Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #195 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Synopsis
The bestselling follow-up to Humble Pie, now in paperback. When he was struggling to get his first restaurant in the black, Gordon Ramsay never imagined he'd be famous for a TV show about how to run profitable eateries, or that he'd be head of a business empire. But he is and he did. Here's how. "In the beginning there was nothing. Not a sausage - penniless, broke, fucking nothing - and although, at a certain age, that didn't matter hugely, there came a time when hand-me-downs, cast-offs and football boots of odd sizes all pointed to a problem that seemed to have afflicted me, my mum, my sisters, Ronnie and the whole lot of us. It was as though we had been dealt the 'all-time dysfunctional' poker hand. I wish I could say that, from this point on, the penny dropped and I decided to do something about it, but it wasn't like that. It would take years before the lessons of life, business and money began to click into place - before, as they say, I had a pot to piss in. This is the story of how those lessons were learned." This is Gordon Ramsay at his raw, rugged best. PLAYING WITH FIRE is the amazing story of Gordon's journey from sous-chef to superstar.In his no-holds-barred style, Gordon shares his passion for risk and adventure and his hard-won success secrets.

From the Publisher
In his no-holds-barred style, Gordon shares his passion for risk and adventure and his hard-won success secrets.

From the Back Cover
In the beginning, there was nothing.

Not a sausage - penniless, broke, f*****g nothing - and although, at a certain age, that didn't matter hugely, there came a time when hand-me-downs, cast-offs and football boots of odd sizes all pointed to a problem that seemed to have afflicted me, my mum, my sisters, Ronnie and the whole lot of us. It was as though we had been dealt the 'all-time dysfunctional' poker hand.

I wish I could say that, from this point on, the penny had dropped and I decided to do something about it, but it wasn't like that. It would take years before the lessons of life, business and money began to click into place - before, as they say, I had a pot to piss in.

This is the story of how those lessons were learned.

Customer Reviews

inspiring
Playing with Fire is a great book to read as you learn how Ramsey became famous through his rise and falls in the restaurent business. Although i feel that Humble Pie was more interesting as it retold his life. Still, Playing with Fire is still inspirational.

Good information
This could be any business. I am at the moment going through all sorts of emotions in buisness. One day things are up, one day things are down. It is good to read something which you can relate to.
Gordon writes about restaurants but it could be any type of business.
Before i got the book i didn't like Gordon Ramsey, don't know why? Just didn't.
After the book i admire Gordon, Good luck to you Gordon! I wish you all the best.

Much more illuminating than Humble Pie
I enjoyed this book, and found it offered greater insights into the character and values of the author than his previous title. As the focus is more on GR's business, he is able to describe his actual experience with a passion that makes it more authentic than the autobiography of last year.

GR is definitely at his most convincing and compelling when he's on his own territory - and this is something that he freely admits in the book. When he starts to stray into commentary on corporate customer service, government incompetence and tax and insurance procedures, he begins to sound little more than a grumpy old man with a thousand axes to grind.

The main weakness of this book is its structure - and the way the conclusion repeats more than it concludes - not such a good recipe for a chef!

It is also slightly irritating that some rather cliched examples are wheeled out to illustrate such things as the importance of lateral thinking. If you read a lot of business books you won't thank Mr.Ramsay for using the old NASA biro story again.

The most compelling bits of the book are about what they found when they dismantled kitchens like The Connaught and Claridges, and how they built them back up again to be so completely focussed on guest experience and satisfaction - including the loos!

GR comes across as an individual with extremely high standards, and a faultless commitment always to live up to his own expectations. It will be interesting to track his next steps, as this business book finishes with quite a cliff-hanger!