Marco Pierre White: The Chef Who Trained Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay learned to cook in Marco Pierre White’s kitchen. Not metaphorically — he stood at his pass at Harveys in Wandsworth in the late 1980s, and the stories from that kitchen have kept both men in anecdotes ever since. White is the reason a particular kind of British cooking exists, and six of his dishes are on this menu.
At a glance
- The record
- First British chef to hold three Michelin stars, awarded 1995, aged 33
- Trained
- Gordon Ramsay, among others
- On the Providoor menu
- Six dishes — the largest range of any chef here
- Price range
- $16 to $46
The record, stated plainly
White trained under Albert and Michel Roux at Le Gavroche, then under Pierre Koffmann and Nico Ladenis — which is to say he learned French technique from the people who brought it to Britain. He opened Harveys in 1987. In 1995 he became the first British chef to be awarded three Michelin stars, and at 33 the youngest chef to hold them at that time.
In 1999 he handed all three back and stopped cooking professionally. He has been fairly blunt about why over the years: he was being judged by people who, in his view, knew less about food than he did. Whatever you make of that, it is a rare thing for a chef to walk away from the thing everyone else is chasing.
White Heat, published in 1990, is still the book most chefs of a certain generation point to as the one that changed what a cookbook could look like.
A note on Michelin stars, since we are being careful about it
Those three stars were earned in London. Michelin does not publish a guide for Australia, so no Australian restaurant — and no Australian chef, working here — holds a Michelin star. Australian restaurants are rated in hats. Marco Pierre White’s stars are the one genuine Michelin credential attached to anything on this menu, and they belong to his career in Britain.
The six dishes
His range here is the broadest of any chef on the menu, and it is unusually practical: a soup, two pasta dishes, a sauce, a gratin and a roast. Between them they cover a Tuesday and a Sunday.
- Marco’s Signature Bolognese Marco Pierre White The one to order first. Fifteen minutes on the stove, and 270 mg of sodium a serve — the lowest of any main on the menu. Pasta sold separately.
- Ready to Roast Pork Knuckle Marco Pierre White The name is the instruction. Forty-five minutes in your oven, and the crackling is your responsibility. The centrepiece of his range.
- NY Style Carbonara Marco Pierre White Finished on the stove. Carbonara is a dish people ruin at home by overheating the egg — this one takes the risk out.
- Wild Mushroom Ragu Marco Pierre White Deeply rich, and honest about it — this is the highest saturated fat dish on the menu at 40 g a serve. A treat rather than a Tuesday.
- Potato Gratin Marco Pierre White Cheddar and parmesan, baked in the oven. The side that makes a roast look like it took all day.
- Potato & Leek Soup Marco Pierre White Classic French technique, cheapest way into his range. Richer than you expect — there is real cream in it.
What each one asks of you
| Dish | Price | Serves | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potato & Leek Soup | $16 | 2 | Stove or microwave |
| Marco’s Signature Bolognese | $20 | 2 | Stove or microwave |
| NY Style Carbonara | $22 | 2 | Stove or microwave |
| Wild Mushroom Ragu | $22 | 2 | Stove or microwave |
| Potato Gratin | $22 | 4 | Oven |
| Ready to Roast Pork Knuckle | $46 | 4 | Oven, 45 minutes — you cook this one |
Building a meal from his range alone
It is one of the few chef ranges here deep enough to do a whole dinner from. Start with the potato and leek soup at $16, put the pork knuckle in the oven for its 45 minutes, and serve the gratin alongside it. That feeds four for $84, and the only real work is remembering to defrost the knuckle in time.
Common questions
Did Marco Pierre White really train Gordon Ramsay?
Yes. Ramsay worked under him at Harveys in London in the late 1980s, early in his career.
Does he still have three Michelin stars?
No. He was awarded them in 1995 and returned them in 1999, when he stopped cooking professionally. He remains the first British chef to have held three.
Does he cook these dishes himself?
The recipes and the specifications are his. They are produced to those specifications and flash-frozen — the same arrangement any chef has with a kitchen operating at scale.
Which dish should I try first?
The bolognese, at $20. It is the cheapest way to judge whether the range is for you, and it is ready in about fifteen minutes.
Do any of his dishes need real cooking?
One does. The Ready to Roast Pork Knuckle spends 45 minutes in your oven. The rest are fully cooked and need only reheating.
Sources
- The MICHELIN Guide — star ratings and guide coverage by country
- Marco Pierre White at Providoor — range and dish specifications