Product Description

`Gordon Ramsay's Humble Pie - so exuberantly angry boastful,
cliche-ridden, expletive-laden and touchingly sincere that I can't believe
that a single sentence has been written by anyone but the failed
footballer, great cook, telly star and businessman himself. He's the
genuine bollocks, as he's so fond of saying, and this is the tale of his
personal class struggle.' - The Observer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #504 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Olive
`The essential autobiography for foodies.'

Irish Examiner
`A mesmerising tale. It reads like a conversation and exudes
personality. Ramsay finds it hard to dodge the f-word, but despite the
defensiveness that comes accross, the book is an inspiration.'

Synopsis
Everyone thinks they know the real Gordon Ramsay: rude, loud, pathologically driven, stubborn as hell. But this is his bestselling real story...Humble Pie tells the full story of how he became the world's most famous and infamous chef: his difficult childhood, his brother's heroin addiction and his failed first career as a footballer: all of these things have made him the celebrated culinary talent and media powerhouse that he is today. Gordon talks frankly about: / his tough childhood: his father's alcoholism and violence and the effects on his relationships with his mother and siblings, / his first career as a footballer: how the whole family moved to Scotland when he was signed by Glasgow Rangers at the age of fifteen, and how he coped when his career was over due to injury just three years later, / his brother's heroin addiction. / Gordon's early career: learning his trade in Paris and London; how his career developed from there: his time in Paris under Albert Roux and his seven Michelin-starred restaurants. / Kitchen life: Gordon spills the beans about life behind the kitchen door, and how a restaurant kitchen is run in Anthony Bourdain-style.

/ How he copes with the impact of fame on himself and his family: his television career, the rapacious tabloids, and his own drive for success.

Customer Reviews

What a corker of a book!
What a brilliant book, I was sad when it came to an end, I just wanted to keep on reading. I really liked Gordon Ramsey before I read the book, now I love him. He is a man with passion and standards, yes he has a firey way of putting this across but it gets the job done and I say full respect to him and the things he has achieved. He could have let his childhood experiences ruin his life but he didn't used it as his driving force and you have to respect him for that. A must read for anyone and a big good on you Gordon.........

Rip roaring read
I figured I'd read the auto-biography to get a better idea of the man behind the TV shows I've watched and the cook books I own. There's a lot of history to cram in despite him only being in his early 40s. What's particularly interesting is how recent his success is - things often looked bleak till not-so-long ago. Something about the writing style (short, sharp and littered with swear words) makes it feel authentic. It rattles along at an impressive pace and, apart from a few slightly self-indulgent parts, it is generally a lot of fun to read.

A Slice of Ramsay Pie
The jacket cover quotes that we think we "know Gordon Ramsay: rude, loud, pathologically driven, stubborn as hell."

And we do know him, this book might be his story but he is all of these things - but that doesn't make him a bad person, in fact it makes him human.

The autobiography doesn't have a time scale theme through it - it flits back from the past, present and also the aspirations into the future. What it does deal with is elements of his life which have shaped him into the man he is today. His dad, a very moving section and as the first chapter of the book, draws you straight into Gordon's mind and emotions. His brother, Ronnie, the infamous one who we all know about from reading the press. Still a huge demon in Gordon's life and one which Gordon is desperately trying to find the right way to deal with. His passion for football, for cooking, for his mum - his passion for succeeding in whatever he turns his hand to is all throughout this autobiography.

It is all here, the highs and lows - the great thing about this book it shows it all warts and all. Elements of it must have been difficult for Gordon to actually put pen to paper. The success of his business and his restaurants the drive for Michelin stars and helping to develop chefs, who have all become his army of workers, (Angela Hartnett, Mark Sargeant) and help make Gordon Ramsay the name known all over the world.

Yes there is the obvious swearing, something which puts me off watching too many of his shows. However, you can read this book without taking much notice of them as all it does is reaffirm his character strength and somewhat frustration with the world.

Well recommended book, if you want to see the man behind the mask - though in my opinion what you see is what you get. There is no mask.