As one of the world's most famous chefs, you'd be forgiven for assuming Gordon Ramsay's daily diet involves considerably more preparation than your own.
The reality is surprisingly straightforward.
When Men's Health caught up with Ramsay for our September 2024 cover story, the chef revealed the simple eating routine he uses to fuel his training – and it's a far cry from the food that sustained him during his early years in professional kitchens.
Back then, long shifts meant relying on whatever could keep him going.
'Lucozade and Mars Bars were what gave me the energy to get through the long 16- or 17-hour shifts behind the line,' he told Men's Health.
These days, his approach looks very different.
What to read next
What Gordon Ramsay Eats in a Day
Ramsay starts his morning with a protein shake, followed by scrambled eggs for lunch and chicken or fish for dinner.
There's one cooking rule he sticks to when preparing his protein, too, stressing that poached beats boiled every time.
'Boiling it is going to give it a texture like fucking Gandhi's flip-flop,' he says.
Unsurprisingly, that menu packs in a decent amount of protein. But here comes the necessary caveat that Ramsay didn't give us portion sizes, nor did he say these were the only foods he eats in a day, so calculating his actual calories or macros isn't possible.
Still, we can get a rough idea. Assuming a standard whey shake with around 24g of protein, three eggs at roughly 19g, and a 200g serving of cooked chicken breast at around 60g, those foods alone would put him at roughly 100g of protein.
On those assumptions, they'd provide somewhere in the region of 650-700 calories, with very few carbohydrates. But that's emphatically not an estimate of Ramsay's total daily calorie intake. It doesn't account for portion differences, sides, snacks, cooking fats, drinks or – rather importantly for a chef – anything he's tasting throughout the day.
And tasting is something Ramsay does plenty of.
Why Gordon Ramsay Eats Smaller Meals
Rather than sitting down to large meals, he says he prefers smaller amounts throughout the day.
'You're lethargic after you've eaten, right? You've got to stay on your toes. It's like a ballerina – tiny little mouthfuls, tiny little tastings,' he says.
So while we can't put an accurate calorie or macro number on Ramsay's complete diet, the broad approach is clear: regular sources of protein, relatively simple meals and smaller portions that work around a schedule that rarely involves sitting still for long.
For a man capable of making food extraordinarily complicated, his own daily menu sounds simple, repeatable – boring, even. Which helps make it work.
Isaac Williams is Site Editor for both Women’s Health UK and Men’s Health UK, guiding and supporting the content teams to create content across all platforms. Isaac’s love of health and fitness began at Loughborough University, where he graduated with a History and English degree in 2014. His first job was at Men’s Running magazine, where he progressed from Staff Writer to Editor. Among his highlights of those four years include completing a 24-hour track race (never again), just about finishing a multi-day ultramarathon in the Azores, and chugging his way around a ‘beer mile’. Isaac ventured into the world of freelance journalism in 2018, interviewing some of the biggest names in sport – like Anthony Joshua and Ben Stokes – and writing features for the likes of The Guardian, Red Bull, ShortList and BBC Countryfile. He was also a regular contributor to an adventure series called ‘The Man Who’: speaking to some of the world’s most extreme explorers from the wilds of Caffè Nero. In late-2019, Isaac became Editor of Men’s Fitness UK. In his five years there, Isaac was responsible for editing the monthly magazine and managing website content, ultimately helping the brand transition to a ‘digital-first’ approach. He joined Hearst UK as Multiplatform Editor in December 2024, where he manages day-to-day digital output, edits content and writes articles on all things health and fitness. When he’s not hammering at his keyboard, Isaac enjoys exercise and trying – unsuccessfully, so far – to teach his baby son to kick a football. You can follow Isaac on Instagram @isaacw1993.
