How Gordon Ramsay became a megastar on TikTok by making fun of people for his cooking

Posted On: December 4, 2021

Gordon ramsay, the 54-year-old chef who can often be seen yelling and cursing on his hit cooking show “Hell’s Kitchen,” is wildly popular on TikTok, an app best known for making dancing teens famous.

Best Chef has 29.4 million followers on TikTok. That’s more than the entire population of Australia and almost three times more than his 19-year-old daughter. Tilly ramsay, who, with his 9.7 million followers, earned a spot on the show “Strictly Come Dancing.”

TikTok is primarily associated with young users, with 17-year-old Charli D’Amelio the biggest star on the platform, closely followed by 21-year-old Khaby Lame.

Ramsay may not fit the classic TikTok profile, but his popularity in the app provides important insight into the ever-evolving nature of influencers, especially on a relatively new platform. Insider spoke to fans and experts about how Ramsay managed to become such an influential TikTokker without changing his demeanor.

Ramsay’s TV Personality Is Ideal For TikTok

Ramsay’s TikTok profile is an extension of the well-known television personality that he has been building for decades. Sometimes brings their own recipesBut in most movies, the dishes that fans have prepared are completely ridiculed.

In his trademark style, Ramsay often attacks people who have asked him to rate their recipes. “Man what are you doing with that hot dog?” He yells as You put melted cheese on a frankfurter.. “This is going to drive you crazy!” He yells over a plate of chicken nuggets that is a “Italian tragedy“calls.

Ramsay fans love these 30-second videos. “The most important thing about his bond with fans like me is his comical side and his character when he breaks out with people, which makes him really funny,” says the 25-year-old tattoo artist. Farren almeida tells Insider

The clips appear to show viewers a more casual and rough version of Ramsay; You often stand in your kitchen without television lighting and dramatic sound effects. But according to internet expert Hussein Kesvani, let’s not be fooled and remember that Ramsay’s TikTok persona was carefully created.

“His team has figured out how to exploit his swearing TV persona in marketing terms,” Kesvani told Insider. “His character has been given a clear direction: dirty food,” he says, referring to the main genre on Ramsay’s channel: videos in which he denigrates someone else’s cuisine.

Ramsay’s ability to stay away from actual controversy and maintain this level of scrutiny on social media could contribute to his popularity. Although he uses crude humor, he does not cross the line by playing man. In doing so, he has struck a delicate balance that has not been found in other public figures such as British television journalist Piers Morgan, who calls Kesvani a “great example of someone who has not shaped his character online, leaving him unnecessarily aggressive. now”. “.

Morgan recently said she didn’t believe a word Meghan Markle said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey and that left Morgan with 58,000 complaints, including one from Markle himself.

Ramsay’s content is food and insult – two proven ingredients for social media success

The top influencers on TikTok always have a trick they repeat, from dancing to hilarious impersonations. Ramsay’s trick of judging other people’s dishes is in the perfect place. It’s where social media users’ obsession with posting what they eat (and rating what others eat) intersect with the raw, unpolished vibe of TikTok.

According to Kesvani, food is one of the easiest ways to engage people on social media. “We all eat and we all have our ‘food preferences,’ but the internet has created ‘a whole new genre that is primarily meant to get you out of your head,’ he explains. ‘Eating is the classic ritual of creating community spirit, a food photo is the classic way of engaging the online community. “

Ramsay’s food videos are part of a “beledigingscultuurthat exists on social media. In the past five years, famous people like Chrissy teigen on James Blunt he made a real sport by poking fun at politicians, stars and presenters in “an epic way.”

But Ramsay’s insults are light compared to the heated political debates taking place on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. The interactions Ramsay has with his followers on TikTok have clear boundaries and both sides seem to see a lot of fun in it. It is highly unlikely that someone will really feel attacked if their food is diverted because everyone knows what to expect.

Ramsay’s appeal is a sign that TikTok is expanding its user base

TikTok is known for its young users, but Ramsay’s long career and fame is what drives success on the platform. Journalist Chris Stokel-Walker, who wrote the book “TikTok Boom: China Dynamite App and the Superpower Race for Social Media,” tells Insider that 61 percent of Ramsay’s followers on TikTok are over 25 years old.

Ramsay’s success may be related to TikTok’s efforts to tap into a broader user base. “When I spoke to TikTok, they were very eager to point out that they now have older users and that two-thirds of all profiles are from people over the age of 25,” Stokel-Walker said.

In a statement to Insider, TikTok notes the popularity of the app among different age groups, which is also reflected in its advertising policy. British television commercials have featured 64-year-old actor Stephen Fry and the television duo “Ant & Dec” (Antony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly), who were particularly popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The app also seems to encourage new users to follow Ramsay (for some users, including the author of this article, his profile is the first recommended account to follow after downloading TikTok in the UK).

Users signing up for the platform for the first time will receive recommendations from “popular accounts and creators, to get started,” Michael Djan, who covers UK collaborations and celebrities on TikTok, told Insider. According to him, the algorithm rewards content that is “current, engaging, and appeals to our community that wants to be entertained.”

“For those new to TikTok and perhaps a little unsure what the medium is about, Ramsay is a recognizable face of traditional television. They know exactly what to expect from him,” Stokel-Walker said.

“If he is one of the first accounts that you will follow after downloading the application, then you can be sure that he will not immediately be faced with annoying content or things that he does not understand.”