http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE55828Y20090609?feedType=RS
Quote
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Foul-mouthed British chef Gordon Ramsay was rebuked on Tuesday by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who said the celebrity reflected "a new form of low life" for insulting a high-profile female television reporter. Ramsay sparked the latest row on Saturday when he showed a food-fair audience a photo of a nude woman on all fours, with multiple breasts and a pig's face, and said the image was of Australian television journalist Tracy Grimshaw. Grimshaw, who had interviewed Ramsay the previous night on her national current affairs program, hit back by describing Ramsay as an "arrogant narcissist" and "bully," with Rudd backing Grimshaw on Tuesday. "All I could describe his remarks as reflecting is a new form of low life. I just think that's off, and offensive. Good on Tracy Grimshaw for coming out and giving him a left upper cut," Rudd told Australian radio. Ramsay, the star of reality programs such as Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares which showcase his hot temper, foul language and fine cooking skills, is no stranger to controversy in Australia. In 2008 he prompted a flood of complaints and a parliamentary review of broadcasting guidelines after an episode of Kitchen Nightmares in which he used a four-letter expletive more than 80 times in 40 minutes. After the episode in early 2008, parliament told the television networks to review the way they rate programs and how they consider coarse language. (Reporting by James Grubel)
I'm mostly amused that they felt this was worthy of an article. While they usually don't do it in front of cameras, chefs can have some of the worst foul mouths out there- meeting Georges Perrier when my uncle was working for him was somewhat of an eye-opener. :D
Ramsay impresses me in his ability to insult you in most innovative ways while looking you straight in the eyes an inch away from your face without blinking.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 10, 2009, 06:53:46 AM
Ramsay impresses me in his ability to insult you in most innovative ways while looking you straight in the eyes an inch away from your face without blinking.
It seems a lot of chefs have a talent either for insulting or intimidating. My uncle had a suddenly-former-dishwasher come at him with a frying pan over getting fired for talking on his cell phone at work only to find himself looking at the business end of the largest knife in the kitchen.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 10, 2009, 06:53:46 AM
Ramsay impresses me in his ability to insult you in most innovative ways while looking you straight in the eyes an inch away from your face without blinking.
He just called some chick "an ugly lesbian" (she wasn't either). That's not innovative even by Languish standards.
Never watched Hells Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmare have you?
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 10, 2009, 07:41:18 AM
Never watched Hells Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmare have you?
Only retards watch that sort of shit. Martinus' brain might be defective, but his intellect isn't.
Quote from: Neil on June 10, 2009, 08:12:26 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 10, 2009, 07:41:18 AM
Never watched Hells Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmare have you?
Only retards watch that sort of shit. Martinus' brain might be defective, but his intellect isn't.
I find Gordon Ramsay mildly entertaining. It's the kind of show I might have on the TV while I do something else.
I like him on the show where he takes over some kitchen of a restaurant and revamps the menu/staff. But the stupid competitive chef show irritates me and makes me want to take a cleaver to him and pretty much everyone of the whiney assholes competing to work for him. So I don't watch that show.
Quote from: BuddhaRhubarb on June 10, 2009, 12:13:44 PM
I like him on the show where he takes over some kitchen of a restaurant and revamps the menu/staff. But the stupid competitive chef show irritates me and makes me want to take a cleaver to him and pretty much everyone of the whiney assholes competing to work for him. So I don't watch that show.
It's annoying, but seems to be the closest to "reality TV" that they've got on the air. A lot of restaurants at that level have that kind of competitiveness between personnel, at least in both the NYC and Philly restaurant scenes.
Quote from: Barrister on June 10, 2009, 11:28:51 AM
Quote from: Neil on June 10, 2009, 08:12:26 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 10, 2009, 07:41:18 AM
Never watched Hells Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmare have you?
Only retards watch that sort of shit. Martinus' brain might be defective, but his intellect isn't.
I find Gordon Ramsay mildly entertaining. It's the kind of show I might have on the TV while I do something else.
:yes:
Quote from: DontSayBanana on June 10, 2009, 06:03:16 PM
Quote from: BuddhaRhubarb on June 10, 2009, 12:13:44 PM
I like him on the show where he takes over some kitchen of a restaurant and revamps the menu/staff. But the stupid competitive chef show irritates me and makes me want to take a cleaver to him and pretty much everyone of the whiney assholes competing to work for him. So I don't watch that show.
It's annoying, but seems to be the closest to "reality TV" that they've got on the air. A lot of restaurants at that level have that kind of competitiveness between personnel, at least in both the NYC and Philly restaurant scenes.
Oh that atmosphere is everywhere. Doesn't make it any more appealing to me. My alcoholic stepfather was a chef & I worked in a lot of kitchens as a youth. Toxic. Motherfucking toxic and retarded. I much prefer to be a customer.
What I don't like about reality TV is that encourages the kind of Lame-ass high school politics that we should outgrow as adults. (So it's not Ramsay I object to but the whiny ass bitches who are on his show competing, screwing each other over. ) It's way more about the personalities than the cooking. I watch food shows for the food porn.
Quote from: BuddhaRhubarb on June 11, 2009, 11:45:33 AM
Oh that atmosphere is everywhere. Doesn't make it any more appealing to me. My alcoholic stepfather was a chef & I worked in a lot of kitchens as a youth. Toxic. Motherfucking toxic and retarded. I much prefer to be a customer.
What I don't like about reality TV is that encourages the kind of Lame-ass high school politics that we should outgrow as adults. (So it's not Ramsay I object to but the whiny ass bitches who are on his show competing, screwing each other over. ) It's way more about the personalities than the cooking. I watch food shows for the food porn.
Yeah, it's certainly scared me off from taking advantage of the potential nepotism- I love working with food, but how any restaurant can pull off a coherent image with that much paranoia rampant between kitchen staff and colleagues (and kitchen staff and everyone else) just baffles me.
To date, Michael Wray is probably the best guy they've had on Hell's Kitchen; he didn't seem to be too thrilled with the politics, either, and I think that had a hand in him backing out of working with Ramsay in London.
Of the Winners of the HKs (Atleast the US version) only 1 is still actually a Chef for Ramsay.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 11, 2009, 01:15:49 PM
Of the Winners of the HKs (Atleast the US version) only 1 is still actually a Chef for Ramsay.
What I find interesting was going back through the descriptions of the prizes for the seasons, and they've been getting successively worse.
Wray was offered to cook alongside Ramsay in London, subsequent winners received the title "executive chef," but worked under Ramsay for a year, and this latest didn't even get the "executive" tacked onto her name.
I blame the Economy or maybe the show doesn't create good chef at all. It's just fun to watch.
Well, one thing that gets on my nerves about Ramsay is he and his shows have nothing to do with "creating" good chefs. The overwhelming majority of his contestants have been high-ranking or owning chefs in their own restaurants before even trying out for the shows. Michael Wray was the most professional because he was already an executive chef, for example.
As for entertaining, it's a grab bag. Using that same first season example, I loved watching the pace of them getting the food moving in the restaurant, but I hated the weaselly little Italian guy who thought he owned his team just because he had come in with the highest job title.
The food seems good, I like that there's more showing of the actual preparation than your average cooking show that just focuses on a dish or two, but I hate that they felt they needed to wrap it up in "thrills" and "reality TV" cliches.
What I like is that each season & each show is entirely predictable...you can even spot the guy that'll be "sick" thru the season.