Gordon Ramsey Is a Kitchen Whiz, but Did He Ever Go to Culinary School?

If you think of famous chefs, there's probably one particular person who comes to mind: Gordon Ramsay. Known for his sharp tongue and sharper skills in the kitchen, Gordon has become the celebrity chef extraordinaire, creating an empire around his culinary skills that most people train a lifetime to achieve.

But did Gordon ever go to culinary school? We know where he is now, at the top of a culinary empire and respected by many, but where did he start? Here's what we know about Gordon's early days of training to become a chef.

Gordon Ramsay is the kind of experienced 50-something whose casual celebrity seems like something he was born with. In the kitchen, he's in his element. Out in the real world, he's charming and disarming, making him an easy person to like, if you can get past the rough tongue in the kitchen.

He's earned accolades from peers and fans alike in his quest to rule Hell's Kitchen and pass culinary knowledge on to the greater world.

But where did he get started?

It may surprise you to learn that Gordon never actually attended culinary school. According to his own website, Gordon trained with Albert Roux and Marco Pierre White in London, and Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon in France.

However, culinary school wasn't a part of his early training.

Business Insider reports that, while he didn't achieve a degree in culinary arts, he did earn a degree in hotel management, which explains his insider knowledge of how to run a kitchen and cater to hospitality clients. Most of his kitchen experience came from his on-the-ground training at Harvey's and La Gavroche in London.

Gordon's most notable training is often attributed to Marco Pierre White. And, given what we know about Gordon's informal start to the culinary arts, it may or may not surprise you to learn that Marco also had no formal training in the early days.

On his website, he explains, "After leaving Allerton High School in Leeds without any qualifications, I decided to train as a chef. I began my training in the kitchen at the Hotel St George in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and later at the Box Tree in Ilkley, West Yorkshire."

When he was just 16, he arrived in London with a few pounds in his pocket and a dream. By 24, he was Head Chef and joint owner of Harvey's in London, where he met a young Gordon Ramsay.

By the time he was 33, Marco was crowned the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars.

This makes sense when you consider how his protege has also been about breaking barriers and racking up achievements like some people collect baseball cards.