Gordon Ramsay Once Kicked This Old-School Actress From His Restaurant

Gordon Ramsay may be one of the most popular restaurateurs in the world today, but he only got to that point by becoming a high-level chef who dealt with all the highs and lows that come with the intense career. One difficulty that Ramsay learned to deal with relatively early on was the existence of food critics, one of whom led the chef to kick out iconic British actress Joan Collins when she visited the Restaurant Gordon Ramsay location in Chelsea, London alongside none other than A.A. Gill — a major critic of Ramsay's work.

The "Hell's Kitchen" star recently recounted kicking Joan Collins out of his establishment on an episode of "The Graham Norton Show." While Ramsay didn't call out the late food critic by name when telling the story, he was clear about just how unwilling he was to serve him or his fellow guests. "She was with a critic that absolutely panned the restaurant prior, and they turned back up literally a few months later," Ramsay recalled of his first interaction with Collins. "I said to this critic, 'Thanks, but no thanks.' But Joan was his guest, and so she was furious."

Now, while plenty of chefs find critics to be annoying (with Anthony Bourdain's conceptual disdain for Yelpers being just one example), Gordon Ramsay's refusal to serve A.A. Gill back in 1998 was something that he viewed as incredibly personal. Rather than just attacking the food Ramsay served at Aubergine — the restaurant that the celebrity chef led before opening Restaurant Gordon Ramsay — Gill decided to attack Ramsay himself, calling him "a failed sportsman who acts like an 11-year-old" (via The Independent). This personal attack enraged Ramsay, believing he had gone beyond the point of criticism in his review. 

In fact, even today, Ramsay still believes his choice to throw the critic out was a valid one at the time. "One of the most prolific critics had a brutal personal vendetta," Ramsay recalled in the first episode of his Netflix documentary series, "Being Gordon Ramsay." He continued, "I couldn't wait for him to sit down, get the menu, time 20 minutes, and ask him to get the hell out of that restaurant because whether you're with Joan Collins or sat with the queen, you're still going out, mate -– you're not sitting here."

As for Joan Collins, Ramsay and the beloved Hollywood actress have mended fences in the years since their 1998 altercation, even sharing the screen on an episode of "The F Word" back in 2009. Considering Gordon Ramsay is a master of making several egg dishes perfectly (including scrambled eggs), he saw teaching Collins how to make a perfect omelette as a make-good for their previous encounter.