Ah, to be Chef Gordon Ramsay and to have free time to sit around and spout ridiculous nonsense.
His newest attention-getting quote? His Highness thinks that restaurants should be fined for using out-of-season vegetables. Yep, fined.
The money quote: "There should be stringent laws, licensing laws, to make sure produce is only used in season and season only." Now, I'm all for using in-season fruits and veggies - we all know they're more flavorful, more fresh, and usually more decently priced - but stringent laws?
If I want to order summer squash in the dead of winter, or a strawberry tart in October, or pumpkin soup in July, that's my prerogative, dude. Don't take that away from me.
I read a good number of food blogs. Not all of them, of course, as that would make it impossible to do anything else, but most of the important ones. In all of my reading, a lot of people talk about Top chef, but I never really got into it. No, my heart belongs in Hell's Kitchen.
I have only come across one post on Hell's Kitchen this season, and I really don't understand. In my humble opinion, there is simply nothing to dislike. Where else are you going to get this mix of tension, ego, and profanity? Is Top Cheflike this and I've missed it? I don't know. All I know is that there is very little else I find quite as entertaining on television.
I know several people who absolutely hate Gordon Ramsay. I like to think I see through his mean exterior to the cuddly teddy bear underneath (I have met a few European chefs just like that). His outbursts of exasperation are priceless. I mean, who has not wanted to bang their head on the counter at a co worker's incompetence? Yes, I know that his management style wouldn't go over very well in the US, but it makes great TV.
If you're a fan of Hell's Kitchen, let me know what you think. If you're not a fan, let me have it. Can anyone convince me that Top Chef is better? I don't think so, but you can try.
The embeddable video from last night's Top Chef isn't quite available yet, but I thought I'd find some food video content to keep you guys busy while you wait. So here we have episode two of Hell's Kitchen (if you missed the first one, you can find it here), the American version of Gordon Ramsay's show (which bears several similarities to Top Chef) that gives him an opportunity yell and scream at aspiring chefs.
Check back tomorrow for the complete Top Chef episode.
We don't normally get a lot of video game news in the food world other than the occasional release of something like Cooking Mama, so imagine how we felt when we heard about the latest foodie-inspired game idea to come shooting out of your wireless joystick controller. Hell's Kitchen is going to be a video game.
We weren't exactly sure how this tv-tie in was going to be translated into a video game, but when we found out that it's basically going to be "the fun of the kitchen boot camp experience," like it is for the contestants on the Fox show, we got it. Players will subjected to Chef Ramsey's four-letter infused screaming while trying to turn out some of the Chef's recipes (which will be included with the game).
The game will ship next year in conjunction with the premiere of the 4th season of Hell's Kitchen. We are hoping to get a chance to play.
Interesting piece over at Slate from Paul Levy, about the state of food writing. He says that food writing today is too "macho," and filled with too many "foodie shock jocks" who swear and write too casually (he singles out Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay, and Bill Buford).
The food writing that's in vogue today consists chiefly of a bellow of bravado. It's a guy thing, sure, but (with a few honorably hungry exceptions) these scribblers mostly ignore what's on the plate. They view themselves as boy hunters and despise sissy gatherers, thrive on the undertow of violence they detect in the professional kitchen, and like to linger on the unappetizing aspects of food preparation. The gross-out factor trumps tasting good as well as good taste.
Hmmm...really? I think one of the good thing about this increased interest in food and all the food blogs is that you hear a lot of different voices. There's plenty of the stuff Levy likes still be written. Even here at Slashfood we try to mix up the voices a bit.
I have a recurring nightmare in which I am quickly chopping up a whole bunch of veggies for a quick stir fry when I realize that I haven't been being particularly careful and accidentally cut into a finger instead of a carrot. Thankfully, during my waking hours I've never had that happen, but the thought of it made me work on improving my knife skills to further protect my precious digits.
Sadly, British TV chef Gordon Ramsay recently experienced one of those moments you think could only happen in the worst of anxiety dreams. He set his crotch on fire. While going commando. It adds a whole other level to taking precautions while in the kitchen, now doesn't it.
For those of you who were concerned about how ex-Spice Girl Posh, a.k.a. Victoria Beckham, was going to fill her days once she and professional soccer-playing hubby David moved to the States, well, you can worry no longer. The Beckhams are reportedly teaming up with Chef Gordon Ramsay to open a restaurant in Los Angeles.
Apparently the menu will include a number of vegetarian dishes, as per Victoria's request. I know, I know - a celebrity restaurant opening in Los Angeles offering vegetarian fare - shocking, isn't it? There has been no word yet on what they will name the restaurant, but my guess is "Spice."
Before this takes place though, Ramsay (who also played professional soccer) plans to open his second U.S. restaurant at The London Hotel in West Hollywood. His first was at - you guessed it - The London Hotel in NYC. (He is nothing if not consistent.) He also has restaurants located in the U.K., Tokyo, and Dubai.
While IHOP was serving up free pancakes for their guests yesterday, a British chef took quite the opposite approach. Alex Lovell, the 21-year old head chef at a Coventry restaurant, created what is being dubbed as possibly the most expensive pancake ever prepared.
At £95, which is approximately $185 USD, the pancake includes heavenly ingredients such as Madagascar vanilla pods in the batter, jelly made with Dom Perignon Champagne, and berries flambeed in Louis XIV Cognac, all served alongside amaretto ice cream.
