More than two decades ago, even before the beef Wellington became a must-try at his venues from London to Las Vegas, chef Gordon Ramsay was already being credited with bringing the classic dish back from near extinction.
By the time he placed it at the centre of the menu at the Michelin-starred Savoy Grill in 2003, the dish had largely slipped into the past, grouped with other vintage British plates such as roasts and braised pies, the kind of rustic cooking many kitchens saw as out of step with the moment.
Ramsay says it was the mix of precision and comfort that convinced him to return the Wellington to service in a modernised form, and he recalls the reaction inside the room as immediate.
“Back in the late nineties, we had to revive it because it did get somehow lost and disappeared off the culinary market,” he recalls. “So, when it came on the menu, as part of the opening of the Savoy Hotel in London, it felt like a rebirth. All of a sudden, there was this big momentum, and people were saying things like: ‘I haven’t seen that thing since the eighties.’”
That wave soon reached international heights when the Wellington, a fillet of tenderloin beef brushed with mustard and enclosed in puff pastry, became one of the ultimate tests for contestants inside the charged atmosphere of Hell’s Kitchen, which launched in 2004. More than the exposure, Ramsay wanted it in the series because of the technical skill the dish demands.
“It needs to be majestic,” he says with evident enthusiasm. “It is wrapped and bound in a savoury crepe with the duxelles, then there is the searing and the mustard seeping into the fillet and the buttery puff pastry. If you do it well, guests come back and become regulars. It becomes this present they take pictures of before they start devouring.”
It is a message he consistently delivers to his teams where the dish is served as part of a near-90 restaurant empire spread over 20 countries. One of them is Bread Street Kitchen, a hallmark of The Avenues section of Atlantis The Palm, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this week.
While in the UAE for the celebrations – and to take in the atmosphere of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Ramsay is steadfast in ensuring the Wellington holds the same standard it did on that opening night in London.
“You realise over the years that success isn't born overnight,” he says. “We still worked at the dish this morning and last night. I found the Wellingtons weren't rolled tight enough so they didn't get a chance to set. So, I am here to make sure the message is spread to all the chefs, not just the seniors.”
While admittedly mellowing out somewhat in the kitchen – a shift he puts down to “the great staff culture” built within his venues – he says the daily commercial pressures remain real. He is especially pleased that Bread Street Kitchen, with its British-European menu of brasserie staples and its open-kitchen, industrial-warm design, continues to hold its place in the UAE’s exciting yet unforgiving dining scene. The Dubai restaurant has sister branches in London and Edinburgh.
“Dubai is like Monaco with a bit of Vegas, in that it’s all about the scene. So, we built something family-orientated with a superb terrace and a buzz. But it always needs to be about the food and the service,” he says.
“Most new restaurants close in the first 18 months on average. Running a business today is more demanding than it ever was.
“So, to celebrate 10 years here in Dubai makes me incredibly happy because I never wanted to become the latest trend that would be hot for 18 months.”
Ramsay recalls that the pressure and pride felt even more acute nearly 25 years ago when he launched Verre at Hilton Dubai Creek, his first restaurant outside the UK, at a time when the emirate was still shaping its fine dining identity.
Serving modern European dishes, the restaurant eventually closed in 2011, and Ramsay went on to expand his global portfolio before returning to the UAE with Bread Street Kitchen.
“When we opened at Dubai Creek, I really felt like I was part of something. So to be able to help lay down the foundation that allowed great chefs like Bjorn Frantzen and Nobu [whose dining outlets are also in Atlantis The Palm] come here is amazing,” he says. “But in Dubai, you rarely get more than one shot to do it. If the Dubai customer turns against you, you are out on the next flight.”
Someone who helped pave the way for Ramsay, both in learning how to operate successfully in the UAE and in balancing a television career, was the late Gary Rhodes. The British chef was one of the city’s earliest international champions before his death in 2019. His Dubai outpost, Rhodes W1, which he launched in 2014, remains at Grosvenor House Dubai.
“He was at the heart of it for me,” he says. “At the beginning of my TV career, in front of me was Gary Rhodes who really was a prolific British icon who could work and talk on TV. I don’t think people realise how hard that is: to engage, cook, talk and coach while all this is going on. He showed a lot of us how to do it.”
Ramsay views his own contribution to the evolution of the television chef as his early embracing of social media.
Whether it is encouraging customers to take photos of their food or posting TikTok videos in which he colourfully critiques people’s versions of his dishes, he feels it is an area many of his peers are still reluctant to enter.
“I have been doing social media as early as 15 years ago when other chefs were denying access and saying things like ‘no intrusion, put your phones away’. I always said 'they are paying for it, it’s their wish', and I jumped on the bandwagon early,” he says.
“I look at it all as a positive thing as social media allows us to create the headlines and own the content. You can also tell that way who else is copying you.”
Which brings him back to the beef Wellington and a belief that chefs in the region can create their equivalent of the sensation.
“The UAE is a lovely melting pot. It is close to India and the Indian Ocean, and it has these amazing culinary traditions with fragrant and robust spices and the rituals of families eating together,” he says.
“So, 100 per cent a young and upcoming chef born and bred here can create his own star dish. If I have created a path forward for people to be inspired by, it is about knowing that there are no rules. Instead of staying in a lane, you need to own it. If you can do that, you are in control of your destiny.”
