Ramsay came to cooking because he was a failed jock. From sports teams such as the Glasgow Rangers, one learns and quickly appreciates that one guy isn’t going to win any game when there are all those players with jobs to do. Ramsay understands teamwork; and somehow his aptitude for practice led him to becoming a food savant. Sure, he plays a character on TV, but when one sees on TV his hands effortlessly doing whatever, you know he’s always been the real deal on the pitch or in the kitchen. We’ve lucked out in being to experience his kitchen and some his proteg’es as well.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
4
Not me. And I’m pleased we seem to have exported this gobshite to the western side of the Atlantic. You are more than welcome to keep him.
I have read that his on-screen persona is very different to his real persona. Which leads me to consider two possibilities. One is that he really is an unpleasant loudmouth which, in itself, is enough for me to detest him. Or alternatively, he has just chosen to adopt the persona of an unpleasant loudmouth which, in itself, is enough for me to detest him.
Ramsay decided to leverage how he was portrayed in Boiling Point. As choices go, it was one. He’s made a lot of tv shows, expanded his restaurant empire, and, presumably, profited immensely. I believe he already had Michelin stars (YMMV as far as how seriously you take their worth as a sign of being an outstanding culinary destination) before the tv shows. I don’t think anyone doubts that he can actually cook.
Ripert is primarily associated with Le Bernardin (also Michelin starred). I think he and Ramsay both came up in the brigade type system of European kitchens. He’s also had tv shows, but whether he’s playing a persona or not, it’s one where he leans into the chill, Buddhist yoga guy. I also don’t think anyone doubts that he can actually cook.
Ripert has the opinion that Gordon shouldn’t behave like an asshat to other people on television. Ramsay has his fans. Ripert has his. I don’t think Ripert is wrong, but at the end of the day, it’s an opinion. He and Ramsay are going to both keep making money for the foreseeable future, regardless. Right now, I find Ripert’s style and recipes more appealing, but that’s also just my opinion.
We learned of Gordon Ramsay from watching Anthony Bourdain’s travelogue. At about 0:47, Ramsay displays the team leader persona that is inherent in professional team sports, including elite kitchens:
I’ve met and had a chance to converse with both Ramsay and Ripert in real life (i.e., in person outside of camera shot) and both gentlemen were cordial and accommodating.
Ramsay, however, was much more pleasant and just comfortable to be around. He was genuinely nice.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
14
Maybe now. But, during the early 2010s, when his relationship with his father-in-law, who was CEO of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd, would make his business acumen somewhat questionable.
FWIW, I have eaten at a Ramsay restaurant - the shortlived Devonshire in the Chiswick area of London. That was in 2008 when I opened my review of the place with "I was well set up not to like the Devonshire. Firstly, I don’t like Gordon Ramsey’s public persona. There is no place for bullies in my life (or, of course, if it’s only a act and he’s really a sweetie, then there’s no place in my life for tossers who pretend to be bullies). Secondly, there was all the faff just trying to get a table…"
So, did you like it? The opening makes me think although you wanted readers to know what you were thinking walking in, you may have been pleasantly surprised.
BTW, since I’ve already bared my soul, I’ll share that I recently watched “Next Level Shelf”, and there was little if any insulting, bullying or intimidation.
I’m sure Ramsay cries about Ripert’s POV all the way to the bank.
I don’t really have a preference and have never met either dude but I have made some of Ripert’s recipes and enjoyed them. I’ll also confess that I sometimes watch YouTube episodes of Kitchen Nightmares on one of my big monitors as background noise for boring, repetitive work tasks. They are so formulaic that you for sure do not need to devote much attention. He can be quite a softy when the restauranteurs embrace his advice and put in the effort to change/have sob stories/show appreciation/etc.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
17
I had planned to just give you a link to my review but it seems I must have been playing on Chowhound at the time, rather than my then favoured egullet. So, here’s what I wrote. Make of it what you will
*I was well set up not to like the Devonshire. *
*Firstly, I don’t like Gordon Ramsey’s public persona. There is no place for bullies in my life (or, of course, if it’s only a act and he’s really a sweetie, then there’s no place in my life for tossers who pretend to be bullies). *
Secondly, there was all the faff just trying to get a table. They have an online enquiry system. I enquired. I got a response saying someone would contact me. They didn’t. I threw my dummy out of the pram and booked somewhere else. I also sent them a snotty email. This produced an apology and an acceptance of my booking. Plans to meet a mate had fallen through so we agreed I’d now come on a different night. Then, last Friday, they rang me up to check that I was still coming. For heavens sake, it’s not his Michelin starred place. It’s a bloody pub.
Thirdly, it’s nightmare to find anywhere to park in Chiswick. I’d gone round and round in circles so much that even the “sat nav” was confused. I wasn’t well disposed as I walked through the door.
Eating doesn’t get under way very well either. Bread arrives. Two slices of undistinguished white sliced. They had been sitting around on a plate for far, far too long and could have played a starring role in the old British Rail sandwich jokes. Whereas the butter was fridge hard.
Starter of asparagus, poached duck egg and wild herb salad. Four good spears served cold and crisp. Egg was egg and also served cold. And there was nothing “wild” about the “wild herb” salad – parsley, mint, chives and dill. A good mix, although flat leaf parsley is a bit of a chore to chew. That said, I liked this dish. It was well thought out and prepared.
*The staff are young, friendly and deliver their service in what might be described as a leisurely style. But not half as leisurely as the kitchen. It takes over 20 minutes from my starter being cleared to the main arriving. *
But for lamb as good as this, I forgive them. Just. Herb crusted lamb, pea puree, lemon rocket salad. A few softened cherry tomatoes and halved caperberries add garnish but little more. A side order of proper non-sloppy mash – the best restaurant mash I can recall. Everything just worked!
Dessert described as “cold summer chocolate pudding with raspberries & vanilla ice cream. Instantly forgettable – except it will be a while before I forget that when they say “raspberries”, they mean “three raspberries”. Chocolate ganache sat on a disc of something bready and topped with the ice cream. Not very chocolatey. Not very vanilla-y.
So, warts and all, I enjoyed this meal. It’s the sort of food you want to eat in apub. Except, of course, this isn’t really a pub. It’s a restaurant in a building that used to be a pub and still has some of the trappings and artefacts. But there’s no group of locals swigging pints of Fullers at the bar. In fact, I’m pretty sure I didn’t see the pumps being used at all. There’s not even groups of locals sipping their G & T’s (Gordons, of course)
Bill was just over £37 including for a bottle of water and 12.5% service charge
It is “Cook’s Tour”. Judging from their youthful faces, the team player/leadership (“we’ll do it together”) persona was displayed well before he was all over TV in a gruff incarnation that pro locker rooms don’t host.
Thank you. I was checking the history of the show on Food Network, wondering if it was one of the first, and saw this;
“Gruen changed the brand positioning from Schonfeld’s “TV for people who cook” to “TV for everyone who loves to eat,” thereby greatly improving the appeal to viewers and advertisers, and saving the network from bankruptcy”
I sort of remember that trend, and why there is a separate cooking channel.
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