We Tasted Every Gordon Ramsay Frozen Food

Before we talk about the new line of Gordon Ramsay frozen food, let me just say that I really love Gordon Ramsay. A British guy who cooks well, screams at everyone, and calls people “donkeys?” Yes! Right up my alley, or whatever cute, quaint thing British people say instead. Anyway, I also happen to love frozen food, so being assigned our taste test of these new Chef Ramsay meals felt like kismet, even though I make the tasting assignments—be your own hero, ladies. 

We got our hands on (almost) all of the Gordon Ramsay frozen food that’s currently on the market, including the Gordon Ramsay chicken pot pie and the Gordon Ramsay shepherd’s pie (the mushroom risotto is the only thing we didn’t find). I cooked each one according to the instructions on the back of the box—if using the oven or air fryer was recommended, that’s what I went with. Otherwise, these went in the ol’ microwave to save time. 

If you were excited about these Chef Ramsay meals and appetizers as I was, there’s some harsh info ahead. But read on for the best (and worst) of what everyone’s favorite craggy-faced chef is slinging in the frozen aisle at Walmart.

Chef Ramsay!

I will admit that I am not an expert on frozen crab cakes, but I can’t imagine these would be considered “good” by frozen crab cakes connoisseurs (or Gordon Ramsay). The breading is nice because it’s crunchy and oily (but not overly so), but the crab is stringy and mushy. As the cakes cool, the filling starts to congeal into something even more unpleasant. You do get a little bit of flavor and sweetness from the diced bell peppers in the mix, but it isn’t enough to overcome the overall experience of eating these. I didn’t get any shell in the bites I took, but that’s about the nicest thing I can say about this Gordon Ramsay frozen food!

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

4.5/10

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Chef Ramsay!

A lot of people search the internet for “Gordon Ramsay shepherd’s pie,” probably because they are looking for a recipe, which I assume is quite good. If a UK-bred chef is going to be good at making something, it should be shepherd’s pie, right? Well, if you’re up for making Gordo’s recipe from scratch, you should probably do that, because I seriously doubt this Chef Ramsay frozen version will hit the spot. It’s incredibly greasy. It’s more like an oily sauce than an actual meal. I wrote in my notes that it “looks like dog barf,” which I wasn’t going to actually publish, but, hey, Chef Ramsay doesn’t hold back, so why should I? If you’re intent on trying Gordon Ramsay frozen food, try something other than this. (Also, technically this is cottage pie because it’s made with beef rather than lamb.)

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

5/10

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Chef Ramsay!

These little beef-stuffed pastry bites come so close to actually being good. Yes, the puff pastry becomes one with your air fryer basket (it basically sinks into the grates as it cooks, making it impossible to get these out of the air fryer in one piece), but it tastes extremely good—buttery and flaky. I also love the moist, savory mushroom duxelles in the filling. Honestly, I wish the filling was made of mushrooms alone because the beef part of the beef wellington is pretty heinous. The bits of meat are gray, chewy, and gristly. I got an enormous piece of gristle in one of these—could have been bad luck, but it was only my second bite, which doesn’t bode well. Anyway, the flavor is good, but the overall eating experience is not. Bite-size beef wellington is such a fun concept, but the execution of this Gordon Ramsay frozen appetizer is off.

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

5.5/10

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Chef Ramsay!

Gordon, I love ya, but I don’t know why you would make a less good version of Pizza Rolls. Pizza Rolls are so good! These do have a nice, crispy, light exterior, but they’re around twice the size of the Pizza Rolls you know and love and the filling doesn’t taste good enough to justify there being twice as much of it. And even though the exterior is nice upon first bite, it all turns a bit gluey in your mouth as you chew.

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

6.5/10

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Chef Ramsay!

I really like the breading on these little fried chicken bites—it’s nice and oily but with that flaky, floury sort of quality you get from chicken karaage. These come with a packet of Korean-inspired sauce (you toss the chicken in the sauce after the chicken is cooked) and it’s good! It’s tangy, a little sweet, and has a good amount of heat. The problem with this Gordon Ramsay frozen appetizer is that the chicken itself is just not very good. It emerged from our air fryer dry and almost completely flavorless. Plus, some of the chicken morsels are so small it’s impossible to tell if they are chicken or just breading. The breading, delicate and pleasant as it is, just doesn’t really hold up to the sauce either.

