Gordon Ramsay worked under Marco for 19 months
Gordon Ramsay joined Marco Pierre White's kitchen in January 1988 and left in July 1989, spending 19 months training under the chef.
Snapshot · The Louis Theroux Podcast
S8 EP2: Marco Pierre White discusses his rift with Gordon Ramsay, retiring from cooking, and having lunch with Margaret Thatcher
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Jun 15, 2026
Where this was said
Gordon Ramsay: 19 Months, a Cry, and 40 Years
At 43:11 · chapter starts 42:40
Gordon Ramsay arrives in this episode as the elephant the tabloids built: the protégé who called Marco 'two-faced' in his autobiography, the man Marco allegedly made cry, the rivalry that spawned Hell's Kitchen. Marco dismantles each element methodically. Ramsay worked under him from January 1988 to July 1989 — 19 months. Marco got him a job at La Gavroche with Albert Roux, then helped him find his way through France to Guy Savoie and then Robuchon. When Louis reads aloud the New York Times account of Ramsay sobbing on the kitchen floor — 'I don't care what you do to me, hit me, I don't care' — Marco confirms the tears and the words but disputes the floor-crouching detail, attributing it to James Steen's pen. [1] — Marco Pierre White "Gordon Ramsay arrived in Marco's kitchen as a 21-year-old and left 19 months later — Marco helped him get to La Gavroche, then France, then…" 42:30 When asked if he created the Ramsay television persona, Marco refuses the responsibility absolutely: Gordon is his own creation, as Marco is his. And then — the landing: they are doing a TV show together. When Marco's son was attacked in the press recently, Ramsay sent a beautiful text. The Gordon Ramsay the press want is not the one Marco knows.
Marco sued the New York Times for defamation
Marco Pierre White sued the New York Times after the paper falsely claimed he had a 'well-publicized bout of drugs and alcohol' — he had never taken drugs and did not drink at the time.
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