Internationally renowned and multi-Michelin starred chef Gordon Ramsay visited Qatar recently to offer an “evening of culinary delights” in two award-winning restaurants, Opal by Gordon Ramsay and Gordon Ramsay Doha at St Regis Doha Hotel.

Ramsay’s return to the country marked the fifth anniversary of the restaurants and showed the importance of this region to him, the birthplace of his first brand extension in 2001.

What makes Qatar special to him? Ramsay told Gulf Times: “One of the best airlines in the world, Qatar (Airways), without a doubt, St Regis in terms of a brand is five-star deluxe.”
“And from a chef’s point of view, being given that infrastructure is great for our team to come and do sabbatical six months, 12-month contracts, it takes them out of Europe, makes them excited and makes them understand a different culture,” he said.
“The demands of the different aspects of cuisine here and the difficulty in the seasonality really put chefs to the test,” Ramsay pointed out. “So it helps to breed well rounded chefs, well rounded maître d’s and, more importantly, gives them another perspective of a different culture.” “From a chefs point of view it is healthy.”
The British celebrity chef also joined a grand brunch with 400 guests saying it is "lovely, so when you see that multi-cultural family-orientated brunch it is exciting to think what we’ve created here in five years, and it is our fifth birthday, so happy birthday Gordon,” Ramsay said.
He describes the people of Qatar as incredibly polite, hardworking, and very gracious, citing the Alfardans, the owners of the hotel, are “a family with great vision.”
“The return investment in terms of what continues to get put into the hotel is refreshing, and also I think every time we request something it is supported, which is nice,” he said.
About the response of the public with the offerings of his two restaurants in Doha, Ramsay said the current situation in the country and the challenges in the last six months made the restaurants and the hotel become more appealing to the locals “in terms of harbouring a much better closer relationship with the expats internally.”
“It made competition rife, it made us and every department at St Regis raise their game, so we become more competitive, which I think is healthy, as almost like being super competitive in a ‘quiet market,’ which makes you find out a lot about your operations, so we are learning a lot,” he explained.
About plans of opening a culinary school in Doha or in the Middle East, Ramsay noted that they have a request last year to do a “culinary school of excellence.”
“That is a very good idea, over the last four years, we have been modernising our own modern day apprenticeship in the UK,” he said.
“Literally last week we had a graduation day, and our three-year modern day apprentice, I’ve been doing tutorials online with Masterclass globally, our first video reached 47mn viewers last year, so yeah my dream is to do a culinary school of excellence without a doubt,” Ramsay added.

Tips for aspiring chefs

Cooking is never a job, it is a passion, one of chef Gordon Ramsay’s tips, advice and message to aspiring chefs in Qatar.
“It is like medicine or law you need to study for 10 to 15 years to master your craft, and don’t come into cooking because you think it is well paid,” he said.
Ramsay urged aspiring chefs to continue pushing themselves, learn a second or third language, and understand that “an amazing new culture is so rewarding.”
“Once you perfect something, you know, get down into the bottom of the ladder, and climb up again and stay up there,” he stressed.