Exclusive: Gordon Ramsay on what it takes to run his first Malaysian restaurant

Ramsay is blown away by the reception his first Malaysian restaurant has received, calling it "off-the-charts" and "unprecedented". — Photo: AZMAN GHANI/The Star

On a sunny Thursday morning, I find myself sitting across from the legendary Gordon Ramsay who is in Kuala Lumpur for a single, solitary day. This is also his first time seeing his Malaysian outpost – Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill – in real life.

Yet, already tales of his ferocious work ethic have emerged, whispered about among staff in awe of his enthusiasm and seemingly bottomless energy. This is after all a man who arrived at 11pm the night before after a 15-hour flight and yet carved out time to visit the restaurant that very night and was wide awake at 6am and as fresh as a daisy when I met him in the flesh later that morning.