Ramsay's explanation may not fully explain his enduring infamy as an explosive television tyrant; After all, it wasn't Oliver who named Ramsay's flagship series “Hell's Kitchen,” and it hardly forced Ramsay to hit countless chefs and restaurateurs with colorful jeremiads. for the last 25 years on the air. But the fact that Ramsay still brings up old rivalries when he talks about his reputation is telling, a glimpse of the competitive intensity that has been crucial to his continued success.
That competitiveness is one reason the host of about two dozen shows over the years, including “Next Level Chef,” which returns Sunday for its third season on Fox, still dedicates much of his time free to watch other gastronomic programs. That's why, during the confinement due to the pandemic, he dove headlong into social media. And it's also the reason why, at 57, Ramsay has no intention of quitting.
“When I started this career, it had nothing to do with money: it was passion and the drive to be the best,” he said. “Longevity comes down to taking nothing for granted.”
If Britain was ever truly skeptical of Ramsay, it's safe to say that it and much of the world has changed its mind. Today, he is one of the most recognizable names in television, a producer and star of popular reality shows on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 in Britain and on the National Geographic network and Fox in the United States. “Hell's Kitchen,” the competitive cooking series he has hosted on Fox since 2005, just wrapped its 22nd season on Thursday; Ramsay estimates that he has shot more than 1,200 hours of content for Fox alone.
“Next Level Chef,” one of their most recent shows, is a cooking competition of sorts in which a mix of home cooks, social media influencers and professional chefs compete on an elaborate three-level stage. Ramsay called it a “smorgasbord of the best pieces that have worked on various shows,” combining the fast-paced live services of “Hell's Kitchen” with the extreme scrutiny of “MasterChef.” He also shows the softer, more encouraging side of Ramsay, seen on shows like “MasterChef Junior,” where he is more of a paternalistic man than a loud despot.
