Chef | ChicanePictures

My culinary curiosity continues. This time it’s Chef from “Hell” Gordon Ramsay. His TV programmes, including Hell’s Kitchen, Hotel Hell, The F Word and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares have made him a household name. In fact, it was his shows that cemented my interest in cooking and celebrity chefs.

Gordon’s restaurants have been awarded 15 Michelin stars. His signature establishment restaurant ‘Gordon Ramsay’ has held 3 Michelin Stars since 2001.

Gordon has become famous for his use of expletives and fiery temper – a reputation built upon his goal of culinary perfection and probably influenced by previous mentors, including the equally pugnacious Marco Pierre White. But on my sketch I got the other four letter word, so I guess he liked it.

Combining two of my vices – drawing and watching cooking programmes on TV – I decided to draw a few of my favourite celebrity chefs. Rick Stein was the first. I sent this sketch to him at his flagship, The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow on the northern Cornish Coast and he sent it back quicker than you could boil a lobster.

He’s been on our TV screens for the past two decades with that happy laid-back demeanour. He also sells seafood by the seashore, and more. His empire includes The Seafood Restaurant, S Petroc’s Bistro, Rick Stein’s Café, Stein’s Fish & Chips, a cookery school, accommodation, a gift shop, a deli, a patisserie, a fishmongers and The Cornish Arms pub in nearby St Merryn… and no Rick Stein at Bannisters in Mollymook in NSW, Australia.

Rick has to be credited for single-handedly reviving the British seafood industry. Padstow is now a popular tourist destination. His impact on the local econmy has led some to call the once sleepy Cornish fishing village ‘Padstein’.