Gordon Ramsay on reviving the beef Wellington and thriving in the UAE

More than two decades ago, even before the beef Wellington became a must-try at his venues from London to Las Vegas, chef Gordon Ramsay was already being credited with bringing the classic dish back from near extinction.

By the time he placed it at the centre of the menu at the Michelin-starred Savoy Grill in 2003, the dish had largely slipped into the past, grouped with other vintage British plates such as roasts and braised pies, the kind of rustic cooking many kitchens saw as out of step with the moment.

Ramsay says it was the mix of precision and comfort that convinced him to return the Wellington to service in a modernised form, and he recalls the reaction inside the room as immediate.

“Back in the late nineties, we had to revive it because it did get somehow lost and disappeared off the culinary market,” he recalls. “So, when it came on the menu, as part of the opening of the Savoy Hotel in London, it felt like a rebirth. All of a sudden, there was this big momentum, and people were saying things like: ‘I haven’t seen that thing since the eighties.’”

That wave soon reached international heights when the Wellington, a fillet of tenderloin beef brushed with mustard and enclosed in puff pastry, became one of the ultimate tests for contestants inside the charged atmosphere of Hell’s Kitchen, which launched in 2004. More than the exposure, Ramsay wanted it in the series because of the technical skill the dish demands.

Beef Wellington at Bread Street Kitchen. Photo: Atlantis The Palm

“It needs to be majestic,” he says with evident enthusiasm. “It is wrapped and bound in a savoury crepe with the duxelles, then there is the searing and the mustard seeping into the fillet and the buttery puff pastry. If you do it well, guests come back and become regulars. It becomes this present they take pictures of before they start devouring.”

It is a message he consistently delivers to his teams where the dish is served as part of a near-90 restaurant empire spread over 20 countries. One of them is Bread Street Kitchen, a hallmark of The Avenues section of Atlantis The Palm, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this week.

While in the UAE for the celebrations – and to take in the atmosphere of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Ramsay is steadfast in ensuring the Wellington holds the same standard it did on that opening night in London.

“You realise over the years that success isn't born overnight,” he says. “We still worked at the dish this morning and last night. I found the Wellingtons weren't rolled tight enough so they didn't get a chance to set. So, I am here to make sure the message is spread to all the chefs, not just the seniors.”

While admittedly mellowing out somewhat in the kitchen – a shift he puts down to “the great staff culture” built within his venues – he says the daily commercial pressures remain real. He is especially pleased that Bread Street Kitchen, with its British-European menu of brasserie staples and its open-kitchen, industrial-warm design, continues to hold its place in the UAE’s exciting yet unforgiving dining scene. The Dubai restaurant has sister branches in London and Edinburgh.

“Dubai is like Monaco with a bit of Vegas, in that it’s all about the scene. So, we built something family-orientated with a superb terrace and a buzz. But it always needs to be about the food and the service,” he says.

“Most new restaurants close in the first 18 months on average.