Does Gordon Ramsay Teach Cooking Classes? Here's What He Actually Offers

When you think of Gordon Ramsay, you picture him yelling in a kitchen, flipping a pancake with fury, or slamming a plate down because the sauce wasn’t right. It’s easy to assume he’s out there teaching cooking classes every weekend, handing out aprons and life lessons. But the truth? He doesn’t run regular cooking classes like you’d find at a community center or even a fancy culinary school.

What Gordon Ramsay Actually Does

Gordon Ramsay doesn’t teach weekly cooking lessons. He doesn’t host drop-in classes where you show up, chop onions, and leave with a recipe card. His teaching happens on a much bigger scale - through media, institutions, and exclusive experiences.

His most visible teaching platform is Gordon Ramsay’s MasterClass. This isn’t a live class. It’s a pre-recorded, high-production online course with 18 video lessons that run over 3.5 hours. You learn how to sear a steak, make perfect risotto, and handle knife skills - all in his signature no-nonsense style. The course is designed for home cooks who want to level up, not for aspiring chefs aiming for Michelin stars.

He also partnered with Le Cordon Bleu in London back in 2013 to launch the Ramsay Academy. This was a short-term, intensive program for professional chefs. It ran for six weeks and focused on modern techniques, plating, and kitchen leadership. It wasn’t open to the public. You had to be accepted through an application process, and most students were already working in high-end kitchens.

Why He Doesn’t Teach Regular Classes

Think about his schedule. He’s filming TV shows like Hell’s Kitchen and MasterChef. He runs over 30 restaurants worldwide, from London to Las Vegas to Dubai. He’s constantly traveling, managing teams, and dealing with media. There’s simply no time to stand over a stove for two hours while someone burns a béarnaise sauce.

Plus, Ramsay’s brand is built on intensity and high stakes. He’s not here to teach beginners how to boil pasta. He’s here to show you what excellence looks like - and how far you have to go to get there. That’s why his teaching is packaged, polished, and scalable. A 90-minute MasterClass reaches thousands. A live class in a small kitchen reaches five people.

What You Can Actually Sign Up For

If you want to learn from Gordon Ramsay’s methods, here are your real options:

1. Gordon Ramsay’s MasterClass - $180 for an annual subscription. Includes access to all his courses, not just cooking. You get his steak guide, his sauce techniques, and his approach to plating. It’s the closest thing to having him in your kitchen.
2. Restaurant Workshops - Some of his restaurants, like Gordon Ramsay Steak in Las Vegas or Maze in London, occasionally host private dining experiences. These aren’t classes, but you can sit at the counter and watch chefs prepare dishes while asking questions. You pay for the meal, not instruction.
3. TV Show Challenges - If you’ve ever watched MasterChef or Hell’s Kitchen, you’ve seen Ramsay teach under pressure. Watching contestants fail and recover is essentially a masterclass in resilience and technique. Many home cooks say they learned more from watching those shows than from any formal course.
4. His Cookbooks - Books like Gordon Ramsay’s Home Cooking and Gordon Ramsay’s Quick & Easy are filled with step-by-step instructions, photos, and his direct notes. He writes like he speaks - blunt, clear, and practical. These books are used by culinary students worldwide.

What He Doesn’t Offer

Don’t waste your time looking for:

• Weekend classes at local community centers
• Online live Zoom sessions with him
• Private one-on-one lessons in his kitchen
• Any kind of certification program you can enroll in

There are scams out there - websites claiming to be "official Gordon Ramsay cooking classes" with fake testimonials and PayPal links. The real MasterClass is only available through MasterClass.com. Any other site selling "Gordon Ramsay lessons" is not affiliated with him.

Who Benefits Most From His Teaching

His content works best for people who:

• Already cook regularly and want to refine their technique
• Love watching high-energy, no-BS instruction
• Prefer learning through video over reading
• Don’t need hands-on feedback from a live instructor

If you’re a total beginner who doesn’t know how to hold a knife, Ramsay’s style might feel intimidating. He won’t hold your hand. He’ll tell you why your knife grip is wrong - and then move on. You’ll need to figure out the rest yourself.

But if you’ve burned a few sauces, overcooked fish, or ruined a soufflé - and you’re ready to stop guessing - his methods are brutally effective. His focus on precision, timing, and ingredient quality is unmatched.

Alternatives If You Want Hands-On Classes

If you want to stand in a kitchen, chop vegetables, and get real-time feedback, Ramsay isn’t your guy. Try these instead:

• Sur La Table - Offers hands-on cooking classes nationwide in the U.S. and Canada. Classes cost $75-$150 and cover everything from pasta to dumplings.
• Cooking School of San Francisco - Runs multi-week courses with professional chefs. You leave with a certificate.
• Leiths School of Food and Wine - Based in London, this is one of the top culinary schools in the UK. Offers short courses for home cooks.
• Local community colleges - Many offer affordable cooking classes taught by retired chefs. You’ll get personalized help.

These places let you make mistakes and fix them. Ramsay doesn’t give you that luxury.

Final Verdict

Gordon Ramsay teaches cooking - but not in the way most people imagine. He doesn’t run classes. He creates content. His lessons are packaged, powerful, and meant to be watched again and again. If you want to learn from him, buy the MasterClass. Watch it. Practice. Repeat.

He’s not here to hold your apron strings. He’s here to show you what’s possible - and then leave it up to you to get there.