Celebrity chef, restaurateur, author, and philanthropist Gordon Ramsay has seemingly done it all. While most people are familiar with him from his many critically acclaimed television shows, including “Hell’s Kitchen,” “MasterChef,” and “Kitchen Nightmares,” there’s more to Gordon Ramsay than what you see on TV. His many ventures include partnerships with WWRD (Waterford, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton) and HexClad, which manufacture fine-quality home products and cookware, respectively.
His latest collaboration is a six-month partnership with Home Chef, one of the leaders in meal solutions for the home cook. Ramsay is joining forces with the brand to develop restaurant-quality meal kits that have all the flavor without the fuss of a gourmet meal. The meals featured come in three distinct formats, each designed to fit different cooking styles. These include the Culinary Collection, which are geared toward the more adventurous cook, Classic Meal Kits, which require minimal preparation, and Express Meals, which can be prepared in less than 15 minutes. Examples of the menu items from the collection include the Inferno Beef Burger, Ramsay’s French Onion Filet Mignon, Ramsay’s Beef Cottage Pie, and Stunning Miso Salmon. Meals will begin arriving on September 15 and can be ordered here.
Recently, Tasting Table had the chance to catch up with Ramsay to discuss this new collaboration and get some helpful tips for whipping up the best burgers and steaks. Read on to get the full scoop and learn a little more about the inspiration behind some of these spectacular new menu items from Home Chef.
Versatility, convenience, and zero waste make these meal kits unique
So, the Inferno Beef Burger has some really amazing, unique ingredients, including the tomato bacon chutney and the spicy guacamole. Can you tell me about the inspiration for this burger? What makes these particular ingredients great ways to level up the heat?
Yeah, burgers are something we all grew up with … whether it’s a sporting event, a family dinner, or a quick grab and go. And so burgers are a staple in the Ramsay household. I think for me, the exciting part of working closely with Home Chef was taking all the best elements of what I’ve learned and done with burgers over the last 20 years. I was very lucky to open our first burger restaurant in Planet Hollywood back in 2012. We sell 3,000 burgers a day there, and the queue outside the door is off the charts. And so I just love this recipe because of the complexity … this one gives it a bit of an added indulgence on a burger from the bacon chutney to the parmesan tuile. And I like incorporating the avocado because … the contrast between that with a burger is just, yeah, to die for.
The nice thing about these cards … you can take elements after you’ve done this incredible selection of recipes and sort of create your own incredible add-ons and subtracts next time you’re doing a dinner party. But I think the key for me with Home Chef was focus on those cards and watching the kids. Tilly hopes to follow my footsteps in cooking. And so watching her read the card the day before, read the card the morning of, and then going into it with the execution with no intimidation. I think that was the key part for me, from a chef’s point of view, that you are doing something that’s easy to make. You’ve got the level of convenience as well, but coupled with the approach of those recipes, it’s all within your grasp.
Yeah, make it accessible for anybody regardless of your level of experience.
Yeah. And then no waste, right? Just the cost of food in general is not decreasing. And so I grew up with the sort of pleasure of having a mum that cooks for a job, and whatever she didn’t sell in the restaurant, she brought back and we ate. And so you’d never leave anything on your plate. And it’s the same today with ingredients. I wanted everything utilized in a way that we’re not using highfalutin ingredients that are wasteful.
The key to an elevated burger is to be smart in the kitchen
Do you have any more general tips for making a dynamite burger?
Yeah, be smart. It’s very hard to season the burger once it’s cooked, so season with confidence. And let that protein rest first before you start cooking, and also be smart with the temperature of those ingredients. Never cook a burger straight from the fridge; let it rest before. And then understand the difference between cooking a burger and cooking a smashed burger. You don’t need to press the hell out of the burger — let it cook so less is more, and don’t move it around every two minutes. Leave it alone. So yeah, I think we illustrated that beautifully in those cards, and just the pictures and the step-by-step guidance will really help as well.
On why a filet is the Rolls Royce of steaks
So, your French onion filet, does it evoke the flavors of a classic French onion soup? And if so, what was your thought process behind this recipe, and how do you execute that?
