Here’s how Gordon Ramsay’s most famous catchphrase – “It’s raw” – has been immortalized in meme form. Cantankerous British chef Gordon Ramsay rose to fame as the host of several culinary-focused reality shows such as Hell’s Kitchen and MasterChef alongside programs like Kitchen Nightmares and Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours To Hell And Back, which see him try to turn around the fates of failing restaurants. It was on such shows that Ramsay gained infamy for his fiery temper, acid tongue and tendency to swear a lot.
It’s a widely known fact that Gordon Ramsay isn’t one to hold back when it comes to voicing his displeasure over improperly prepared food – a habit that has produced some hilarious and colorful insults. On Hell’s Kitchen, Ramsay once compared a contestant’s attempt at a stuffed chicken breast to a “dehydrated camel’s t**d” and told another her overcooked Dover sole looked like “Gandhi’s flip flop.” While filming an episode of Kitchen Nightmares at a Miami restaurant in 2010, a cook messed up a Caesar salad so badly it promoted Ramsay to proclaim “My gran could do better. And she’s dead.”
Considering the worrying amount of undercooked food Gordon Ramsay comes across, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the words “It’s raw” form his most famous catchphrase. It seems as though the chef has uttered those words or some variation of them - usually peppered with an expletive or two - on pretty much every show he’s hosted. He’s gotten rather creative with his catchphrase over the years too, throwing out insults like “This f***ing pigeon’s that raw it can still fly” and describing a lamb cutlet as “So raw it’s still got its wool on it.”
Gordon Ramsay’s most famous phrase has inspired many a meme too. Beyond a plethora of memes featuring an angry-faced Ramsay emblazoned with the words “It’s raw” the meme-making community has combined the chef’s slogan with references to pop culture too – like the hilarious Lion King-themed “The pork is so raw it’s still singing Hakuna Matata” or the Finding Nemo-inspired “That fish is so raw it’s still looking for its son.” One genius YouTuber named NorbJr even replaced every dinosaur roar in the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom trailer with Ramsay uttering “raw.”
Of course, it was only a matter of time before Gordon Ramsay’s own catchphrase got thrown back in his face. When the chef shared a picture of some very pink-looking chateaubriand made at his Maze Grill restaurant in London via Twitter, he was met with a chorus of “It’s raw” and “That meat is still mooing.”