When Gordon Ramsay met Angela Hartnett it didn't take long for the foul-mouthed celebrity chef to realise he'd met his match.
As you'd expect, he nicknamed her Dizzy Lizzy and threw in the obligatory "b****" on an hourly basis when summoning her services. What he didn't expect was for her to bite back.
The pair came head-to-head when Hartnett aced a one-day trial at Ramsay's first restaurant, Aubergine.
Alongside Marcus Wareing and Ramsay, she worked six-day weeks for longer than the two weeks Wareing predicted she'd "hack it".
With a "one-of-the-lads" attitude perched perfectly as a chip on her shoulder (only in the early days) Hartnett says it hasn't exactly been a breeze being a woman in a man's world. "Being a female chef hasn't always been easy and it has meant being pretty forceful at times," said the blonde with a definite twinge of tomboy about her.
"Women end up making pastries or on cold salads because it's the easiest and means less heavy lifting. But the good bits are the fish and meat, so that's where I wanted to be.
"I had to fight, but I got there and proved myself."
Prove herself she did and before long she found herself Ramsay's right-hand gal helping out at two of his restaurants Zafferano and L'Oranger before joining Wareing again as his sous chef at Pétrus.
That said, Hartnett, who also helped Ramsay launch his first project outside the UK, Verre by Gordon Ramsay at the Hilton Dubai Creek in 2001, said playing the female card has certainly had its advantages. "Don't get me wrong, there have definitely been times when being a woman has had its benefits and I've milked it for all its worth," she said, leaning forward with an eyebrow raised.
"Scrubbing parts of the kitchen always went to the guys and for that I'll be forever grateful."
Speaking her mind
Grabbing a spoon relatively late in her career, Hartnett learnt on the job at a hotel in Cambridge, before heading for sunnier climes and the Sandy Lane Hotel restaurant in Barbados.
In 1994, she returned to the UK, and Ramsay was one of the first people she came up against. "I think I was always a bit different because I was willing to tell him the truth. I was never afraid of Gordon like many of the others were," she said.
"Yes, he was a lunatic and I'm not going to dress it up any other way. But he is just a person and when he asked a question, I answered, and when he asked for my opinion, I told him the truth.
"I remember the restaurant was closed for refurbishment over Christmas one year and it took longer than they thought, which meant it was closed over New Year too. Gordon joked with the staff saying, ‘I bet you all can't believe your luck.' A few of the guys were all, ‘Oh no, Gordon, we can't wait to get back to work.' I told him I was ecstatic and if it could be extended for four weeks I wouldn't be unhappy."
Born in Kent to an Irish father and Welsh mother of Italian descent, Hartnett is at her most comfortable working with pasta, saying it feels like it takes her home to her true roots.
2004 was a great year for the Ramsay protégé when she netted her first Michelin star, but Hartnett says it was in early 2007, when she was awarded an MBE for Services to the Hospitality Industry, that it all started to come together. "Anyone who doesn't realise it's all about working your nuts off has the wrong idea," she said.
"I think some people see these reality television programmes and think it will all just be handed to them on a plate. That is the good thing about celebrity chefs, because no matter how famous they are or how well-known they are they still got where they are today with a lot of hard work, sweat and tears."
In 2007, she opened Cielo, a Ramsay Group restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida, published her first book, Cucina: Three Generations of Italian Family Cooking and appeared on BBC's Kitchen Criminals and Take On the Takeaway as well as Ramsay's ITV show Hell's Kitchen.
Her celeb chef status up there with the best of them, Hartnett says there are still things she would never stoop so low for. "I would never use my name to get a table reservation," she laughed, refusing to name industry names of those she knows do. "Once my mum thought a restaurant in London was ageist because they told her they had no tables minutes before my sister and I walked back in with her and sat right down. She didn't know we were very good friends with the owner and chef."
Hartnett launched her very own baby in August 2008 with Murano, a fine-dining Italian restaurant in Mayfair and just a month later she opened the York and Albany restaurant at the top of Parkway, Camden Town.
Now living in Spitalfields, London, with her sister and Jack Russell Alfie, she said: "The celebrity chef was born thanks to television. The most famous chefs seem to be those with their own shows.
"But passion and personality still have to come out. It brings us back to the fundamental — to be a celebrity chef you still have to have something to sell, something which makes people remember you."
Something Hartnett has in abundance.
Very Verre
A new look, new menu, new head chef and exciting new features — it's all about what's new at Verre this month.
Verre By Gordon Ramsay at the Hilton Dubai Creek has officially reopened its doors following a complete refurbishment.
But in addition to a stylish new look, the award-winning restaurant has a new chef at the helm showcasing a fresh menu, as well as exciting interactive features including a Chef's Table. "I am a firm believer in using the freshest ingredients to reveal great flavours," said new chef Scott Price. "Verre's tradition of a menu in evolution marries well with my own style, and I intend to cultivate this each season, while still maintaining some of the classics.
"I'm also very excited to introduce Dubai to its first Gordon Ramsay Chef's Table, where guests can get up close with the magic and passion of a Ramsay kitchen."
A white and silver glass wall dominates the entrance, creating a real sense of arrival. The restaurant's new interior is fashioned in monochrome black and white glamour, and accented with silver highlights. It boasts a new, textured wall panel in brilliant white, complemented with sophisticated black banquettes, creating an ambience of sublime elegance.
Price leads a team of 40, imparting Michelin-star expertise to the hotel's food and beverage experience.
For more information or reservations, call 04-2277550 or e-mail verre.creek@hilton.com