Yeah, I was lucky enough in my career to spend three years in France, so I wanted something that was nothing to do with foie gras and truffles and exuberant ingredients. And so using that Boursin, that little sort of peppery cheese, and those caramelized onions was a really nice way of just bringing something together that is the sort of perfect marriage because that sweet caramelization of those onions and that nice peppery Boursin with that rich textured filet was a wonderful combination. And then, of course, it’s a treat, a filet. Even when I go out today in the restaurant … I look at the filets, and I think, “Oh my God, the prices are extortionate.” However, it really is a nice good-feel pick-me-up when you’ve nailed a filet. It is just, like, we can sear the hell out of a ribeye. We can caramelize in New York strip, but learning to cook a filet is like driving a Rolls Royce and eating it at the same time. It’s that level of indulgence that once or twice in a life we’re all allowed to do for a special occasion.
I know you’re fond of the filet. Is that your favorite cut, bar none, over anything?
It’s a tough one, that one, isn’t it? I think it’s the celebration cut. It’s a cut that you don’t need a lot of. And then I always look at the way Tana eats, my wife, because sometimes when you’re eating a ribeye, there’s so much fat to negotiate that it’s off-putting when you are trying to slice around fat, or it hasn’t been caramelized properly. And New York strip, you’ve got that fat again on the side of the cap, again, can be intimidating. But with the filet, A, there’s no waste, B, it doesn’t have to be 8- or 10-ounce. It could be a 6-ounce filet, and you can … devour the whole thing without having to feel that you’ve got to take to your bed for three or four hours after it.
Cottage pie is a taste of Ramsay’s childhood
I’m intrigued by your cottage pie, and I wanted to know if this was something that you grew up eating, and is this a family recipe, or is this like the ultimate comfort food from your childhood?
Yeah, so cottage pie and sticky toffee pudding were two staples in the household. There was something quite endearing, especially this time of year coming out of summer into fall. And the cottage pie was the one thing that I still remember vividly coming home from school early. And the minute that door opened, you can smell it, and you can smell not just the caramelization of the meat but that nice creamed potato, and then what it looks like when it hits the table. It’s beautiful. And also, with such a large family, it really is a nice thing to do in abundance in a way that once it’s made, you bake it, finish it off under the grill and get that cheese bubbling on top. And so yeah, it’s a unique dish but uplifts the whole table.
On how to cook scallops without ruining them
I’m interested in your scallop dish. I know scallops are notoriously challenging to cook, and often they manage to trip up people on virtually every culinary show I’ve ever watched. What do you think the hurdles are to that and why? And how can you cook scallops better?
That’s a good question. First of all, it’s an amazing delicacy that we should all try and master. It’s one of the most notorious shellfish that you just need to be very smart in what you do with it. The essence here is having it done and seared quickly. And when you cook those scallops to perfection, just what it delivers with a risotto is incredible. And so I want to instruct a game plan on how to master a scallop, because it’s more difficult than cooking a filet mignon.
Get it right, and it’s such a celebration. Get it wrong, and it’s just this sort of overcooked, rubbery, unwanted mess in a mouth that you would not enjoy swallowing. So it’s something that I feel very fondly of. I cannot tell you how many scallops I’ve thrown away on “Hell’s Kitchen.” I dread to think of how many overcooked scallops, but get it right and it’s beautiful. And so yeah, you look at those instructions and you follow them to the T, and even down to the point of seasoning the scallop literally seconds before you cook and not season them any earlier than that. Otherwise, it extracts the moisture. It allows them to become dry. And it’s something that you’ve hit all those magical moments when you get that right, it’s such a celebration.
And is there a special reason why you like to pair the truffles with scallops? Is there a magic flavor that happens there?
Yeah, I think when you think of the perfume that those truffles give off, and then when the bottom-of-the-seabed scallops travel at the bottom of the seabed and these truffles accumulate underground, sometimes up to 3½, 4 foot underground, it says where the sea meets the earth. And it is quite a mind-blowing combination that you’ve got this perfumed scallop with this perfumed truffle with the sweetness of the scallop caramelized. It’s just an implosion.
The Home Chef x Gordon Ramsay meal kits will begin arriving on September 15 and are available to order here.
