Gordon Ramsay has shared the reasoning behind his decision to have his children travel in economy class while he and his wife enjoy first class.
For children with famous parents, one might expect that they’d share in the luxuries their parents can afford. However, Gordon Ramsay, renowned for his culinary expertise, appears to think differently.
The celebrity chef, who is 58, has a large family with his wife Tana, whom he married in 1996. Together, they have six children: Megan, who is 26, followed by twins Holly and Jack, both aged 25. Then there’s Tilly, born in 2001, and their sons Oscar, who joined the family in 2019, and Jesse James, born in 2023.
Due to Ramsay’s commitments in the United States with shows like “Hell’s Kitchen,” “MasterChef,” and “Kitchen Nightmares,” the family often splits their time between the UK and Los Angeles.
In a conversation with The Sun in 2021, Ramsay mentioned that when traveling, he and Tana opt for first class while their children fly economy.
He elaborated: “When it comes to holidays, I told them, ‘Don’t you dare waste that f****** money flying first class from here to New York.”
He continued by saying, “We all f****** take off together, we all land together. Think what else [you can] do with money.”
“When they ask if they can pop up to us for some nice food, we say ‘No you f***ing can’t’, so now they take their own picnics on board, and they’re absolutely fine in economy.”
He added, “I mean, what 14-year-old needs to sit in a reclining chair?”
Ramsay explained that the main reason for this rule is to ensure his children remain grounded. He emphasized, “It’s so important to [my wife] Tana and I that they stay seriously grounded and motivated.”
This stance is not new for Ramsay. In a 2017 interview with The Telegraph, he shared that his children don’t fly first class because they “haven’t worked anywhere near hard enough to afford it” and “they do not need the space.”
After his stance drew attention, Ramsay defended his decision in an interview with The Mirror: “I do not want them sat there with a 10-course f***ing menu with champagne. I am not embarrassed. It is my wife [Tana] and I’s choice to discipline them and to keep them real.”
This approach isn’t unique to Ramsay. Singer Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field also follow a similar rule for their four children.
Ayda, speaking in 2013 to the Sunday Times, expressed, “My kids fly economy whenever we fly. I turn left, and they turn right. That’s terrible. I mean, people will think I’m such a d***.”
“There’s no interest in raising brats. My kids will know [economy] is where they will sit in a plane until they can pay to put themselves in a different part of the plane.”