The place where it all started for Gordon Ramsay.
Filmed in mid-late 1998 and aired at the start of 1999, Ramsay's Boiling Point was a five-part TV series depicting Gordon Ramsay setting up his first restaurant — called "Gordon Ramsay" — in London after walking out on his previous employers. Many Cluster F-Bombs and quite a few sackings take place as Gordon attempts to establish himself as a restaurateur, has a friendly rivalry with former mentor Marco Pierre White, and attempts to earn a coveted third Michelin Star.
A follow-up series, Beyond Boiling Point aired in 2000, depicting Gordon's continued attempts to get a third Michelin star, along with coping with a lawsuit (and assisting Marco Pierre White with his own legal troubles), cooking for Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin, sparking a war of words with just about every food journalist in Australia, and ensuring that both "Gordon Ramsay" and his new restaurant "Petrus" continue to operate well.
Ramsay's Boiling Point and Beyond Boiling Point provide examples of:
- Angry Chef: Gordon Ramsay shows himself at perhaps his angriest in this series, throwing insults, menacing to sack and going on long angry tirades whenever someone screws up. Somewhat justified in that he's poured tens of thousands of pounds on his new restaurant and his livelihood is on the line.
- Arch-Enemy: A.A. Gill, the then food critic for the Daily Mail, sees himself as this to Ramsay, as does Australian critic Cherry Ripe. Ramsay himself only vaguely acknowledges his rivalry with the former, and doesn't care at all about the latter once he leaves Australia.
- Berserk Button: Just about everything you'd expect from Ramsay, though in Beyond Boiling Point he takes particular issue with some of his chefs trying to pass off week old produce as new stuff.
- Caustic Critic: A.A. Gill is one, panning Ramsay's cooking and after Ramsay throws him out of his restaurant, stoops down to personal attacks in his reviews. He notably mentions Ramsay's failed football career and calls him a bully, while the shows prove that while Ramsay is extremely angry, he's also fair and they mostly support him.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Averted, for the most part. Ramsay is a touch more vitriolic in Boiling Point than usual, but the series still provides just about everything you'd expect. The only big difference between the 1998—2000 Ramsay and the modern-day one is that he doesn't own quite as many restaurants.
- George Jetson Job Security: Not quite the extent that you might expect, mind. One of Ramsay's waiters gets himself fired during the restaurant's first service for drinking straight from a bottle in front of customers. Another one gets fired later in the series for serving two tables the wrong appetizers, but otherwise most firings are only inferred to have taken place between episodes.
- Gratuitous French: The waiting staff at Ramsay's is composed of Frenchmen, and they are shown speaking French among themselves.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Ramsay is depicted as being this with Marco Pierre White and Marcus Wareing. Unfortunately, by about 2007 none of the three were on speaking terms with each other.
- He Panned It, Now He Sucks!: Ramsay's reaction toward A.A. Gill after having a bad review written about his new restaurant, to the point where when Gill returns a few weeks later Ramsay immediately throws him out.
- Jerkass: It might come as a shock to find that Ramsay somehow manages to turn his Jerkassery up to eleven in Boiling Point. Rather than just yelling at the chefs and staff members at his restaurant he goes on lengthy tirades against them, using just about every insult imaginable. By Beyond Boiling Point he had toned his act down just a little.
- Only in It for the Money: Ramsay agrees to endorse Bramley Apples because he needs the cash to keep his restaurant afloat. However, he actually prefers Granny Smiths and even discreetly substitute Granny Smiths for Bramleys in a recipe at a press event, and not-so-discreetly makes insulting remarks about the brand's spokesman — both of which end in a pretty massive case of Insult Backfire.
- The Perfectionist: Ramsay is gunning for a three stars rating in the Michelin guide, causing him to get angry at everything that doesn't live up to this standard, from a sous-chef who forgets to bring in enough salad, to a waiter who makes one ordering mistake.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Ramsay's original maître d' in Boiling Point has been moved to Marcus Wareing's restaurant by the time of Beyond Boiling Point. Considering how often he's the target of Ramsay's ire in the first series, it's not too hard to imagine why.
- Small Name, Big Ego: An accusation which Ramsay and many food critics throw at each other over the two series.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Given out pretty frequently in Boiling Point. By the time of Beyond Boiling Point Gordon mostly restrains himself to just calling people idiots whenever they make mistakes.
- Troll: Ramsay takes great delight in doing this to just about everyone he can.
- With This Herring: Ramsay's opinion on the electric ovens he's forced to work with at a banquet the night before the 1998 World Cup final.
