Gordon Ramsay has ended his feud with fellow chef Marco Pierre White by teaming up for a joint collaboration. The Hell's Kitchen star, 59, famously worked under Marco at his Michelin-starred restaurant Harveys in Wandsworth during the early stages of his career.
He would later describe the experience as one where he "cried in the kitchen" and “went to hell and back” working 18-hour days, six days a week. But now, the pair have seemingly put the past behind them by teaming up with Heston Blumenthal for a new series.
New BBC series details
The programme will be titled The Rise of the Rockstar Chef and the trio will spend their time on camera reflecting on their time in the culinary world so far, addressing everything from their career trajectories to rivalries in the industry.
Catherine Catton, BBC Head of Commissioning, Factual Entertainment and Events, said: "Decades ago, Marco, Gordon and Heston ripped up the rule-book of British fine dining and changed the world of restaurants forever. I'm delighted they're reuniting to bring BBC audiences the truly extraordinary story behind their fierce rivalry, uncompromising ambition and, at times, truly outrageous antics."
The show, which is being developed by Studio Ramsey Global, will air on BBC One and be available to stream on BBC iPlayer later this year.
Context of the feud
The BBC said: "This series is set against the backdrop of the ‘Cool Britannia’ era of radical social and cultural change. The episodes will explore how the chefs’ unwavering ambition and intense rivalry reshaped Britain’s restaurant industry and redefined what it meant to be a fine dining chef, ultimately inspiring a generation around the world."
Lisa Edwards - Chief Creative Officer and Executive Producer for Studio Ramsay Global - teased an intense look at a very different world. She added: “Nineties and noughties nostalgia is at an all time high for both those of us who were there and those that weren’t - the heady mix of an uprising in fashion, politics music makes it a decade like no other. But there was another rock and roll revolution happening in the UK. It was the decade that really put British food on the map led by the original Rock Star Chefs, Marco Gordon Heston. It's the story of rivalry and the pursuit of perfection where the real heat was not just in the kitchen!”
Gordon has never held back about his treatment at the hands of his old boss. In his 2006 autobiography Humble Pie, he named Marco as the living person he "most disliked", branding him "two-faced".
Marco Pierre White's version
Just days ago, in an attempt to set the record straight on their fiery relationship, Marco shared his version of events. Speaking on the Louis Theroux podcast, he began: "Gordon came to me as a young man. I liked Gordon. He was kind. He worked hard for me." When Louis asked him if he made Gordon cry - as Gordon has famously claimed - Marco replied: "He made himself cry. He was chopping onions at the time."
But he admitted there were tears on Gordon's final night working for him in July 1989. He added: "It was highly emotional for him. He did say to me, 'I don't care Marco, just f***ing hit me, whatever'. He was very upset. It was 30-plus years ago."
Despite everything, Marco was full of praise for the man he helped make a star, recalling how he handed Gordon his big break and later helped him land a job in France with master chef Guy Savoy. He explained: "He asked me for a favour and I did that favour. He's a great technician, is Gordon. A really good technician. His plates are clean and they're always tidy. And they're consistent. And that's what it takes to win three stars in Michelin."
But Marco refused to take the blame for creating Gordon's screaming TV persona - made famous on Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. "I cannot be held responsible for that," he said. "Gordon is his own creation, like I'm my own creation. We're responsible for our own journeys in life."
The Rise of the Rockstar Chef will be on BBC One and iPlayer.
