EXCLUSIVE: “I have to say, I wish you could see our Instagram DM chat, because we just send each other memes of him,” Tilly Ramsay tells me of her famous dad Gordon.
We’ve connected over video calls from her base in London and mine in Sydney to discuss her new serveware collection with Royal Doulton.
But I can’t help asking the bubbly chef, 24, if her food icon father, 59, has seen the many viral clips and memes he features in from his many years on TV.
Watch the videos above.
One such video shows the respected chef and restaurater screaming at adults and hurling insults, then being nothing but sweet to kids on various cooking shows as they try to get through the challenges.
“Dad sent me a thing from, like, Food Club Fox. It’s a compilation of him screaming in the kitchen… I think now our algorithm just brings up loads of memes of him,” Tilly, who is following in her father’s footsteps, tells nine.com.au.
“But he finds it quite funny and he’s like, ‘Did I really say that?’ half the time, he’s like, ‘That’s not me’.”
READ MORE: Singer who toured with Cody Simpson and One Direction dies at 26
READ MORE: Riverdale star Lili Reinhart reveals her shock health diagnosis
READ MORE: Hugh Jackman candidly reflects on skin cancer battle
In another viral video, Tilly roasts Gordon with a Jamie Oliver dig after he asked, “What’s it like being the daughter to the best chef in the world?”
“But Jamie Oliver is not my dad!” she cheekily shoots back.
Touching on her close bond with her dad, Tilly jokes, “Mum [Tana Ramsay] and I actually describe us as the male/female version of each other, so I don’t know if that’s a good thing!”
“I don’t quite have … maybe not the temperament side in the kitchen. But we get on so well, and I think being able to share a passion with your dad is something that’s really quite special.
“And by no means has he ever told me, ‘This is what you should do’.”
When Tilly told her parents she wants to persue her passion for cooking and go to culinary school, she says her famous dad revealed his soft side and teared up.
“Being able to share a passion with your dad is something that’s really quite special.”
“I said, ‘I’ve decided I’m going to do this. I’ve got a place. I hope you’re OK with it’. I think there was a couple of tears in his eyes,” she explains.
“He was super happy to know that I really enjoy what I’ve been doing. And I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside him and get some amazing opportunities to be with him.”
She adds every doting parent would no doubt love to hear: “Working together is a dream.”
Tilly also revealed the best piece of advice her father gave her before she went to culinary school, when they went shopping together for her chef’s uniform and had some lunch.
“Never be afraid of mistakes, and don’t hide them, just learn from them. And don’t give up. If something goes wrong, don’t just stop there,” she says her father told her.
“And he said, ‘Sometimes the best things, the best creations in a kitchen, or the best learning comes from a mistake’.
“So I think I went into culinary school not being afraid to mess things up or ask those questions.
“But he does finish up by saying don’t make the same mistake twice!”
Tilly says her stylish new collection for Royal Doulton, which includes dinnerware like bowls and plates and mugs in a series of eye-catching pastels, was a “real passion project”.
It took about two years to come to fuitition, and she was at university at the same time.
For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
“I wanted to translate something that was fun and bought kind of life to the dinner table,” she says.
“I’m quite a bubbly – some would probably say loud, my parents would say loud – person. I definitely wanted to change it up from quite neutral-coloured plates, to something a little bit younger, a bit more fun.
“The decorations on the plates was to slightly change it up. The main idea behind this was just bringing some fun to the dinner table and using colours that really complement food.”
She said her mealtimes growing up in her family – six kids, plus Gordon and Tana – is “something [she] will always remember”, and no doubt other families can come together for a meal using her collection.
One of Tilly’s favourite piece is the mug, which she says is ideal for a cup of tea.
“I drink countless cups of tea a day!” she says.
“I was feeling all the different mugs in the factory like, ‘Hmmm, that’s not the one I want’, and then I was like, ‘This is it, that’s the one!'”
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
