Chef Gordon Ramsay's empire has had one success after another with a dozen restaurants in London alone. Ramsay was noticed as head chef at Aubergine off the King's Road in Chelsea, acquiring two Michelin stars by 1997. The first restaurant bearing the Gordon Ramsay name opened nearby in 1998 along the River Thames in Chelsea at the site of a local favorite, formerly La Tante Claire, where Ramsey had worked previously. By 2001, he was making history on the culinary map as the first Scottish chef to win three Michelin stars, and five years later, he was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II. A dozen openings, including the Savoy Hotel, and some closings, notably Claridge's in June 2013, have been the story of the TV cooking celebrity's stamp on London.
