Gordon Ramsay Says He Doesn’t Plan on Retiring: ‘Do Not Underestimate the Power of an Old Man’

Gordon Ramsay Says He Doesn’t Plan on Retiring: ‘Do Not Underestimate the Power of an Old Man’

“You have not seen the end of me,” Gordon Ramsay said while promoting his new Fox cooking competition series, Next Level Chef

Photo: Getty

Gordon Ramsay isn’t going anywhere.

The British celebrity chef, 55, stars in a slew of television projects — from Hell’s Kitchen, MasterChef, MasterChef Junior, Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell & Back, and his new series Next Level Chef airing on Fox alone, to his Nat Geo show, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, and the dozens of shows and specials he leads overseas. Add to that the 50+ restaurants he owns and operates around the world, the collection of 26 cookbooks he’s published, and his popular TikTok page, and it’s safe to say Ramsay’s plate is pretty darn full.

But one thing he isn’t cooking up anytime? Retirement.

In an interview with Thrillest published on Monday, Ramsay insists that he has no plans of slowing down.

“You have not seen the end of me,” the star told the publication. “Do not underestimate the power of an old man.”

The topic came up when Ramsay was asked about the possibility of wrapping Hell’s Kitchen after its upcoming 21st season.

“Can I keep going?” Ramsay wondered. “I got consumed in this business in my early 40s. And then, how do I claw time back to become super strong and fit? I started taking up triathlons and I did my first Ironman at the age of 43 in Hawaii. And so now at 55, I’m fit as a fiddle. And I can go for another 30 seasons. Trust me.”

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He certainly still has more he wants to accomplish. He tells Thrillist that he hopes to work with Bobby Flay, the one celebrity chef he’s tried to collaborate with to no avail due to scheduling conflicts.

“I’d make him cook off with me first and I know I would cook him under the table, head start included,” Ramsay says, in his signature brash style of playful taunting. “Bobby, I’m waiting!”

But until then, he has his hands full with Next Level Chef, the first cooking competition series he’s created in more than 12 years. The show features 15 contestants with different skill levels competing in challenges for a $250,000 prize on a massive tri-level set, with three kitchens of varying quality and ingredients stacked upon one another.

Ramsay, who also executive produces, is mentoring, alongside Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais (the winner gets to apprentice under them).

The show, which premiered on Fox earlier this month, was born from Ramsay’s mind during the pandemic, in an attempt to combine the professional cooking world (as seen on Hell’s Kitchen), the amateur world (as seen on MasterChef), and that social media phenomenon (as he’s learned about now through TikTok).

“Everybody’s cooking now. Everybody’s a critic,” Ramsay said. “And I had this crazy idea: My career started in the basement. And when I won my third Michelin star, I got to the very, very top— but I still had those cuts of fish and meat that I still have heavily featured on my menu out of respect from starting from the bottom, from a braised oxtail to a mackerel that’s not as glamorous as tuna.

So, three kitchens stacked on top of one another, three incredible mentors. And then there were the sparks that flew when we put social media cooks together with professional chefs — watching them argy-bargy in the kitchen, it’s brilliant.”

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No matter how good the chefs do, it’s safe to say they won’t make a better burger than In-N-Out does, according to Ramsay.

A burger connoisseur himself, Ramsay was sure to tell Thrillist that he far prefers burgers from the fast food restaurant chain over the ever-popular Shake Shack.

“No offense to my friend Danny Meyer of Shake Shack, but it’s an In-N-Out burger, all the way,” Ramsay said, when asked to choose between the two. “Especially when it’s freshly cooked and served animal style. Nothing better.”