Quotes from Gordon Ramsay

Now I was lucky, in a way, because my money didn't come overnight. It started with a gradual easing of housekeeping restraints so that Tana could shop without working out the sums beforehand. She could impulse-buy and fill the kitchen shelves with things that were fun to buy, even if they never saw the light of day again. Norwegian wooden toothpicks, plastic swords for the olives, pink loo paper with the imprint of raspberries

Adapting a recipe's ingredients is completely in your hands. But the method is what really matters. The techniques in cooking are rigorous and imperative: They are your passport to a successful dish. Cooks must practice, practice, practice. Anyone can learn, but you need focus, proper understanding, and to go at the right pace, not running before you can walk.

Well, I was not scared of Edwina Currie – a bully who shagged the prime minister.

I was not scared of Edwina Currie - a bully who shagged the prime minister. It was music to my ears when she finally got kicked out. The silly cow.

After a while, Dad went off to Spain, and I didn't see him for many years. I was too busy trying to make a success of my life, but even if I hadn't been working every hour God sent, I had no real wish to see him.

There was no way I wanted to be a pathetic dreamer like him for the rest of my life. I wanted to be the best at whatever I did. The only question was: what would that be?

Living with an addict is a 24/7 business. It's a bit like having a baby. You're joined at the hip, and every five minutes you're hit with that paranoia: where is he? What's he doing? What's he up to? If he was going somewhere, we made him call us as soon as he arrived; if a journey was supposed to take ten minutes, and he took twenty, we'd be going: why are you late?

Personally, I never cut corners when it comes to flavor, but there are many tricks that I've learned over the years for saving time while cooking

Addicts are selfish; it's always, ALWAYS about them.

Baking with chocolate is similar to cooking with wine. You get out what you put in.

The minute you start compromising for the sake of massaging somebody's ego, that's it, game over.

I am the most unselfish chef in Britain today.

Put your head down and work hard. Never wait for things to happen, make them happen for yourself through hard graft and not giving up.

Find what's hot, find what's just opened and then look for the worst review of the week. There is so much to learn from watching a restaurant getting absolutely panned and having a bad experience. Go and see it for yourself.

Kitchens are hard environments and they form incredibly strong characters.

Being a chef is the best job in the world.

However amazing a dish looks, it is always the taste that lingers in your memory. Family and friends will appreciate a meal that tastes superb-even if you've brought the pan to the table.

My father was a swim teacher. We used to swim before school, swim after school.

I swim like a fish and I have an amazing kick.

Stopping the junk food and Eating well is partially about cooking well and having the skills to do that.

Can you imagine the headlines if I gave someone food poisoning? They'd hang me off Tower Bridge by my ballbag!

To have 95% of the ingredients sourced, food and wine, within 100 miles radius, that's a dream come true for any chef.

Everything has to be done for a reason, and everything has to be done to make sense in terms of running a proper business today, and it's not just about the food.

It has always stood for f***ing great food.