Gordon Ramsay reveals his gentler, mentoring side in Manila—and his love for sisig

Will the real Gordon Ramsay please stand up? The fiery chef known for making aspiring chefs cry shows his softer side with culinary students.

The first time I saw Gordon Ramsay on Master Chef Junior, I almost didn’t believe he was the same man from Master Chef and Hell’s Kitchen. While his frustration and temper often boiled over dealing with adult contestants, on the kids version of the show he spoke gently, he was nurturing, and he never let out a cuss word.

The latter was the Gordon Ramsay that students from several culinary schools in Manila saw and interacted with at yesterday’s event in Newport Performing Arts Theater. Ramsay was in Manila for the first time, where his Gordon Ramsay Bar and Grill at Newport World Resorts has been enjoying enormous success since it opened in August 2024.

Judging by the students’ reactions and the way they lined the corridors of the mall after the event, it felt as though a god was about to descend from Mt. Olympus to grant them his divine blessing.

Chef Gordon Ramsay greets the culinary students in the audience. “These kids are going to be like football stars because they’re going to own their own DNA, their own cookbooks, and their own IP.”
…and takes a selfie with the 1,500 guests that attended the Gordon Ramsay Live at the Newport Performing Arts Theater.

You could feel their giddiness at just being in the same space as the chef, who often turned to the front-row seats where the students were to give them advice. The Michelin-starred Ramsay described his beginnings as a chef, when he turned down higher positions in the kitchen as new restaurants hired him. Instead, he preferred to start from the bottom once again and to be mentored by master chefs longer.

“It’s not the money you need, it’s the knowledge,” he said.  

CCA Manila, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Ateneo de Manila Institute, Enderun Colleges, Le Cordon Bleu, and University of Santo Tomas were all represented.

Bea Trinidad, communications director of CCA Manila, the first culinary school in the Philippines, said, “What struck our students was chef Ramsay’s emphasis on taking time to learn and grow in this industry. His message about ‘getting comfortable being uncomfortable’ and dedicating 8 to 10 years to master your craft really hit home.”

The Newport Theater stage is turned into a Master Chef kitchen for the halo-halo challenge.

Alliance Global Group CEO Kevin Tan, who brought Ramsay’s restaurant to Manila after he met the chef in Macau last year when Ramsay opened his bar and grill at The Londoner, pledged P10 million to support culinary schools and aspiring chefs in the Philippines.

“We are steadfast in our commitment to nurturing and championing Filipino talent. By bringing exceptional experiences like Chef Gordon Ramsay’s to the Philippines, we aim to inspire pride in our culinary heritage and encourage the development of future culinary innovators,” Tan said.      

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Chefs in the age of social media

With Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill PH head chef Bea Therese Qua, whose special ingredient was asin tibuok

“The reception to the Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill here has been extraordinary,” Ramsay said. “The Filipino passion for food is incredible. The Philippines has such a rich culinary heritage, and I’m excited to be part of this vibrant food scene.”

Ramsay credits his teams across the world for achieving a level of consistency that has made his restaurants a success. “We manage to become consistent even before we open, and we depend on the feedback from the customers on a daily basis.”

In the age of social media, that feedback is instant—and watched globally. “I love that intrusion from social media. Because we could be in New York and there could be a guest eating lunch here in Manila and we’ll get the feedback instantly. So the whole team is on it. And we take negativity very seriously. We listen to the comments, to the critics. And we hold the bar high, so the intensity across the training is exceptional.”

With Ninong Ry, whose halo-halo was made even sweeter with cocojam.

Ramsay compares his experience with today’s generation, saying, “We never had any of that access growing up at culinary school, and even during my time in France at 22 years of age, getting my ass kicked, we didn’t have that interactiveness. But it’s a plus, they can learn so much. So I teach all kids to embrace it. It’s a great way of establishing confidence, of looking at yourself and judging yourself on a global platform. The critique helps you stay in front of the competition. Because in food, you move with it, or it moves you. And we need to move it.”

“In generations to come, these kids are going to be like football stars because they’re going to own their own DNA, their own cookbooks, and their own IP. And they deserve the following—no one gets to see the 12 hours prep they do, or see them at half past four on a train when there’s hardly anyone on it. No one gets to see them traveling home at midnight, when they’re fast asleep in the carriages and missing their stop. So I think they deserve that platform, and media is part of food today, because it’s never been as good.”

Sisig, halo-halo

With former Master Chef Philippines (2012 to 2013) host Judy Ann Santos, whose special ingredient was sesame seed polvoron

Ramsay also hailed the Filipino favorite sisig, which he tasted at the Melbourne restaurant Serai by Filipino chef Ross Magnaye, formerly head chef at Rice Paper Sister.  

“This fascinating young kid in Melbourne is blowing up with his restaurant Serai,” he said. “And it all starts right here. Just the culture and the complexity of Filipino cuisine, it’s so regionalized as well, which is lovely. Fish and chips, for instance, is an amazing staple at our Bar and Grill; we’re using the local fish lapu-lapu. We’ve now created this unique Filipino Gordon Ramsay fish and chips.”

(Above and below) Gordon Ramsay presents the winner’s apron to CCA student Danica Lucero, who used kamias compote in her halo-halo.

The event also featured a cooking challenge where celebrity chef Judy Ann Santos, food influencer Ninong Ry, culinary student Danica Lucero, and Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill PH head chef Bea Therese Qua presented their versions of halo-halo to Ramsay.

The stage was made to look like a Master Chef kitchen where the “contestants” were given 10 minutes to do halo-halo. Everybody in the audience knew, of course, that two minutes was all they really needed—but it gave Ramsay and the audience a chance to get to know them.

Ninong Ry’s special ingredient was cocojam, Judy Ann’s was black sesame polvoron, Bea’s was asin tibuok, and Danica’s was kamias compote. Ramsay judged CCA student Danica’s halo-halo as the best version—but not before noting the super sweetness of the dessert, especially Ninong Ry’s.  

Danica beamed as Ramsay declared her the winner; his face lit up with pride too—and is that a smile? Perhaps this is the real Gordon Ramsay, after all.

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