“I actually saw a tear in his eye once and thought, ‘F me, Gordon Ramsay has feelings.'”
Lisa Vanderpump has been a fixture on TV for nearly 15 years. And now the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star—who began broadcasting her restaurant empire and the staff’s messy personal lives in 2013—is giving fans an even closer look at her hospitality expertise.
Vanderpump is going head-to-head with longtime friend and rival Gordon Ramsay for the second season of his Fox series, Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars—and she’s giving him quite a run for his money. There won’t be any “idiot sandwich” insults, she promises.
Delish sat down with the Bravolebrity to discuss what went down behind the scenes during Food Stars, including an upcoming episode featuring Delish’s very own Executive Content Editor Carissa Tozzi and Food Director Robert Seixas as judges.
Delish: Tell me about your relationship with Gordon Ramsay? Were you guys friends before the show?
Lisa Vanderpump: Well, more importantly, were we friends after the show? Yes, we knew each other quite well, because we’d often do press together for Caesar’s Palace. We have restaurants that are next to each other in Lake Tahoe, two in Vegas. And we’re already opening at the Flamingo this year in separate restaurants.
So we’ve always been a little bit competitive, but we’re also both Brits and I have the utmost respect for what he’s achieved in his life. He truly is so driven, so talented, so precise in everything. And so not annoying how competitive he was with me that I just really did everything I could to beat him.
Are you guys closer after working together on Food Stars?
We worked for two months everyday together, laughing, bantering, arguing. It was a very intense relationship. We definitely got very close. We were good friends before and we’re probably even closer now. There’s definitely a lot of playful banter that went on, but ultimately it was a survival of the fittest, and it was a competition.
We [mentored] each of our teams in different ways. I wasn’t making idiot sandwiches. But Gordon is very smart and we had to both be on our A games to beat each other. I think we both met our match, which I think made it very interesting. We had a great relationship on set, albeit competitive. Sometimes we would actually get in trouble for messing about so much. We took it seriously [though] because there was a lot at stake as well. There was $250,000 for these young people to develop their businesses.
Who do you think is more competitive, you or Gordon?
I would say him, but when I started this competition, I think it also became personal to me. Normally, I’m not competitive as a woman. I think you saw that on [The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills]. I’m not really. I’m all about being the best you can be. But in this competition, I wanted to f-ing kick him in the ass.
How would you describe the episode with Delish editors?
Stressful, challenging—with everything that came with it—and it was fun.
What were some of your biggest takeaways from the Delish challenge?
I was very proud of my team and [their] growth. When people are suddenly pushed up against challenges they’re not used to … in this case, presenting that recipe, it’s about how they rose to the challenge. The worst thing about it is when you’re watching them and you can’t tell them what to do. They have to make their own mistakes, and that can be quite difficult as a mentor.
Which show has more drama, Food Stars or Vanderpump Rules?
Well, the emotional component is important as is the financial component. [Food Stars] has a bit of both. They were trying to take their business to the end, get the spotlight shown on it, and take home $250,000. There was a lot of pressure on them. They were away from home, they were out of their environment. I think there’s drama in different ways, [but] there’s room for both shows.
Do you think fans are going to see you in a different light in this new series?
Oh, definitely! I don’t think we see much of the business [side] on Vanderpump Rules. In Vanderpump Villa we’re trying to organize things, but this is a lot about business metrics as well. I quite like doing that because I don’t have nearly enough of that in my shows even though I’m a producer. There’s not really room for seeing how difficult it is to run and create a business and what you have to go up against.
Are you going to see a different side of Gordon? Absolutely. To the point that a couple times I actually said, “Are you going soft on me Gordon?” I actually saw a tear in his eye once and thought, “F me, Gordon Ramsay has feelings.”
Katie and Ariana just opened their new sandwich shop, Something About Her. What is your advice for them ? What do you think they need to do to succeed?
Well, I haven’t really seen it lately because I’ve been away. I’ve been in Lake Tahoe, I’ve been in New York for a few days, I’ve been in Las Vegas for a few days. Everyone’s seen me everywhere. But I think in business you have to adjust, you’ve got to adapt. I don’t think anybody can really judge a new business in new business in hospitality until it’s been open at least a couple weeks because we don’t even tell anybody when we’re open. We’re practicing on people and you need a bit of that.
I think they’ve got to really just adapt. If something’s not selling, cut it, you need to let it go. I think that was the point of Food Stars as well, it’s pivot. If this is not working, pivot. I also think until it’s settled down you need to be there 24/7. Work hard.
Watch season 2 of Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars now on Fox.
