Judging by the number of TV shows that feature on an array of DStv channels, it pays to be a celebrity chef.

That on-screen success doesn’t always lead to becoming a successful restaurateur, though, and you only need to look at Jamie Oliver’s crumbling restaurant group for proof of that.

(Chin up, Jamie fans, I think he’s going to be OK.)

There don’t seem to be any similar worries for Gordon Ramsay, though, and his eponymous pub and grill inside Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace is proof of that.

In one day alone, the restaurant makes around $20 000 from fish and chips alone, and serves as many as 1 300 guests per day. Since that opening in 2012, Ramsay has added a second location in Atlantic City, and the chef says the lines run out of the door.

At present, between those two outlets, they have sold more than 250 000 beef Wellingtons, more than 200 000 sticky toffee puddings, and 300 000 fish and chips.

Those two are just a small part of the empire, as Forbes reports:

…a year ago, Ramsay started looking for a partner to help him rapidly expand these brands. “I wasn’t ready to pedal this bike up a hill on my own. That would take me another 15 years,” Ramsay says. “Let’s get this thing done.”

And now Ramsay has inked a deal with Lion Capital, a private equity outfit with offices in London and Los Angeles, which has scaled restaurants like wagamama, the pan-Asian noodle chain, as well as brands like Kettle chips and Jimmy Cho. Lion now owns 50% of Gordon Ramsay North America, while the other 50% is controlled by Ramsay.

He declined to comment on the size of the transaction, but the deal stipulates that Lion will invest $100 million over five years to build an empire of Gordon Ramsay restaurants across America. The joint venture expects to open 100 new locations across the U.S by 2024…

Ramsay already has eight restaurants across Las Vegas [below], Atlantic City and Baltimore in partnership with Caesars Entertainment. There’s five concepts in Las Vegas, of which three are brands that will be expanded through the new deal — Gordon Ramsay Steak, Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill, Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips.

I feel for those who open a Ramsay restaurant, run it into the ground, and then see him waltz through the door with a scowl on his face.

On top of those concepts mentioned above, the Yanks can also look forward to Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza and Gordon Ramsay Bread Street Kitchen, which currently has successful locations in London, Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore.

Yes, the man is bloody rich, and he brought home a cool $62 million last year, which comes mainly from his television deals.

Also, yes, he did get a little dig in at Jamie when announcing this latest funding deal:

Ramsay’s 15 restaurants in London won’t be impacted by the Lion Capital investment. The announcement comes just a few weeks after British chef Jamie Oliver announced that all but three of his 25 restaurants in the U.K. will close.

“It’s a very oversaturated market there, and you need to be very careful with that level of expansion. It’s unfortunate to see the situation he got himself into, but that’s what happens when you’ve got a juggernaut that’s out of control, as opposed to being in control,” Ramsay says. “I’ve sat patiently, learning from other people’s mistakes.”

I believe that qualifies as a burn.

Good luck with the new ventures, Gord. I’m sure there are plenty of people hoping you fail, whilst others wish you success.

[source:forbes]