The Jamie Oliver – Gordon Ramsay Rivalry
When Jamie Oliver burst into our TV screens in 1999, he caught us with his innovative cooking methods and his pukka tukka talk. On the downside of that, he also made some rivals because of the sudden fame and fortune he obtained from the shows. And one of the biggest chefs who have always been critical of Oliver is Gordon Ramsay.
Gordon Ramsay had worked for Marco Pierre White before, who was also in feud with Oliver regarding Oliver’s campaign on School Dinners. However, for Gordon Ramsay, it’s not just the banning of junk food that bothers him – it’s a lot more than just that. Ever since Oliver began cooking on TV, Ramsay has been Oliver’s greatest rival. And just recently, the feud between the two famous chefs was revived. For the longest time, Ramsay has been critical of Oliver’s cooking while Oliver dislikes Ramsay’s swearing. Here are some of the most recent blasts from their feud.
In June 2009, Scottish Ramsay made some disparaging comments about the physical appearance of Australian TV personality Tracey Grimshaw at a food and wine expo whereas according to reports, he compared her to a pig and suggested that the host was a lesbian. That was even amplified when Australian Prime Minister said that Ramsay’s foul mouth reflects a form of low-life. And outspoken Oliver gave his remarks regarding the issue in the Sun, saying that “Aussies aren’t forgiving. Once you’re gone, you’re gone… It’s never good to criticise a woman, especially when they’re loved by their country and you do it on national television.”
August 2009, just a month or so later, Ramsay shot back at Oliver with a new nickname through Showbiz Spy. He told them that “Jamie’s a one-pot wonder…. Everything kind of gets mixed in — hands in. It’s a very different style to me. He sticks it in the oven, comes back three hours later and it’s done.”
Last March, Ramsay told TMZ that the last time he complained about the food at a restaurant was at “Jamie Oliver’s Restaurant.”
In May, after a couple of months, via the Mirror, Oliver said that if he were to choose between Gordon Ramsay’s cookbook or Tana Ramsay’s, it would be Tana’s every time. Adding that, “In my opinion, her books are a damn sight better than his.” Well, that’s definitely another chapter for these two.
However if we look at it, the two chefs started their TV career at almost the same time. Oliver with BBC UK while Ramsay with Channel 4. In the beginning of Ramsay’s career, he had several appearances on different TV shows, while Oliver has already his own show as the Naked Chef. It was only in 2004 that Ramsay has starred in his own show, one in Channel 4, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and another in ITV, Hell’s Kitchen. By that time, Oliver has already transferred to Channel 4 and was already shooting for Jamie’s School Dinners under his own production company.
Now, Oliver remains on top of his businesses while Ramsay has had several falls recently that some people think of him as sour grape over Oliver’s unstoppable success both in business and TV. In order to really understand this Oliver-Ramsay rivalry, let’s dig deeper on what people always talk about – their extreme characters yet equally matched skills and fame.
