Gordon Ramsay mini-me has taste for success as solo chef
Gordon Ramsay once described him as his “minime”. But George Lyon, a small-town cook from Yorkshire, has bigger ambitions beyond merely resembling the famous chef.
For eight years, he worked for Ramsay’s restaurant group in the UK to hone his skills in the kitchen. Now, he’s hoping to unleash his wealth of experience as the head chef of Broadway, the newly opened restaurant at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental.
“I have no relation to him whatsoever, I just look like him,” Lyon tells The National with a chuckle, adding: “But that certainly didn’t give me the upper hand in his kitchen.”
Lyon’s culinary journey started when he was 13 at a restaurant in his hometown as a pot washer. Eager to break into actual cooking, he regularly put in overtime.
“It started with working Friday evenings and Saturdays that turned into skipping school,” Lyon recalls. “From that point on, I just fell in love with the kitchen, and working with people who had so much life experience. I knew I wanted to get out of Barnsley.”
In 2011, he moved to London for a 12-hour trial shift at The Savoy Grill, owned by Ramsay.
“It was very tough,” he says, but adds Ramsay is nothing like his fiery television persona. The Scottish chef, whose restaurants have been awarded 17 Michelin stars, has a notoriously no-nonsense approach in the kitchen.
“He wouldn’t have staff behind the scenes if he was anything like how he is on television,” says Lyon, who describes Ramsay as “charismatic, caring and a great leader”.
Ramsay trusted his team to carry his name, meaning everyone was motivated to do their best, he says.
A few years later, Lyon became head chef at London House, another one of Ramsay’s famed venues.
“He really shaped my future,” Lyon says. “You work hard and you learn – sometimes it’s the hard way, sometimes it’s the easy way. Diamonds are made under pressure.”
It was during his stint at London House, where he worked closely with Ramsay, that people started noticing their physical resemblance, even prompting the famous chef to call him his “mini-me” on X.
“It became a running joke at the restaurant, but
I didn’t want people to think I got the position because I look like Gordon,” Lyon says. Ramsay was clear about how he respected him for his work at his restaurants, he adds.
“I don’t think that would’ve changed just because we can have a laugh about looking alike,” he says.
When asked whether he sees the resemblance himself, Lyon takes a long pause, before saying: “Yes and no.”
He adds: “But it’s fun, and it is what it is. It doesn’t bother me. People think I’m related to him, but I’m really not. He’s a great guy with a big heart, and I’ve learnt so much from my years working at his restaurant.”
After five years at London House, Lyon spent a year at Ramsay’s Maze, before moving to a private members club in Mayfair where he worked for four years.
He moved to Abu Dhabi in September to join Broadway as head chef. The modern brasserie serves British comfort food with an American twist.
It is also hosting three-course after-show dinners on Fridays and Saturdays as part of the ongoing theatre residency by British magician DMC, who is the star of the Netflix series Death by Magic.
“I want it to be a place where people go to have fun, while eating great food and experiencing great service,” he says. The social aspect of dining is palpable in the venue’s sleek setup, with a prominent bar at the heart of it. On the menu are British and American classics such as tater tots, smashed burgers and beef Wellington (Ramsay’s signature), as well as desserts such as sticky toffee pudding and chocolate peanut butter tarts. Since moving to the UAE with his family, Lyon has been fascinated with the capital’s flourishing restaurant scene. “Abu Dhabi is up and coming, and that’s why I chose to move here,” he says. And although he looks up to Ramsay’s decorated career in the kitchen and as a restauranteur, Lyon says he’s not necessarily chasing accolades for Broadway. He adds: “It is all about great food, great service and great ambience. I think that’s what good restaurants are all about, and that’s what we want to be.”
It became a running joke ... but I didn’t want people to think I got the position because I look like Gordon
GEORGE LYON Chef