I have just finished reading Humble Pie within two days of buying it and was horrified and entertained in equal measure. You may see the volcanic Ramsay on television but compared to some of the chefs he has worked under, he is fair and rational. He emerges as a likeable and decent bloke- giving honest hard workers the chance to better themselves. He is also unspoilt and appreciative of how far he has brought himself-for example, he may be a multi millionaire but he doesn't want to spoil his children and only gives them one present for Christmas. I completely see his point. His lack of luxury as a child has made him work hard and appreciate what he has earned and he wants the same for his children. However, my favourite juicy bits of this book were the gasp-aloud scenes of almost comedy violence perpetrated by the chefs he has worked for. His old adversary Marco Pierre White emerges as totally unpredictable and irrational. The chefs he worked for in Paris fare little better and emerge as monsters. Gordon Ramsay may yell and swear in the kitchen but he, to my knowledge, has never thrown a boiling pot of stock at anyone. He has made mistakes and openly admits to them. His honesty is disarming, whether you agree with him or not. There are also incidnetal snippets of celebrity gossip hither and thither, and his background story of his relationship with his father and his brother nearly had me in tears, and yet lacks self pity. All in all, there's pretty much every emotion in this tale of triumph over adversity (Even a bit of romance in the chapter about women). A thumping good read whether you like him or not. Personally I don't see how anyone can fail to at least repect anyone who has worked as hard as him.
