"Ever since I started dating [my wife Tana], we used to go out to restaurants early on [in our relationship], and we'd collect menus. It's a very shabby thing to do, but I have some of the most extraordinary ones. We always ask for a menu."
"Tana used to say, 'should I get the chef to sign [the menu]?' And I would say, 'no!' because back in those days, no one knew who we were. But she would always ask the waiter, 'would you mind asking the chef to sign it?'"
"Now, more than two decades later, that 'shabby thing' has evolved into a surprisingly vast archive. Apparently, there are 'over about 750' menus in his collection. There are also wine lists - some so ceremonially presented that Ramsay has, on occasion, been 'charged for taking them home'."
Gordon Ramsay, renowned for his Michelin stars and restaurant empire, harbors a sentimental side centered on collecting menus from restaurants he visits with his wife Tana. Beginning early in their relationship when Tana was a schoolteacher, the couple developed a ritual of requesting menus from establishments they dined at. Tana proactively sought chef signatures on menus, though Ramsay initially discouraged this when they were unknown. Over more than two decades, this practice evolved into an extensive archive containing over 750 menus and wine lists, some so valuable that restaurants have charged him for taking them. Despite his massive professional success, including opening his 100th restaurant, Ramsay continues this collecting tradition whenever he dines out.
Read at Elite Traveler
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