Scott Ramzer

**Scott Ramzer** is a talented chef born who has come to Los Santos in order to see what the Americans can do with their steak and food, given how good they are at wolfing it down. He shares many similarities to Mr *Gordon Wamsey.* Much like Mr Wamsey, Scott is determined to sift out the bad from the good when it comes to fine dining.

## Early Life

Scott was born in Perth, Scotland in 1980 in a house of 4 other kids. From his young life he always had a passion for creativity. When he was aged 8 he decided upon himself to try and cook breakfast before his parents were awake to make it for him. Fortunately everyone made it out of the house and the fire department was quick to respond, However destiny struck when one of the Firefighters perfectly described what Scott had burnt, Which meant he did it right but just a little too overcooked. Thus Scott Ramzer found his new calling. Entering Primary school, Scott showed an unusual crave for 'Perfection'. He excelled in his various classes but whenever it came to team exercises he would always ask for the leader position and when he didn't get it? He'd make sure that the other kids knew who should really be the leader by putting his heart and soul into every project.

It was around Year 4 when Scotts parents were called in suddenly by Scotts main teacher for the year Mrs Coulter. The meeting began with discussion on Scotts progress and willingness to try anything, however his particular skill with problem solving lead Mrs Coulter to do some digging and come to a conclusion. She simply asks the parents to watch as she swaps two chairs around, making sure to have the small dent in the carpet match with the other chair in the room, the only difference in the chairs were that one was slightly crooked on one side. She then asks Scott to walk into the room and take a seat on the chair, which is when Scott sat, Stood, and moved over directly to the replaced chair and switch the seats back around, before sitting there quietly and waiting to see what the teacher had to say.

### ADHD and Perfection

It did not take the doctors long to clearly spot Level 1 ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). Bordering on that of the second level but not quite tipping that scale. His constant movement and unwillingness to be in one place and heightened sensitivity would be the main offenders and would play a constant role in his life from hence forth. He was given pills to take in order to slow down his mind before it burns itself out, however Scott never took them (*Admitted in: "Cooked Under Pressure" -Scott Ramzer)*. Instead opting to throw them away and slowly but surely teach his mind to combat the pain and simply work with it, This would lead to a few breakdowns in his life and contemplations of 'Kicking the bucket' however Scott pulled through. Come Secondary school he was constantly top of his class and only had a few friends growing up, To put in his words "It's hard to really get a feel of people until you've seen their darkest moments. Only then do you know if you got the right seasoning" *("Up the Pass" -Thomas Keller)* however he didn't care much. As long as he had some friends he could focus on what was in front of him. However it wasn't until Year 9 that he would finally get his chance to make him the man he is today.

### Aspiring Cook

With his studies going well, it wasn't long before his fate would catch up with him again as the School (Castlebrae Community High School) held a talent show. Each student in the year was given 5 minutes to show off what they consider to be 'talent' to be marked on Creativity, Uniqueness, Skill and Passion, At first Scott was uninterested in the whole idea as he watched his various classmates begin practicing singing, dancing and even magic tricks. None of which interested the now 14 Scott. Until one day, He discovered a new part of the school that was still in it's development stages, to put it simply? It was a Cooking class. All of which still wrapped and waiting for their first year of use come summer but of course Scott had other plans. In his 2nd of currently 3 Biographies (*High Steaks, High Reward)*. He detailed how life changing the new, untampered room was, Describing it as a "Kick up the Keister I needed". For the next month, He would sneak into the room and practice his craft in secret, away from prying and judging eyes and self teach himself how not to repeat his first cooking accident.

