“I'M A CONTROL FREAK”
The Australian Women's Weekly|April 2020
The king of culinary TV, Gordon Ramsay, is serving up Master Chef Australia’s 12th season and its three new judges. A dad again at 53, he tells Susan Horsburgh about freaking out in the delivery room, his caveman image, and trying to raise normal kids, despite the family fortune.
Susan Horsburgh
“I'M A CONTROL FREAK”

Gordon Ramsay wants to make one thing clear: the only reason he didn’t witness the births of his first four children was that his wife banned him from the delivery room. “Tana didn’t f*cking want me there!” says the 53-year-old celebrity chef. “And all of a sudden [I’m] denounced as this oaf.”

When the couple’s fifth child arrived last April, however – 17 years after their fourth – Gordon wasn’t taking no for an answer. “I said, ‘F*ck it, I’m going to be there’,” he says, and Tana happily gave in. Now Gordon wishes she hadn’t – because he was out cold within seconds of Oscar’s arrival.

Gordon remembers putting on some calming Ed Sheeran in the operating room, but then the bloody reality of a C-section proved too much for him. He fainted for the first time in his life, just as the nurse was handing him his newborn son.

“It was hot in there, there was no air-conditioning, and the floor looked like the middle of a f*ckin’ abattoir,” he recalls. “I’m not good at that stuff. I know my strengths and that was my weakness.”

It seems a rare moment of humility from the king of culinary TV, a chef who has trained under some of the world’s best, and built a global empire of eateries from England to Italy and the US, collecting Michelin stars with his talent, drive and formidable perfectionism. “I’m a control freak,” he says. “I put my white jacket on and there’s no compromise.”

It’s his foul mouth and fiery temper, though, that have scored him fans on reality TV, starring as gastronomic adjudicator on shows like Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares – entertaining and appalling viewers in equal measure.

This story is from the April 2020 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the April 2020 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLYView All
Maggie's kitchen
The Australian Women's Weekly

Maggie's kitchen

Maggie Beer's delicious veg patties - perfect for lunch, dinner or a snack - plus a simple nostalgic pudding with fresh passionfruit.

time-read
1 min  |
January 2025
Reclaim your brain
The Australian Women's Weekly

Reclaim your brain

Attention span short? Thoughts foggy? Memory full of gaps? Brigid Moss investigates the latest ways to sharpen your thinking.

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2025
The girls from Oz
The Australian Women's Weekly

The girls from Oz

Melbourne music teacher Judith Curphey challenged the patriarchy when she started Australia's first all-girls choir. Forty years later that bold vision has 6500 members, life-changing programs and a new branch of the sisterhood in Singapore.

time-read
9 mins  |
January 2025
One kid can change the world
The Australian Women's Weekly

One kid can change the world

In 2018, 10-year-old Jack Berne started A Fiver for a Farmer to raise funds for drought relief. He and mum Prue share what happened next.

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2025
AFTER THE WAVE
The Australian Women's Weekly

AFTER THE WAVE

Twenty years ago, the Boxing Day tsunami tore across the Indian Ocean, shredding towns, villages and holiday resorts, and killing hundreds of thousands of people from Indonesia to Africa. Three Australians share their memories of terror, loss and survival with The Weekly.

time-read
8 mins  |
January 2025
PATRICIA KARVELAS How childhood tragedy shaped me
The Australian Women's Weekly

PATRICIA KARVELAS How childhood tragedy shaped me

Patricia Karvelas hustled hard to chase her dreams, but it wasn't easy. In a deeply personal interview, the ABC host talks about family loss, finding love, battles fought and motherhood.

time-read
10 mins  |
January 2025
Ripe for the picking
The Australian Women's Weekly

Ripe for the picking

Buy a kilo or two of fresh Australian apricots because they're at their peak sweetness now and take inspiration from our lush recipe ideas that showcase this divine stone fruit.

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2025
Your stars for 2025
The Australian Women's Weekly

Your stars for 2025

The Weekly’s astrologer, Lilith Rocha, reveals what’s in store for your astrological sign in 2025. For your monthly horoscope, turn to page 192.

time-read
10 mins  |
January 2025
MEL SCHILLING Cancer made me look at myself differently'
The Australian Women's Weekly

MEL SCHILLING Cancer made me look at myself differently'

One year on from going public with her bowel cancer diagnosis, Mel Schilling reveals where she's at with her health journey and how it's changed her irrevocably.

time-read
9 mins  |
January 2025
Nothing like this Dame Judi
The Australian Women's Weekly

Nothing like this Dame Judi

A few weeks before her 90th birthday, the acting legend jumped on a phone call with The Weekly to talk about her extraordinary life – and what’s still to come.

time-read
10 mins  |
January 2025