Star Chef Gordon Ramsay: "Korean Dining Market Competitive... Premiumization Strategy Successful"

Gordon Ramsay Burger 1st Anniversary Visit to Korea
"I Want to Feel Korea's Unique Energy Again"

Chef Gordon Ramsay is meeting with reporters for an interview on the 10th at the Gordon Ramsay Burger store in Lotte World Mall, Jamsil, Seoul. Photo by Gordon Ramsay Korea

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] “I was very pleased to see a line of 50 to 60 meters outside the store. Gordon Ramsay Burger's premium strategy has been successful in the Korean market.”

On the morning of the 10th, British star chef Gordon Ramsay met with reporters at the Gordon Ramsay Burger store in Lotte World Mall, Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, and evaluated the past year of business in Korea in this way.

He said, “Customers give feedback immediately if they don’t like something, and I was happy to see lines outside the store,” adding, “Burgers can be easily made frozen, but I believe the premium strategy was successful.”

Gordon Ramsay established the dining company Gordon Ramsay Group in 1997 and currently operates 57 restaurants in 11 countries including Korea, the United States, France, and Singapore.

Earlier this year, he partnered with Jingyeong Industry to open a premium handmade burger specialty store, Gordon Ramsay Burger, in Lotte World Mall, challenging the domestic handmade burger market. Despite the most expensive menu item costing around 140,000 won, the store is thriving with monthly sales of 1 billion won.

Regarding pioneering the premium burger market in Korea, Gordon Ramsay explained, “I wanted to make an impact when opening the first store in Korea. Our values aligned with our partner Jingyeong Industry, which allowed us to premiumize the burger.” He added, “Seoul is a highly competitive market. We strengthened competitiveness by using special buns and the finest butter.”

He continued, “My ambition is to elevate ordinary burgers to a premium level,” adding, “Just as chefs from various countries want to create their own delicious and influential burgers, I wanted to infuse Gordon Ramsay’s DNA into the burger, which meant pursuing sophisticated quality above all.”

This visit marks his first trip to Korea in five years since 2017. He stated, “I came back because I wanted to experience the energy and trendy atmosphere I felt in Korea in 2017.”

Riding on the success of the burger, Gordon Ramsay opened 'Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza' in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on the 28th of last month. It is a casual pizza restaurant and the second store in Asia after the Dubai location. It operates in a way that allows unlimited consumption of six different pizzas over 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Regarding the reason for opening Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza, he said, “To enjoy freshly made pizza deliciously,” adding, “Pizza is hot for 2 to 3 minutes after coming out, then cools and hardens, but at Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza, you can continuously enjoy fresh and tasty pizza.”

When asked why he specifically opened a store in Korea, he explained, “Having experienced Korean food over the past 15 to 20 years, I thought its flavors were unique. I wanted to introduce a store that has been very successful in London to Korea as well,” adding, “Rather than starting in a market with low potential, I wanted to make a big impact here and gradually expand.”

In response to criticism that the toppings on Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza are insufficient, he replied, “The most delicious pizzas don’t have a lot of toppings. The balance and harmony between the toppings and the delicious dough are important.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.