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

6.5/10

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Chef Ramsay!

This Chef Ramsay frozen meal isn’t bad, it’s just so mediocre. I know from good frozen mac and cheese and this just ain’t it. It’s bland. The sauce separates and tastes a little bit floury, but all in all this certainly benefits from being pasta covered with cheese. But I think we all expected more from Gordon Ramsay frozen food.  

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

7/10

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Chef Ramsay!

As soon as I looked at the breaded, fried fish in this Gordon Ramsay frozen meal I could tell the breading was too thick. I was right, and I don’t think that’s just a matter of taste. Not only is the breading thick, it also comes out so dry in the air fryer (the recommended cooking method). I almost never say this, but both the fish and the chips in this meal could use some damn grease—it’s part of what makes fish and chips good. When I wipe my hands on my pants like an animal after taking a bite, I want to see stains! The fish hidden in all that breading is pretty good—flaky and well seasoned—but I didn’t particularly care for the french fries, which are fat and potatoey and not terribly flavorful. This Gordon Ramsay frozen dinner would definitely be better if it were doused in malt vinegar, but it just doesn’t have that luscious, oily quality that makes fish and chips so satisfying. 

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

7/10

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Chef Ramsay!

Now we’re getting to the good (or at least much better) stuff. This slow-roasted beef entree is swimming in a gravy that tastes very good and savory, with a nice beef bourguignon sort of flavor. One criticism I have is that there are a lot of mushrooms in the image on the box but almost no mushrooms in the meal. The little pearl onions are a nice touch and make up for the lack of mushrooms to an extent—at least they add some moisture, which the beef itself sorely needs. I microwaved this Chef Ramsay meal for five and a half minutes, which was the low end of the suggested timing, and the beef was very done. I genuinely like stew beef and wouldn’t hate eating this again, but my colleague Jordan Myrick suggested this Gordon Ramsay frozen dinner may have been more delicious if it were made with chicken thighs instead of beef, and I think they’re onto something.  

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

7.5/10

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Chef Ramsay!

This was the best of the Gordon Ramsay frozen appetizers we tried. The breading is light and flaky and has a nice, freshly fried flavor, like it came from the kitchen of a pretty good sports bar. The cheese is salty and squeaky. We’ve had some pretty disappointing fried cheese in our taste tests, but these little guys are totally adequate. We’ll take it! 

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

8/10

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Chef Ramsay!

If you see this box and you’re like, “Yes, chicken piccata, got it,” you might be surprised to discover that this Gordon Ramsay frozen meal is actually made with a very fat-ass chicken breast rather than something resembling scaloppine. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen a piece of chicken this fat in a microwavable meal, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t work. We cooked this in the microwave and although that meant the breading didn’t really crisp up all that well, the chicken turned out nice and juicy. The lemon-caper sauce is gloopy, but tastes good with the chicken. The broccoli, unfortunately, is practically pulverized and turns to mush once it’s cooked. Still, if you cut this all up and mix it all together, it tastes pretty good.

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

8.5/10

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Chef Ramsay!

If you’re coming to this Gordon Ramsay frozen food for the bolognese, turn back now. There’s some meat in the sauce, but calling it bolognese feels like a stretch. But if you’re picking up this Chef Ramsay meal at Walmart because you like a tasty ricotta filling, this lasagna will hit the spot. It’s rich and packed with herbs and, best of all, there’s a lot of it. Frozen lasagna can be so dry. Gordon Ramsay’s frozen lasagna is not. Thanks, chef. 

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

8.5/10

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Chef Ramsay!

“Gordon Ramsay chicken pot pie” is another recipe a lot of people seek out online. I’m sure that chicken pot pie is exquisite, because this frozen version is very good, which is saying a lot for a frozen meal. We cooked this one in the oven and the crust came out crispy, flaky, golden brown, and very buttery tasting. The filling is salty but good. You get a lot of nice, white meat chicken in a very creamy, rich gravy, along with peas and carrots. It’s all very buttery, very simple, and very satisfying. Of all the Gordon Ramsay frozen food we tried, this was the standout. Buy this or Gordon Ramsay will come to your house and call you a donkey.

Credit: Merc / Chef Ramsay

Rating:

9.5/10

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