Gordon Ramsay has credited his success in the United States to Americans knowing "f*** all" about good food. The celebrity chef has opened up about the culture shock he faced after moving to the States in 2004, one year before the first episode of Hell's Kitchen aired.
While he was used to being asked ridiculous questions in the kitchen, he never expected them to come from his waiter when wining and dining himself.
When accepting an award at the Britweek Innovation Awards in Santa Monica, California, he said: "The first thing that struck me when I first came over here in 2004, I got interviewed with the lady from the LA Times, and we sat in this amazing restaurant and I couldn't eat because I was too busy talking about sort of this little documentary called Hell's Kitchen.
"And it was really weird, because I said to her, 'Look, I've got to get back to set. Fox runs a show, I run a restaurant, that's why we work so well together'.
"And she wasn't upset, she just got a little bit nervous that I just wanted to get out of there and get back to work. And the waiter came over and said, 'Would you like your food to go?' She said, 'Yes', I said, 'No, thank you'.
"She boxed a Caesar salad and I said to her, 'Do you have any idea how s**t a Caesar salad tastes 24 hours later? What will you do with that f***ing thing?' She said, 'I'm going to eat it'.
"I said, "But it's been dressed. We dressed it 20 minutes ago; it's sat there for 25 minutes. Why would you eat that?" She said, 'It's delicious'.
"That's when I knew Americans knew f*** all about good food. Right there and then."
The 56-year-old also called out an American agent who wanted his eggs cooked in a very particular way when they met up for a breakfast meeting.
Recalling the moment, Ramsay said: "This agent says to the waiter, 'I'll have scrambled egg whites, please.'
"I said, 'Do me a favour - have a yolk.' He said, 'No, too much protein.'
"Just to p*** him off I had proper f****** scrambled eggs. With a f****** sausage."
Hell's Kitchen has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Art Directors Guild Awards, and a Teen Choice Award.
The reality competition cooking show inspired a chain of Gordon Ramsay Hell's Kitchen restaurants to open doors.
It renewed for a 21st and 22nd season in February, when another set of 12 to 20 aspiring chefs will try to impress Ramsey with their cooking skills.
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