Gordon Ramsay is one of the most famous chefs in the world, and he is never shy about sharing his opinions on food. From reality TV shows to interviews, he has made it crystal clear which dishes he finds unacceptable.
Whether it is a classic comfort food gone wrong or a trendy menu item he thinks is overrated, Ramsay has strong feelings. Here are 16 things you might spot on a restaurant menu that could make this legendary chef walk right out the door.
1. Hakarl (Fermented Shark)
Few foods have triggered a reaction quite like hakarl did when Gordon Ramsay tried it on camera. He famously spat it out and said it made his nose feel “fizzy” – not exactly a glowing review.
Fermented Greenlandic shark is buried underground for months before being hung to dry, creating an intense ammonia smell that is hard to ignore.
Even brave food lovers struggle with this one. Ramsay’s reaction said everything words could not.
2. Deep-Fried Turkey
Ramsay once called deep-fried turkey “absolutely disgusting,” and he was not holding back. His strong reaction came after a personal experience that clearly left a bad taste.
Deep-frying a whole turkey involves submerging it in gallons of hot oil, which he believes ruins the natural flavor and texture of the bird.
Traditional roasting brings out the best in turkey, according to Ramsay. He has always championed technique over shortcuts, and this dish is a prime example of where he draws the line.
3. Pineapple on Pizza
Ask Ramsay about pineapple on pizza and you will get a very passionate response. He has publicly stated, with zero hesitation, that fruit simply does not belong on a pizza.
The debate over Hawaiian pizza has divided the food world for decades, but Ramsay stands firmly on one side of that fence.
His argument is about balance and flavor integrity. Sweet fruit mixing with savory tomato sauce and cheese, in his view, is a culinary combination that should never exist on any respectable menu.
4. Airline-Style Plane Food
Ramsay has openly admitted he avoids eating airplane food entirely, and his reasoning makes a lot of sense. As a chef, he understands exactly how those meals are prepared hours in advance, stored, reheated, and served at high altitude where taste perception drops significantly.
That knowledge alone is enough to put him off.
He has suggested snacking on nuts or fruit instead. When you know how the sausage gets made – or in this case, how the reheated pasta gets packed – it changes everything.
5. Big Mac from McDonald’s
Ramsay has been pretty blunt about his feelings toward the Big Mac. He described it as basically fat and filler once you strip away all the toppings, calling it bland and uninspired.
For a chef who obsesses over quality ingredients and precise cooking, a mass-produced fast food burger is the opposite of everything he values.
That said, millions of people love Big Macs, which proves that food is deeply personal. But do not expect to see Ramsay in that drive-thru line anytime soon.
6. Soup of the Day
Ordering the soup of the day sounds innocent enough, but Ramsay has a warning for you. He jokes that it should really be called the “soup of the month,” hinting that it might be made from ingredients that need to be used up before they go bad.
That is not exactly the fresh, comforting bowl you were imagining.
His advice is to be cautious and ask questions. A good restaurant should always be able to tell you exactly what went into their soup and when it was made.
7. Overcooked Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts have a bad reputation, and Ramsay believes bad cooking is entirely to blame. He has described the smell of overcooked sprouts as genuinely disgusting, something that can fill a kitchen with an unpleasant sulfur-like odor.
Cooking them too long breaks down their structure and intensifies that off-putting smell.
Done right, Brussels sprouts can be nutty, crispy, and delicious. Ramsay has shown this many times in his own recipes, proving the vegetable deserves far better treatment than most menus give it.
8. Ready-Made or Frozen Meals
Ready meals are a convenience that Ramsay simply cannot get behind. He believes cooking fresh food is not as hard or time-consuming as people think, and that relying on frozen dinners is a sign of giving up on real cooking.
On “Kitchen Nightmares,” he has walked into restaurants and discovered chefs heating up pre-packaged meals to serve paying customers.
That discovery never ends well. Ramsay sees it as a betrayal of the customer’s trust and a total disrespect for the craft of cooking.
9. Culinary Foams as Garnish
Foam was once the hottest trend in fine dining, but Ramsay has never been a fan. He famously compared a dish topped with foam to something a cat might cough up, which is not exactly the kind of review any chef wants.
Foam breaks down quickly and often adds very little actual flavor to a plate.
Ramsay values substance over style every single time. If a garnish does not add real flavor or texture, he sees no point in putting it on the plate at all.
10. Bacon and Chocolate Pizza Dessert
Combining bacon and chocolate might sound adventurous to some, but Ramsay is not impressed. He has turned down dessert combinations like this, finding the pairing gimmicky rather than genuinely delicious.
The salty-sweet trend has produced some great results in food, but this particular mashup crosses a line for him.
Ramsay believes every ingredient on a plate should earn its spot by improving the overall dish. When a combination feels more like a dare than a recipe, he is going to pass every time.
11. Shark Fin Soup
Ramsay refuses shark fin soup, and his reason goes beyond taste. The practice of shark finning involves cutting the fins off live sharks and discarding the rest of the animal back into the ocean, which he finds deeply cruel and environmentally damaging.
He has been vocal about raising awareness around this issue for years.
No matter how prestigious a menu claims the dish to be, ethical concerns take priority for Ramsay. Some things are simply not worth ordering, no matter how traditional or expensive they are.
12. Dishes Made with Canned Ingredients
Walking into a professional kitchen and finding rows of canned ingredients is one of Ramsay’s biggest pet peeves. On “Kitchen Nightmares,” he has discovered restaurants serving dishes built almost entirely from canned goods, and his reaction is always the same – complete disbelief.
Fresh ingredients are the foundation of good cooking, and canned shortcuts undermine everything a restaurant should stand for.
Customers deserve better. Paying for a restaurant meal means trusting that someone actually cooked it from scratch with real, fresh produce.
13. Well-Done Steak
Ordering a well-done steak is practically a crime in Ramsay’s kitchen. He has repeatedly said that cooking a steak past medium destroys its natural juices, flavor, and tenderness, leaving behind a tough, grey piece of meat that barely resembles what it started as.
Good beef deserves better treatment than that.
He recommends medium at most to preserve the steak’s best qualities. A quality cut of meat cooked properly is one of life’s great pleasures – overcooking it is just a waste of good ingredients.
14. Smashed Avocado Toast
Smashed avocado toast became one of the most photographed brunch dishes of the past decade, but Ramsay has grown tired of it. He feels the trend oversimplifies a great ingredient and that avocado deserves more creative and respectful preparation.
Smashing it onto toast feels lazy when there are so many better ways to feature the fruit.
That said, he does not hate avocado itself – just the unimaginative execution. There is a difference between a trend and a genuinely well-crafted dish, and this one blurred that line for too long.
15. Over-the-Top Food Gimmicks
Gold-covered steaks, rainbow-colored burgers, and dishes served on shovels – Ramsay is not a fan of any of it. He believes these gimmicks prioritize social media attention over the thing that actually matters: how the food tastes.
A dish that looks amazing in a photo but falls flat on flavor is a failure, no matter how many likes it gets.
Real cooking is about skill and flavor first. Ramsay has always said that a perfectly cooked simple dish beats a flashy, overproduced plate every single time.
16. Poorly Executed Plant-Based Imitations
Ramsay is not anti-vegan, but he has very little patience for plant-based dishes that rely on artificial additives and fake textures to imitate meat. He believes vegan cuisine can be genuinely exciting and flavorful when it celebrates vegetables on their own terms instead of pretending to be something it is not.
Rubbery fake burgers loaded with mystery ingredients are exactly what he wants to avoid. Great plant-based cooking requires just as much skill and creativity as any other cooking – and cutting corners shows immediately on the plate.