Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay — best known for making contestants cry on TV — is bringing his culinary wrath to Saudi Arabia.
The Michelin-starred Brit will open his first Gordon Ramsay Academy in the kingdom by the end of the year, with branches planned in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar under a 10-year deal with Alkhaleej Training and Education.
A decade ago, few Saudis would set foot in a restaurant kitchen: The kingdom’s restaurants were largely staffed by foreign-born workers. That began to change with a post-Vision 2030 grassroots campaign dubbed “there’s no shame in work,” which helped normalize Saudis taking up service sector jobs.
Now the bar is being raised again: Ramsay’s academy, alongside the arrival of the nation’s first Michelin Guide next year, marks a new era where Saudi chefs are trained — and judged — to international standards.