Extracurricular Activities Main Headline

IFTM students tap wisdom of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay

中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese
Chef Gordon Ramsay’s recent visit to Macao included a discussion session with IFTM Culinary Arts Management students titled “Inspiring the Next Generation”. It offered them valuable insights about the business of food and drink

‘Inspirational’ and ‘insightful’: words used by 2 IFTM students to describe the experience of attending a recent talk delivered by Chef Gordon Ramsay, a figure of international renown. The Briton’s visit to Macao earlier this month included a special idea-sharing session attended by undergraduates enrolled on the Institute’s Culinary Arts Management Bachelor’s Degree Programme.

Queenie Chan, one of the students present, says Chef Ramsay has been her primary inspiration for taking up culinary arts studies. “I used to watch his TV shows when I was a kid, which inspired me to try to take up a career” in the field, she explains.

Chef Ramsay, known not only for his Michelin-star accomplishments but also for his culinary-themed reality TV shows, was in Macao to visit his ‘Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill’ at The Londoner Macao integrated resort. The British gastropub was launched last year.

During his time in the city, he hosted the exchange “Inspiring the Next Generation: A Conversation with Gordon Ramsay”, attended by the IFTM students. The event offered them valuable insights into the chef’s global success, and addressed various aspects of his culinary philosophy as well as some career-defining moments.

Tobias Leung, another IFTM undergraduate attending the exchange session, commends Chef Ramsay for candour during the talk. Tobias emphasises the significance of the opportunity, stating that despite having been an intern – as part of the IFTM curricular internship programme – in a restaurant with awarded chefs, there were limited opportunities during work hours for such in-depth exchanges.

“During this session, we could really ask about all we wanted to know, regardless of being career-related or about management-level issues,” Tobias remarks.

Chef Ramsay, acknowledging Macao’s status as a hub for Michelin-starred international chefs, expressed, during his visit to the city, optimism about nurturing local talent in culinary arts. “About 99 percent of our team at the pub [at The Londoner Macao] is made up of Macao residents; this is a very good start,” he noted.

Highlighting the importance of the session attended by the IFTM students, Chef Ramsay stated, “these young people are the future of the industry”. He mentioned that their questions and even their doubts resonated with his own experiences when entering the culinary world, sparking his willingness to share his insights with others now starting in the sector, and supporting their onward journey.