chicken recipe.

Gordon Ramsay splits his time between London and Los Angeles, so it's not surprising that some of his favorite dishes are American classics. One Southern dish in particular has earned Ramsay's admiration. During an interview on "The Late Show," the chef told Stephen Colbert that one dish he wishes there was more of in the U.K. is grits.

Grits are a cornerstone of Southern cuisine. Made from ground corn, grits are boiled in water or stock to give them a soft, creamy texture. They're often eaten for breakfast and can contain other ingredients to amp up the flavor like cheese. Shrimp and grits is one of the most popular iterations of the dish and one that has impressed Ramsay several times on shows like "Hell's Kitchen" and "Masterchef."

Sadly, Colbert's shrimp and grits did not wow Gordon Ramsay. When the talk show host showed Ramsay a picture of shrimp and grits that he made, Ramsay scoffed at it saying the presentation was lacking. The chef said, "I would make it more creamy, sort of whip some butter in the end, grate some Parmesan cheese in it, make it look sexy."

It's no secret that Gordon Ramsay loves beef Wellington. It's the star dish at many of the chef's restaurants and one that he loves sharing with people via recipes and cooking classes. In a YouTube video demonstrating how to make the dish, Ramsay said, "Beef Wellington has to be the ultimate indulgence, one of my all-time favorite main courses and it would definitely be on my last supper menu."

This classic British dish features a beef filet covered in a layer of minced mushrooms. Ramsay also wraps the beef in Parma ham, while others add a layer of pate. Then the whole thing is wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden and flaky on the outside. It's not the easiest dish to make, but if done properly, it can be ultra-decadent.  

Ramsay's tips to elevate beef Wellington include brushing it with English mustard or horseradish for additional flavor and using plastic wrap to roll the beef tightly and give it a uniform shape. Once the Wellington is done and rested, he advises against slicing it too thinly, recommending slices about one-inch thick.

Chefs may be known for making elaborate dishes with high-end ingredients, but usually it's the simpler, more nostalgic things they crave in their downtime. For Gordon Ramsay, one of those things is cheese toast. In an interview with Tasting Table, the chef said, "We grew up with toast and cheese. You guys had grilled cheese, but we have toast and cheese in the U.K." He also stated in a Reddit thread, "Big fan of toasties, big fan of cheese. Living in France for three years, it's one thing I grew up loving there was cheese, and now I'm obsessed over it."

Cheese toast is exactly what it sounds like — toast topped with cheese. The cheese toast is often placed under a broiler to melt the cheese. Think of it like a deconstructed grilled cheese sandwich. Some of Ramsay's favorite cheeses to use include comté and Red Leicester. He's also a big fan of mature cheddar. He said in the Reddit thread, "Strong mature cheddar that gets sort of caramelized and bubbly is the best for a toastie. I'm not a big fan of salted cheese; I much prefer a nice rustic, mature cheddar, not so salty."

Like many world-renowned chefs, Gordon Ramsay has traveled the world in search of great food. He even had a television series called "Gordon's Great Escape" where he visited various countries to sample different cuisines and try his hand at cooking some of the most iconic dishes in those spots. In an interview with Korean YouTuber Seungyeon Cho, Ramsay revealed that Vietnam was one of his favorite food destinations thanks to its "extraordinary melting pot of great food."

One Vietnamese dish that Ramsay loves is goi cuon, aka summer rolls. Fresh and flavorful, the rolls typically include thin, pliant rice paper wrapped around ingredients like prawns, pork, rice vermicelli, lettuce, pickled carrots, cilantro, and mint. They're often served with a tangy dipping sauce featuring rice vinegar and/or lime juice, fish sauce, and chili. Ramsay loves the dish so much that he posted a YouTube video demonstrating how to make them in which he said, "I grew up with the love of spring rolls but on the back of my visit to Vietnam, it sort of transformed my respect for a spring roll."

We all have guilty pleasures, and Gordon Ramsay is no exception. One treat that the chef is pretty vocal about loving is the Double-Double Burger from In-N-Out Burger. He stated on Reddit, "My go-to sort of fast food snack ... it would have to be In-N-Out Burger. Oh my god, honestly, it is. When I eat Double-Doubles I am terrible. And I always bring it back to the airport when I'm flying from L.A. to London. I'll sneak it into the first class lounge at BA!"

So how does Ramsay like his In-N-Out burgers? Why, Animal Style of course. For the uninitiated, Animal Style means burger patties grilled with mustard and topped with grilled onions, pickles, and Thousand Island sauce. The Double-Double includes two of those patties, as well as American cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. It's an ultra-indulgent snack that the chef can't get enough of. In a YouTube video taken at a book signing event, Ramsay said, "I love In-N-Out Burger. Honestly, I just wish they'd open up in bloody England because those drive-throughs are amazing."

In the "Mythical Kitchen" episode where Gordon Ramsay discussed the dishes he would want for his last meal, he only added two desserts to the menu: a deep-fried Mars Bar and a sticky toffee pudding. While he admitted that the fried Mars Bar was pretty disgusting, he said that the sticky toffee pudding reminded him of his mother because it was the one dessert she always made on birthdays. He said, "I mean, it's absolute heaven. I would like to put this dessert inside that coffin."

A traditional sticky toffee pudding contains flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and dates, which give the dessert its spongy consistency and rich fruity taste. The pudding is then baked in the oven and drizzled with sweet, sticky toffee or caramel sauce. Ramsay's recipe includes bourbon in the toffee sauce. The pudding is also often topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or crème fraîche.  If you're looking for an easy shortcut, Ramsay posted a somewhat surprising YouTube video demonstrating how you can use a microwave to cook the puddings in just 10 minutes. 

