The Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen Meltdown That Elevated The Chef To Reality TV Royalty

Gordon Ramsay has built a reality TV empire with his fiery personality and willingness to speak the truth. He rose to fame in the USA for his role in Hell's Kitchen and later appeared in Kitchen Nightmares, MasterChef, and countless other reality TV shows that revolved around his brilliance and aggression.

Hell's Kitchen is an American version of a cooking competition show that Ramsay introduced in the UK. The reality show sees 20 contestants broken down into two teams who must work for a dinner service or undergo a series of cooking challenges. The show stood out from traditional cooking shows due to Gordon Ramsay's short temper and angry rants. It's a small piece of the puzzle that's made Gordon a global success.

While Gordon has a plethora of rants attached to his name, one rant took Gordon Ramsay and Hell's Kitchen to reality TV infamy...

Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen Season 2 Insult Over Lamb Sauce Became Iconic

Gordon Ramsay has had lots of angry rants over 23 seasons and nearly 20 years on air. There is one line that is more famous than any of them. First heard in Season 2, Episode 5, "7 Chefs," Gordon screamed, "Where's the lamb sauce?!" It has since become a meme and is frequently quoted online.

Gordon Ramsay has an estimated net worth of $220 million.

• In the Season 2 episode, the Blue Team had a noticeably bad episode. The team lost a taste test with dishes made of processed food and had to clean the kitchen, while the winning red team got to go on a TV Guide photoshoot with Gordon.
• The episode only got worse as Blue Team members Garrett Telle and Heather West fought over who got to handle the meat station.

The argument over the meat station delayed the dishes and caused Ramsay to ask about the whereabouts of the lamb sauce. When the lamb sauce is finally brought to the chef, Gordon responds famously.

F*** off, you useless sack of Yankee Doodle sh*te. Kindly f*** off.

According to Collider, the line is so iconic that the official Hell Kitchen merch shop sells T-shirts bearing the quote. To this day, people write comments on Hell's Kitchen and other Ramsay-related videos on YouTube with usernames featuring "lamb sauce," saying, "You'll never find me, Gordon!"

When Ramsay launched his own channel on the social media platform, the Kitchen Nightmares star uploaded a video entitled "Gordon Ramsay Finds The Lamb Sauce."

Is Gordon Ramsay Actually That Mean In Real Life?

So, is Gordon Ramsay as mean in real life as he is on television? The owner of Finn McCool’s, a restaurant featured on a 2007 episode of Kitchen Nightmares, described Ramsay as “warm, a great teacher, and a good man who responded when someone tried to bring their game up.”

Pat Tortorello, who wasn't overly happy with his experience on Kitchen Nightmares, did sing Gordon's praises to Spoon University. “He’s really a wonderful person. A lot of my friends who have been on the show before, who have had the opportunity to talk to him and be with him in a normal setting say he’s a great, compassionate, and wonderful person. He’s very funny. He loves practical jokes. He’s a cool, funny guy."

It appears there are two sides to Gordon Ramsay. One is the Michelin-starred chef who owns some of the world's top restaurants, and the other is the rude and sometimes crass chef he portrays on television.

Robert Seixas, who appeared as a judge on Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars, told Delish that the Scot is "completely gracious, warm, and off-the-charts hilarious."

• Although he has a very caring and professional side, the heat of the kitchen can bring out the worst in Gordon Ramsay.

Steve Allen, who worked at three of Ramsay's restaurants over the course of a decade, admits that sometimes the celebrity chef can be intense. In an interview with Mashed, he shared, "I'm not going to tell you exactly what he says, but I've worked with nastier chefs that will push you and there's no follow back and they don't show you right from wrong, whereas with him, he's pushing and guiding you in the right direction."

The chef continued, "That was the best thing about Gordon, nothing he says is personal, he really invests in people and he really cared," Steve Allen added before praising Gordon. "I loved working for him, I honestly think he's fantastic."

What Hell's Kitchen Contestants Have Revealed About Their Experience On The Show

According to those who have competed in Hell's Kitchen, the Fox cooking competition show is as intense to appear on as it is to watch. According to Spoon University, Season 16 contestant Pat Tortorello described his experience as "disappointing" and described the environment on set as “somewhat toxic.”

“I was definitely thrown off the show too quickly. I had a lot more to show [in terms] of myself and my skills. But the facts of TV are that even though it’s reality TV, there is a bit of, let’s say, intervention by production,” he explained. Although he felt underwhelmed by the experience and the production interferences, he admits it was a great opportunity to make a name for himself and learn from Chef Ramsay.

Hell's Kitchen's Christina Wilson loved being challenged every day but admitted she struggled not being able to exercise, listen to music, or even keep a diary. The production team wanted to keep contestants on edge to help create as much drama as possible. "I know that's the point, and they want it to be this kind of pressure cooker that continues to build up steam, steam, steam until eventually somebody's going to blow," as reported by Mashed.

While the editing team is looking for the juiciest 45 minutes of footage, Season 10's Christina revealed that the kindness of Ramsay and the other cooking experts usually don't make the cut. "I think that if people knew, I think that they would like to see how much Gordon and the sous-chefs actually help coach the teams when they're behind for punishments, or ahead at dinner service when we're prepping," she added.

The chef concluded, "There's a lot of good value as a chef that you get [from] all the senior support that's there. But I think people would be surprised what a mentor role Gordon actually takes — but that doesn't make the best TV."

Hell's Kitchen is available to stream on Hulu.

Next: Hell's Kitchen: We Ranked The Worst Punishment Days From Mean To Downright Cruel