PrintGordon Ramsay
Just read a piece in Salon.com, "In Memory of Gordon Ramsay." [http://www.salon.com/mwt/food/eat_drink/2008/04/01/gordon_ramsay/]
Some insightful words on the chef's Fox-ification, no?
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14 Comments:
Anyone who has seen the original BBC version of GR Kitchen Nightmares knows only too well how he was turned into a cartoon character by Fox. Hey, I guess ya gotta fund those restaurants somehow.
chiff0nade at 5:04AM on 04/01/08
My boyfriend still LOVES Gordon. He likes the BBC Kitchen Nightmares better, he'll watch like 4 episodes in a row. Ramsay and Bourdain are his two "tv chef boyfriends" and we watch whenever they're on - their shows are some of the few we can agree on!
So, yeah, we will be watching "Hell's Kitchen" tonight.
lo82070 at 12:41PM on 04/01/08
I love Gordon Ramsay. Of course, his BBC shows are a thousand times better than the Fox stuff, but I just look at them as totally different shows. I enjoy HK (though was disappointed w/ the Fox version of RKN after loving the BBC version).
I'll take my Ramsay anywhere I find him. I'm with your bf, lo82070, Ramsay and Bourdain are the best. I can't wait to watch tonight. And btw, I recently ran into a former HK contestant who had very complimentary things to say about Ramsay as both a chef and a person.
StripeyChef at 1:25PM on 04/01/08
I agree, Gordon Ramsay is totally different on the BBC version. We don't even watch Kitchen Nightmares on Fox anymore because it is such a huge contrast to the tough but ultimately loveable personality on BBC. And I never liked Hell's Kitchen, in the past it seemd like Fox would cast a cartoonish, circus-like group of characters who can't cook just so Gordon can get frustrated with them and yell at them. It made me sad.
Jeana at 1:32PM on 04/01/08
My first introduction to Ramsey was the first Fox Hell's Kitchen, I hated it, turned it off and never watched again. Then, I started watching Fox's Kitchen Nightmares and came around to really liking him. Since then, I started recording all of the BBC shows and watch them constantly. Now that I understand him better through these shows, I can watch the Fox Hell's Kitchen version, but I agree that the BBC shows him in a much less contrived way. I can't wait for tonights new season start of HK and really look forward to new Kitchen Nightmares.
jonfoxx at 3:56PM on 04/01/08
Hell's Kitchen is really hard to watch if you have an appreciation for food: it really seems to get abused. There's just so much terrible trashiness on display, I cant turn away.
One of my favorite parts of the show is the recurring irate customer. It's almost always a slightly drunk, extremely camera-starved girl who seems to think that Ramsay--and/or the maitre d', I think Pierre?--is going to fall over and kiss her cute little butt to make her happy. The takedowns of these wannabes is always very, very satisfying.
renzata at 4:07PM on 04/01/08
My own exposure to Ramsey was almost identical to jonfoxx's. Really disliked him on Hell's Kitchen, found him engaging on Fox's Kitchen Nightmares, and then I discovered the BBC shows. Ramsey really shines on The "F" Word and Kitchen Nightmares on BBC. So I, too, will watch the premiere of Hell's Kitchen on Fox, but would love to see some new Ramsey on BBC.
baboo at 5:43PM on 04/01/08
I guess I just don't understand why he wants to be associated with a show like "Hell's Kitchen". The contestants on there barely have any talent of a "great chef", let alone basic cooking skills! I am embarrassed for the contestants and for Gordon Ramsey. I watch the show, but I am constantly confused as to why he is doing it. It's cheesy and beneath him. I love his BBC shows and even though he is tough on people on those shows, he ultimately comes off as caring, intelligent and his talent for both cooking and the business side of owning a restaurant comes through. I just don't understand at all why he does these two Fox shows. I am going to watch Hell's Kitchen, but I think I am waiting for him to walk out on one episode or yell "April Fools!"
radley24 at 6:14PM on 04/01/08
Luckily, my first GR experience was the BBC series. Yes, he swore, but he wasn't made into a larger-than-life charicature of himself :(. I do on occasion watch HK but when it's over-the-top abusive, I generally change the channel. When it gets that out of hand, it just makes me uncomfortable.
chiff0nade at 6:28PM on 04/01/08
i agree on the comments that it seems that the "contestants" they pick are not to the standard or caliber of any line kitchen... or is it that the editing makes them look like ignorant idiots??? But I wish I has access to the BBC versions of both shows so I can compare and contrast... I love his brutal honesty... I would like to see the REAL Gordon Ramsey!!!
MadelynRodriguez at 7:46PM on 04/01/08
OMG! How can you NOT like Chef Ramsey? The man is a genius and ain't too bad on the eyes either. I love the BBC shows but can't get them where I live. I wish they showed them on PBS. But HK is really funny and I just love it when he yells at the people.
Hunnyoil at 3:21AM on 04/02/08
I'll watch him on anything. But the first couple of seasons of BBC Kitchen Nightmares crack me up for this reason: he always changes his shirt on camera. Does anyone have a Gordon Ramsey drinking game? I think if not, we should make one up. Drink every time he's shirtless, drink every time he refers to male genitalia, etc.
wellred at 4:20AM on 04/02/08
I devised this Gordon Ramsay drinking game "Hell's Kitchen Drinking Game. Is it just me or do this season's HK contestants seem really, really piss poor?
Basically, you'd need Tivo to stop action every time or you'd miss shots. Love to hear if anyone survives a whole episode of Hell's Kitchen playing.
Like the drinking when he takes his shirt off but wasn't that just once per show?
Cheers!
jacquelinec at 2:11AM on 04/16/08
@jacquelinec: Since he only takes his shirt off once per show, that should be the time when you have to finish your entire drink, no matter what's left in it.
He does that on the Fox version of RKN too! I got quickly fed up with the Fox version, though, because it seemed like the restaurants he went to were all in New York and run by men with GIANT egos. There were only one or two likable restaurant owners in the whole thing...
modysoul at 7:20AM on 04/18/08