Why Gordon Ramsay At The London Lost Its Michelin Stars

Gordon Ramsay rules over his own self-made culinary empire. Along with being a world-renowned chef and restaurateur, he is also the author of bestselling books and the star and producer of dozens of TV shows. The number of restaurants Gordon Ramsay owns is actually hard to keep track of, considering how often he opens new ones, plus the occasional closures. As of July 2024, he has 26 brands in his domain, with 83 different locations.

Among his impressive list of accolades, Ramsay is also among the top Michelin-star-awarded chefs in the world. He currently ranks number three of all time with 17 stars, or number two among living chefs. Top earner Joël Robuchon passed away in 2018 with 31 stars, leaving only Alain Ducasse ahead of Ramsay with 21. As difficult as the coveted stars are to earn, they are equally hard to hold on to.

In 2006, Ramsay invested millions of dollars to open his flagship restaurant, Gordon Ramsay at The London in NYC. In 2008, it was awarded two Michelin stars, making the eatery inside the high-end hotel Ramsay's first and only Michelin-star restaurant in the United States. By 2013, however, things took a brutal turn when the restaurant lost both of its stars in one fell swoop. According to Eater, it was the first time ever that a restaurant had lost multiple stars at once, citing problems with quality as the primary reason for the downgrade.

In a 2014 interview on the Scandinavian talk show "Skavlan," Ramsay candidly admitted, "I started crying when I lost my stars. It's a very emotional thing for any chef." He compared the experience to "losing a girlfriend ... you want her back" (via YouTube). As for what happened to cause Michelin to snatch back its stars, it helps to understand how stars are doled out in the first place. Restaurants are awarded Michelin stars by anonymous inspectors who visit and dine there, then make decisions based on a strict set of standards.

In a 2013 interview with Bloomberg, Michelin's director Michael Ellis said that there had been "quite a bit of instability at the restaurant." Ellis further explained that there were "issues with consistency, and consistency is a huge thing for us." He revealed that he, as well as the undercover food critics, "had some very erratic meals" there. Foreshadowing this in 2012, an unidentified inspector tweeted, "Not my best meal at [G]ordon [R]amsay at London NYC. [O]r service."

While the responsibility for losing those two elusive stars fell on Ramsay and caused a stir in the culinary sphere, the blame doesn't rest entirely on his shoulders. In 2009, four years before being stripped of its stars, Ramsay had sold the restaurant to The London. The establishment still licensed his name due to the terms of sale, but in 2013 he was no longer involved with running it.

Gordon Ramsay at The London closed for good later in the same year that it lost its stars. A statement Eater received from Ramsay's team expressed disappointment at the lack of communication and subsequent closure, but also noted that service at the restaurant had "not been the standard expected by us or our customers when they dine at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant." In 2019, The London hotel, sans Ramsay, rebranded as Conrad New York Midtown.

Given the impressive number of restaurants opened since the Michelin snub, and the considerable amount of stars he still has, chef Ramsay is well past the setback. Of his record total of 17 stars, he still has eight. His Glasgow restaurant Amaryllis was awarded a Michelin star in 2002, but closed two years later after the death of co-founder and head chef David Dempsey. Ramsay's sushi grill restaurant Maze had also been awarded a Michelin star, which it lost in 2015 before closing in 2018.

As for his restaurants that are still proudly Michelin-starred, the jewel in the crown remains Restaurant Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road in London. The French fine dining restaurant has held its three stars since 2001. Also in London, both Pétrus and Restaurant 1890 hold one star each. In France, Gordon Ramsay Au Trianon in Versailles has one star, and Le Pressoir d'Argent in Bordeaux boasts two stars.