There were a "Few Accidents here and there" but Scott has declined to indulge us as to what those actions were, jokingly stating at one point that he would have been expelled on the spot *(Entertainment Tonight Episode 631)*. When the day came for the big talent show, Scott was ready with his masterpiece. Mustard stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon with mashed potatoes and a side of asparagus to taste. He watched as the other kids danced, sang and occasionally got buzzed off the stage before it was finally his turn. At first the judges were confused at the plate that he handed to each of them until curiosity ate one of them and he/she tried a bite...Then another...Then another. Soon he/she was telling the other judges to dig in and experience the dish themselves, although only Scott recalls these events so it is unknown just how 'Taken aback they were' however a news reporter did go to Castlebrae and got the same story down to the date so the talent show at least is creditable. He did not win the Talent contest but did get the response he wanted, later he came clean about the usage of the cooking class and was given 3 weeks detention which was soon brought down to 1 given his teachers wanted him to get back to where he is most comfortable. Taking into account his ADHD and a small room it was not helping the Young Scott and so the Principal reluctantly agreed under the condition he do not use the room again until it was officially open. It's still unknown to this day if Scott kept that promise.

## "Sizzle" and "Za Za Bazar"

His first job after Secondary school and going into College would be at the Local BBQ joint known as 'Sizzle'. This was a family owned business however Scott had no prior experience ergo this was basically the only place that would accept him. Little is really known about what went on in that BBQ place over than the word of Scott himself, To explain here is an excerpt from *High Steaks, High Reward.*

"*Ay ay Ay...Where to begin here. So to tell you the truth? This place was not me at my best. That would come later and of course later on in this book ya reading so I'll try and keep it brief and simple. I stayed in that place for about a year, and learnt a lot about my ASD than I would have bargained for. Every time, And I really mean it, every fuckin' time they tried to put my on the grill? My hands would start to fuckin' BURN. And I ain't talkin' about mah hand catching fire no no I'm talking about how my senses would drive me up teh wall for the next year. Don't get me wrong I was still a bloody good cook, I just needed like 4 minute breaks between tables which YES would hold up the place but I didn't really care. When you're working in a place like that and you feel like you're above everyone else ya kinda just grin and bear it. Eventually they had enough and asked me Mam to get me a Therapist. You see Dad passed on as well god bless im' so she thought I had some depression festering inside me. Course' they found nadda, and they were forced to conclude that even though my cooking skills were class? I just couldn't continue working there until I worked out how to cut ma time down considerably. So I love em' for what they gave me opportunity wise? But I also fuckin' hate em' for throwing me out before I could learn to be better. Fun fact? They ain't even a thing anymore, Closed down about 2 years after I left. Which is of course when-" -High Steaks, High Reward Page 67 published 2015-*

However his tenure at his next restaurant is much more tangible. After 1 year to clear his head and seek his professional help regardless if he thought he needed it or not. He ended his 23rd Birthday with an Acceptance letter from one 'Za Za Bazar'. An all you can eat around the world buffet restaurant opening up in Aberdeen. He started work on the 7th of February 1998 with his own Cottage to call his own. Just for accommodation under the guise that his first pay check will bring him enough to keep the house, come service, Scott was in his element. Starting off simply with the Desert station where the only thing that he had to do was clean the plates and top up the tarts, Scott made sure they were the best tarts to come out of the Restaurant (Which was easy given it was opening night) and from there he began to rapidly gain promotions. From Deserts to Waiter, from Waiter to Bar keep until finally he got the chance he so desperately wanted. His first cooking brigade at the European table, He was in charge of the Bacon and various different Garnishes for Burgers and Great British 'Fish and Chips'. His manager at the time describes his first service as a Cook as 'Extraordinary to watch, The fire and passion literally oozing from the lad', Various different tables kept coming back to the Garnish station even to mix with the other food provided. By the end of the night, the European garnishes were more popular than the actual main menu.

The Manager knew he had a hit so promoted him again. This time to executive chef. And history was made. Scott moved from country to country, serving up plates of amazing food over and over again. To him? It didn't matter where the food came from, in the end it was just food and good food gets eated, bad food gets thrown away. So he made it his mission to put everything into anything he did to do with the Restaurant, to give it his all. And the Manager could not have been more pleased. Which is why in 2001, As he was watching the TV, the Manager had a double take at the announcement of a new series of 'Hell Itself, A restaurant based in Las Vegas that brought in scores of customers on the daily with the big seller being Gordo Ramsey. Only expecting perfection, only expecting the best of the best...And the Manager knew exactly who to call next.