Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay goes behind the camera for a new series, "Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars", that shines the spotlight on restaurants working to attain the coveted culinary accolade.
The multi-starred restaurateur and TV personality is an executive producer of the eight-part Apple TV+ series premiering on Friday, which visits eateries in the United States, Britain, Italy, Nordics and Mexico seeking to gain, or retain, stars.
"(It) is a sort of a real reflection on what goes on in these businesses: what's at stake, what kind of jeopardy is up for grabs and then the emotions," Ramsay told Reuters.
"This is (an)...unscripted, real version of life in the culinary world and the extent you go to for the badge of honor ... Actors want Oscars, football players want F.A. Cup winners’ medals, chefs want Michelin stars."
Episodes show host Jesse Burgess meeting chefs as they compose menus, primp up dishes and seek to impress that lone diner who may be a secret Michelin inspector. There is also input from the anonymous Michelin inspectors, voiced by actors.
"We ask them questions and they answer. In reality, it was all ... very secretive so that none of the producers or nobody actually saw the real-life inspectors," Burgess said.
"They just judge the food on the plate."
The first Michelin guide was published by the French tire company in 1900, with the restaurant star rating introduced in the 1920s. The annual guides award up to three stars.
Ramsay received his first Michelin star when he was head chef at London restaurant Aubergine. His own Restaurant Gordon Ramsay has held three stars since 2001.
"You become an overnight sensation and then you've got the fight and the slug to maintain it ... you need to understand the word delegation, teaching, creating, and most importantly, passing the baton on," he said.
"I have one foot in the kitchen and one foot in the media world and am I there 16 hours a day? No, of course I'm not. I am there like a conductor and I'll sign things off, but I want to hear from them ... And so maintaining it is where the real work starts."
Asked if he still gets nervous when Michelin issues new editions of the guide, Ramsay said:
"I do get nervous ... no one likes losing ... (going) down to even two stars is unique, but ... it's major headlines if you do. I'm often asked, ‘What would you do if you did lose a star?’ Then, I'd fight and win it back."
