The Impressive Guinness World Record Held By Gordon Ramsay

There's more to Gordon Ramsay than what you see on television. The celebrity chef owns over 80 restaurants around the world, has earned 17 Michelin stars, and has published several bestselling cookbooks. He is also the face of multiple cookware lines and, of course, stars in a dozen different television shows, such as the legendary "Hell's Kitchen" and "MasterChef." While many of us have become accustomed to seeing the British chef on our screens, not everyone is aware of one of his most unique achievements: Holding the Guinness World Record for making the world's largest beef Wellington.

In June 2023, Ramsay teamed up with American chef Nick DiGiovanni to craft the mammoth meal. The dish, which is popular in Britain, weighed a total of 56.79 lbs — about 53 lbs more than an average beef Wellington. For further context, Ramsay and DiGiovanni's creation weighed roughly the same as a large microwave or a 65-inch television (with a TV stand). That is a considerable amount of meat, and it took a great deal of culinary artistry to put together.

The colossal beef Wellington dish was prepared in Boston using Ramsay's original recipe, which includes mushrooms, prosciutto, and the classic puff pastry wrapping for which the dish is best known for. To ensure that the beef Wellington met his high standards, Ramsay carried out a taste test before the adjudicator was called in.

To start, the chefs fused five striploins of beef together using meat glue. DiGiovanni then sliced some imported Spanish prosciutto, while another chef on his team, known as The Golden Balance, made the duxelles with mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme. Next, the team cooked the meat in a giant sous vide bath for 10 hours before searing it and coating it with seasonings and mustard. Finally, the team rolled out the puff pastry, topped it with crêpes to prevent leaking, and layered it with the prosciutto and duxelles, which was carefully wrapped around the meat. The beef Wellington was cooked in a giant walk-in oven and served with Ramsay's signature sauce.

Upon completion of the dish, the chefs were impressed by how it turned out. They celebrated with champagne and confetti after officially receiving their Guinness World Records certificate. Although the pair didn't reveal what they did with the rest of the Wellington, they certainly had more than a few days' worth of leftovers on their hands.