Most people are familiar with the no-nonsense celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay. Most Americans can also recognize that he has an accent, but some people aren’t able to place it. Where in the world does he come from? Was Gordon Ramsay born in Australia?
Gordon Ramsay isn’t Australian. He was born in Johnstone, Scotland in 1966. When he was five, his family moved to Stratford, England where he was raised. There is often confusion of whether he’s from Scotland or England, where he currently lives.
Never one to hold back what he’s thinking, he’s partly to blame for the confusion as to whether he’s Scottish or English, as he’s claimed to be each nationality, at different times. For all intents and purposes, however, he is Scottish, as that’s the only passport he holds.
Drama of Nationality
Ramsay first stirred the pot back in 2012 when it came to his nationality, claiming that he was English. Many Scots were up in arms about the declaration. An Inverness publican demanded that Ramsay needed to apologize to the people of Scotland, even going far as saying that if he had declared this a hundred years ago, he would have had his head chopped off.
During an episode of one of his shows, Gordon, Gino, and Fred: Road Trip they each had on spandex of the flag for their home countries. Ramsay wore the Union Jack, Britain’s flag, which consists of a cross between England’s flag and Scotland’s.
Scotland is part of the British Isles, just like England, so are they really that different? Enough to lose one’s head over?
Famous Scots
There are famous Scots in a variety of categories from innovators, to athletes, to entertainment. The country of Scotland doesn’t seem to be a one-trick pony exporting great talent, with too many to mention, in all industries.
In addition to the celebrity Chef, Sean Connery, Ewan McGregor, Annie Lennox, and Billy Connolly are all Scottish citizens who have made their careers as an actor, actor, singer, and comedian, respectively.
Other notable Scots are former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, authors Sir Walter Scott and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Tennis Great Andy Murray, and the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell.
Man About the World
These days, Gordon Ramsey lives in more than just one place, he has homes in Los Angeles, London, and Cornwall, where he is currently staying in self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just because he has three homes doesn’t always mean that he’s in one of the three.
Ramsay travels a lot for his various television shows, including Uncharted, Gordon, Gino, and Fred: Road Trip, and his staples such as Hell’s Kitchen and Master Chef. These are just some of the shows he still has on the air, with an additional handful of ones that he no longer does, such as Kitchen Nightmares and The F Word.
Soft Spot
Many who have seen Gordon Ramsay on some of his shows, especially MasterChef Junior, know that he has a soft spot. Which is hard to believe at times when you see him in action on one of the shows where he’s throwing a fit.
One of his soft spots seems to be for Australia. He was devastated by the fires that ravaged the country in 2019 and wanted to help so he auctioned off a meal with him. Then he opened up another seat so that they could double their fundraising efforts.
In April of 2020, he was a guest judge on MasterChef Australia for a week. He managed to show both sides of himself while he was there and at least one of the main judges appreciated that he showed kindness and patience, while also dropping F-bombs.
So, while he may not be Australian, he does hold a special place in his heart for the country. And for his accent? Well, it is more English than Scottish, but either way, it’s a British accent and not an Australian one.