Gordon Ramsay's Key Ingredients For A Perfect Grilled Cheese - Exclusive

Play along, for a hot second. One of these days, all of our celebrity chefs should compete against each other in a new culinary competition dedicated not to cupcakes nor to grocery games but to being crowned the official master of grilled cheese. Mayor of Flavortown Guy Fieri would, of course, be hard to beat in this theoretical showdown. Who but he would think to add mac and cheese to an already cheesy sandwich as he did as part of his partnership with King's Hawaiian, per Forbes?

Giada de Laurentiis certainly would not. The Italian chef would likely approach the competition from a distinctly acidic angle. Laurentiis, after all, is known for integrating thinly sliced lemons into her grilled parmesan and mozzarella sandwiches, via Giadzy. Her bestie Bobby Flay would take a different track altogether. His version of the classic grilled sandwich, which he explained on his podcast, "Always Hungry With Bobby Flay and Sophie Flay," includes cheddar, fontina, and goat cheeses seasoned with a healthy dose of salt and pepper. 

As for Gordon Ramsay? The Michelin-starred chef is no novice to the grilled cheese game, either. In fact, he gave Tasting Table the keys to his "perfect" grilled cheese in an exclusive interview.

Forget lemon slices and mac and cheese. "My perfect grilled cheese would be two slices of sourdough bread," Ramsay exclusively told Tasting Table. "I would get them briefly done, drizzled [with a] touch of olive oil." Nothing too out-of-the-box so far, right? (For the record, the celeb chef's rival, Bobby Flay, is a fan of using butter, as he revealed on "Always Hungry.") Ramsay, however, distinguishes himself in the grilled cheese game by elevating his sandwich with meat — and, more specifically, beef. "I would get some braised short rib and spread the braised short rib over one side," Ramsay revealed.

The "Hell's Kitchen" host's cheese of choice is also different from his fellow celeb chefs' selections. "I would get an amazing cheese I lived on in France when I was living in the mountains called comté," Ramsay detailed. "It's this beautiful Savoie, rich cheese. Sandwich that, and then grill it — braised short rib and melted comté. Beautiful. Done."