The young chef, who in his short career has already turned down a job with Gordon Ramsay, wasn't really expecting sales to go through the roof due to the price - he simply wanted to create something special for Pancake Day. There's no word yet on how many were actually sold.
How can you tell when a celebrity is doing something just for the money? It is easy when they don't even attempt to conceal the fact that they dislike the product that bears their name. Gordon Ramsay, for example, doesn't seem to think that his new line of chocolates, called Just Desserts, are anything special. He said "I don't think you are going to be blown away at £3.99-odd for a box."
While it is true that price can be an indicator of quality, shouldn't Ramsey have tried to get the product to be a really superior one for its price range? A random chocolate from a relatively inexpensive box obviously wouldn't stand up to a single, carefully-crafted truffle that costs as much as that whole box, but with an endorsement from Ramsay, consumers are at least expecting to get something worth what they paid.
The chocolates, if you are interested, are available in the UK at various major retailers, including Sainsbury's.
Rachael Ray got be one of the most trusted celebrities, essentially, because she is nice. It probably doesn't hurt that she is also cute and friendly, but if she wasn't as nice as she is, she wouldn't be as popular. In fact, people really like their celebrities to seem nice and friendly, with only a few exceptions. The number one exception, the scariest celebrity on TV, happens to be a chef as well: Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay is known for yelling, screaming and occasionally reducing people to tears on his TV shows Gordon's Kitchen Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen and the F Word. He not only has a bad-boy attitude on TV, but he defends the fact that it - treating other people as though they are completely incompetent idiots - is his true character and not just an act.
If you're curious as to which other celebs made the British list, they included Anne Robinson (#2, from The Weakest Link), Fanny Cradock (#5, one of the first celebrity chefs), and Simon Cowell (#10, from American Idol).
If you are planning to run the New York City Marathon in November, then you might want to take a look at an article in Runner's World that asked several "celebrity" chefs who will actually be running, to create menus related to the race. The chefs are Hell's Kitchen star Gordon Ramsay, Patricia Wells, John Fraser, and Bobby Flay. Each chef has contributed recipes that have the proper balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat for pre- and post-race meals, as well as recipes for "celebratory" dishes like Coffee & Chocolate Mousse Cups for dessert. Personally, I love that Baked Macaroni and Cheese is a celebratory meal!
Ramsay's business managers are making big plans to acquire and license to country inns that would sell beer and spirits, but focus primarily on the food.
I don't know, let's just hope the chef never loses his "flair."
Given that the chef already has a penchant for the camera, it's no surprise that Gordon Ramsay is opening a restaurant in Hollywood, and not just one restaurant, but two new restaurants and a bar in the Bel Age Hotel.
The Bel Age will undergo a remodel and will be re-branded as the London LA Hotel in Spring 2007, and that is when Ramsay's restaurants are set to open. This is not his first foray into the US. Ramsay is preparing to open his first US restaurant in New York this fall, and another Italian-themed restaurant in the Boca Raton Resort and Club in Florida in November.
Celeb British Chef Gordon Ramsay has signed a mega deal worth at least £5m to stay with Channel 4 for another four years, thwarting attempts by ITV to lure him away. This deal will see the star stay on the channel until at least July 2011 and will make him one of the best paid celebs on TV.
The 39-year-old Scot will film a number of new shows for Channel 4 in addition to more series of existing favourites Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and The F Word. Hell's Kitchen could also be rerun. A fourth series of Kitchen Nightmares is currently in production, but Ramsay will also develop new programmes with the 'queen of food programming', Pat Llewellyn of Optomen Television, who discovered Jamie Oliver in The Naked Chef and produced the Two Fat Ladies.
I am so over these "chef" reality shows. The Next Food Network Star
is a little bit of a joke, and though I have watched Top Chef, it's getting to the point where
it seems awfully contrived -- the melodrama is too far over the top.
However, I can't help but be a little excited for the return of Hell's
Kitchen for a second season. A joke? Contrived? Melodrama? Of course, but for some reason, I thoroughly enjoyed
watching this show last year. I think part of the reason stems from the knowledge that I wouldn't last more than
five minutes in the kitchen with chef Gordon Ramsay. In
fact, I'd be likely running out of there crying within 30 seconds. Or maybe I just loved it when Ramsay called Dewberry
"an overgrown muffin" last year.
The series premieres at 9 PM (EST) on Monday, June 12, 2006 on Fox.
Ah, to be Chef Gordon Ramsay and to have free time to sit around and spout ridiculous nonsense.
I read a good number of food blogs. Not all of them, of course, as that would make it impossible to do anything else, but most of the important ones. In all of my reading, a lot of people talk about Top chef, but I never really got into it. No, my heart belongs in 
Interesting 
While IHOP was serving up 
How can you tell when a celebrity is doing something just for the money? It is easy when they don't even attempt to conceal the fact that they dislike the product that bears their name. 
Rachael Ray got be one of 
If you are planning to run the New York City Marathon in November, then you might want to take a look at an article in Runner's World that asked several "celebrity" chefs who will actually be running, to 
What is happeneing here? 
Celeb British Chef 
May is National BBQ Month and National Hamburger Month
Cupcakes, not for dessert (unless beef is your idea of a treat)
Because eating French Fries in the car is so tough
