Being a world-renowned chef, Gordon Ramsay has been all over the world, learning about different cuisines and from some of the best chefs out there. We know that he spent three years in France and learned to speak French while there. Did he master the language when he spent time in Spain? Does Gordon Ramsay speak Spanish?
No – at least not fluently. He has admitted that he does speak a bit of Spanish, but not enough to be fluent in it. At least not as of yet. To be fair, he also spent a lot less time in Spain then he did in France. In addition, before becoming top-dog himself, he worked under several French chefs.
Gordon Ramsay is fluent in two languages; English and French. With the amount of traveling he does, it’s not a surprise that he hasn’t picked up more languages. If he spent three years in Spain, like France, I have no doubt he’d be fluent in the language.
Spanish Cuisine
Spanish cuisine is made up of a mixture of a variety of foods and tastes. Due to its geographical location, being surrounded by the waters of the Iberian Peninsula, seafood plays a big part in local cuisine.
Inland areas of Spain are made up of diverse terrains of farmlands, pastures, and mountain ranges, producing a range of fresh products.
Spain has also been a large shipping port for many years, dating back to Phoenician times, when they brought over their sauces. From then on, Spain has received a lot of different foods through importing and trading.
From America, Spain was introduced to tomatoes, vanilla, various beans, and potatoes. In fact, potatoes landed in Spain before they did Ireland. These foods landed in Spain around 1520 and integrated themselves into the Spanish diet and they remain staples in Spanish cuisine.
The Spanish Gordon Ramsey
Since Gordon Ramsay has so many popular English speaking shows, it’s not surprising that someone wants to create a similar style one in a different language. That’s where Madrileño chef Alberto Chicote comes into the picture.
Chef Chicote’s show, Pesadilla en la cocina, or Nightmare in the Kitchen as a direct translation, has been on the air since 2012. Just like Ramsay, he seems like a hard guy, but is really just a softy underneath that bravado. Another way in which he is like his British counterpart is in the fact that he was a chef long before he was on television.
A Little Bit About the Spanish Language
The Spanish language has ten different dialects, and is the official language in twenty countries. So people other than those living in Spain speak the language natively. In fact, less than 10 percent of Spanish speakers actually live in Spain.
Like French, Italian, and Portuguese, the Spanish language is one of the romance languages that originated in Latin. Spanish languages emerged along the Iberian Peninsula, modern-day Span and Portugal, after many invasions.
Most scholars agree that the first written Spanish language originated in the 13th century. During the 16th and 17th centuries it was brought across to the Americas by explorers and Conquistadors. It quickly traveled throughout North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
Today, there are more than 430 million native Spanish speakers throughout the world. In the United States alone, there are over 45 million native Spanish speakers, with it being the number two language spoken in the U.S., behind English.
Still Betting on Ramsay
Whether or not he can speak Spanish, my money is still on Gordon Ramsay. Though I have to say, I’d love to see him go head to head with Peadilla en la Cocina chef Chicote, Iron Chef-style. Maybe Ramsay can drop on by and work side by side with Chicote on an episode of his show. Yeah, I’m betting that would be a whole different type of nightmare.