Who doesn't love chicken wings? They're crispy, meaty, and often spiced or sauced to add vibrant, fiery flavors. Gordon Ramsay loves them so much that he decided to test his mettle on an episode of Hot Ones. For those who haven't seen the show, it features host Sean Evans interviewing celebrities as they chow down on ultra-spicy chicken wings. Ramsay's experience on the show was rough to say the least, but it did inspire him to create a slew of recipes for spicy chicken wings.

One version of Ramsay's Hot Ones-inspired chicken wings featured lollipopped chicken wings coated in savory spices like garlic powder, smoked paprika, and black pepper. They're tossed in oil and butter and baked until crispy in the oven. Another version took inspiration from the Amazon with a barbecue sauce featuring garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and chili peppers. He also created the Hotter Than Hell Chicken Wings, which he put on the menu at Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza and Gordon Ramsay Street Burger. Although the name suggests they'd be right at home in Dante's Inferno, Ramsay said in an Instagram post, "Promise they won't make you sweat like on the Hot Ones!"

Baked beans are a classic British comfort food, so it makes sense that Gordon Ramsay has an affinity for this easy-going dish. "This is my ultimate childhood food — breakfast, lunch, and dinner," said the chef in a YouTube video showcasing the chef's recipe for spicy baked beans. Of course, Ramsay doesn't just settle for regular old canned baked beans. He prefers to use haricot beans add several ingredients that take the dish to the next level. As he said, "The individual taste of baked beans, they're somewhat bland, so I like to make them a little bit more spicy."

English baked beans typically feature a thin tomato sauce and not much more. However, Ramsay likes to add pancetta, red chili, garlic, red onion, pureed tomatoes, brown sugar, cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. If you're looking for other powerhouse ingredients to doctor up canned beans, you might want to consider chorizo, espresso powder, or bacon. You can eat your beans the traditional way on toast or do like Ramsay does and ladle them over potato cakes made with leftover mashed potatoes.

Gordon Ramsay is a man of many tastes, but when it comes to seafood, sea bass is one of his favorites. On an episode of The F Word, he said, "Sea bass — for me, absolute delicacy. The flavor, not just of the flesh, but the skin is extraordinary ... The beauty of this fish is it's so robust, but so delicate in flavor." 

Ramsay loves sea bass so much that he deemed it worthy of serving to Vladimir Putin and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2000. In case you were wondering, the diplomatic lunch included roasted sea bass with new potatoes, white asparagus, and red wine sauce. Other courses included golden caviar and treacle tart.

Ramsay's recipe for sea bass on The F Word consisted of pan-fried sea bass in a creamy sorrel sauce flavored with dry vermouth. He said, "Sea bass is very sweet and rich, so you need a really dry white wine to find that balance." He has also been known to balance the richness of the fish with bright, full-flavored ingredients like lemon, fennel, and capers.

Gordon Ramsay has created several Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) threads where he answer's users' questions about everything from career advice to personal food preferences. In one thread, a user asked him what his guilty pleasure food is. He replied, "My guilty pleasure with food would have to be cookies and Crack Pie. Working with Christina Tosi over the last two years ... if it's my birthday, she'll send me a Crack Pie ... Honestly, I don't give a damn about that Crack Pie having three thousand calories per slice. Just getting in there is incredible."

Christina Tosi is the chef and founder of the Milk Bar chain of bakeries. She's also the creator of Milk Bar's famous Crack Pie, which is now called the Milk Bar Pie. The pie has been on the menu since Milk Bar opened and has earned legions of fans for its rich buttery, gooey goodness. The pie features an oatmeal cookie crust with a decadent filling consisting of sugar, butter, heavy cream, eggs, and vanilla. The end result is a luscious, decadent pie that many say you can't just eat one slice of.

Scrambled eggs may seem like such a basic dish, but it's one that Gordon Ramsay takes the utmost pride in. In the Tasting Table interview we mentioned previously, he said, "I perfected scrambled eggs in Paris working with Guy Savoy. I couldn't quite believe that they were serving soft scrambled eggs with white truffle for dinner." The chef said they would also add crème fraîche and uni butter to create next-level scrambled eggs.

Don't have truffles or uni butter on hand at home? Not to worry because Ramsay has plenty of tips for home cooks who want to make delicious restaurant-worthy scrambled eggs. In a YouTube video on his "Hell's Kitchen" channel, he advised against seasoning and whisking the eggs before putting them in the pan because this can break down the eggs too quickly and cause them to become watery. Instead, he said you should break the eggs down in the pan, continuously stir them, and take them on and off the heat to prevent overcooking. The final touch is a dollop of crème fraîche to give the eggs a lovely creamy texture.

When asked on Reddit which five dishes everyone should know how to cook, Gordon Ramsay listed braised short ribs as the third dish just behind a burger and a healthy breakfast. He said, "It's the kind of thing you can cook on a Monday and still eat on Friday." In a YouTube video where he demonstrated how to slow-cook short ribs, he also cited the fact that beef ribs are cheap cuts that can deliver incredible flavor.

For classic beef ribs, Ramsay uses ingredients like bacon or pancetta, mushrooms, tomato puree, beef stock, and red wine to create a robust, flavorful sauce that simmers down with the short ribs, making the meat juicy and tender. Ramsay is not opposed to using beef ribs in creative ways as well. He told Tasting Table his perfect grilled cheese would include comté, braised short ribs, and sourdough bread. His Idiot Sandwich (which was created to promote the chef's YouTube series of the same name) includes braised short rib, melted cheddar, confit mushrooms, and spiced tomato chutney.