Gordan RAMSAY

Bumping this thread - at the time of the thread I'm not sure I'd heard of Gordon Ramsay, but now I see his name referred to fairly often - usually positively, if I remember right.

Opinions?

Chef Ramsey has become a legend and a household word. In our business, among other things, we do safety inspections on other businesses and that includes a lot of restaurants. Hubby and I got a giggle out of one French restaurant that Chef Ramsey pulled out of certain bankruptcy and put it on the road to prosperity. When he first inspected it, the kitchen was so filthy that it would make you gag. Rigged, implausible you say? Nope. We absolutely believed it. We've seen worse.

I also thought that Chef Ramseys drill sergeant/schoolyard bully act in Hell's Kitchen was mostly put on too until I asked my great niece who has gone to culinary school and has worked in some major kitchens. She says a chef who is extremely picky about quality can get just like Chef Ramsey. The show is completely believable to her.

Most people don't like either show when you first see it. But if you stick with it for a session or two, you'll be hooked.

Ramsays passion for food is top notch. His passion for people is a close second.

One of the most fun series--year before last I think--was some snooty highly trained competitors who knew all about herbs and spices etc. and looked down their noses at Julia, a waffle house fry cook with such superb cooking skills that she made the cut for the competition. Julia, scorned by the other competitors, hung in there week after week and finally was booted about 4th from the top. She simply lacked the fine skills necessary to continue. So Gordon Ramsey personally paid her tuition to send her to culinary school. I figure she'll be back.

I love Gordon Ramsay's love for his craft; his mouth I could do without. I like the Kitchen Nightmares better because he's better behaved and I just cringe when I see anyone berated the way he does it.

I saw a documentary on him and learned more about him - he's married and has two daughters and all three women adore him, so I suppose he can be gentle when he wants to.

I, too, like his passion for his craft. And when he backs somebody, he backs them.

I think I've read about him in the Guardian, or is it the Observer - one newspaper for the weekdays, one for sunday edition, or some such mishugas, and likely in the NYTimes. Seem to remember him doing a lot of good, but not the specifics of that.

I've followed bunches of chefs over the years, none of them all that intensely as some kind of mad fan, but generally following the food scene with all its pretensions, ills, sillyness, and triumphs. Which I suppose can morph from one to the other.

Oh, and my bro in law is a senior building inspector, so I've sympathy on the inspection side, aside from having been a land arch needing to approve projects per plan per contract. (No, I don't want a 32 course meal at Keller's French Laundry, thanks anyway).

I wouldn't mind dinner at Momofuku, David Chang's place in Manhattan. Fat chance.

I must be the only one to have missed watching Gordon in action. I guess it's because I watch very little television. But I have heard about his ferocious tongue lashing ways!

No, I haven't seen him either, and would probably have shut him off if I did.

Tongue lashing is all about the lasher's ego. Corrections can be made civilly and tend to take better that way. Lashing on a medium like tv? Mostly tacky. Might make me want to throw him some cockroaches.

On the other hand, I haven't seen it, so I should be quiet now.

Adding, it sounds sensationalistic, which of course usually brings a larger audience/money at the same time it coarsens the grain of discourse.

No one ever gets a tongue lashing on Iron Chef! So why must Gordon do it?