[Dillbert]

Mapiva -

I don't "hate" Gordon Ramsay - never met the man.

based on what he has chosen to publicly portray I would not be seeking out any of his places to eat.
very simple, that's it, that's all.
here's the original question:
Would you patronize an establishment where the kitchen staff are having their heads beat in for your dining pleasure?

I've seen here non-first hand reports that he is really a schugar-sheffie and cuddles his staff every night.
so........... why the difference? for tv?

in contrast, Jamie Oliver has produced several "series" - and I've seen him exhibit some colorful behavior - but not on his students / staff.
when was the last time you saw Thomas Keller verbally abusing his dishwasher?

[jbd]

Originally Posted by Dillbert

any body know a heart surgeon that reduces his OR staff to tears ala Gordon?

From what I understand DeBakey was no particularly pleasant person to be trained by. He was apparently quite capable of ripping someone a new one. I believe Christian Bernard was also similar in his abilities. I never worked with these guys but have worked with some people who trained under them. I have seen several surgeons reduce a staff member to tears. I was on the receiving end of such treatment on a few occasions early on although it didn't have the desired effect on me.

[Geimhreadh]

You really need to watch the British versions of Ramsay's shows. They're much more calm, educational, and he even speaks in a softer voice. But americans are forced to resort to that shock value, uninformative entertainment to get ratings.

I actually have an aunt who's been in and out of the restaurant business for a while now, who worships at the altar of Ramsay (or rather, his drooling, faux-psychotic American counterpart), and believes that his antics are not only acceptable, but imperative to running a successful kitchen. Suffice to say, the woman is a fraud and a perpetual failure.


<edited for content>

[Dillbert]

......... watch the British versions of Ramsay's shows.

no gottum' PAL tv; sorry.

......resort to that shock value, uninformative entertainment to get ratings.
now that I can readily understand.

the original question was:
<omitted citation in lieu of boredom....>

I choose not to spend my dollars in establishments that have a public, intentional, no oversight possible (hear yea here yea: "video edit") propensity to abuse their kitchen staff.

if Gordon isn't "real" per his tv image, he da*n site well needs to think about what he's doing - turns me off.
spelled o-f-f
as in not never gonna' even think about going there.

[Mapiva]

Ok, we get it. You hate Gordon Ramsay and will do anything to avoid him due to his manic and rude outbursts. Fully understood.

What it comes down to is that many of us we don't mind his behavior. Being a classical musician myself I live in a profession that is run by tyrannical megalomaniacs. I can't tell you how many orchestras I have played in where the conductor has pointed to me and said "You're LATE" if I missed a downbeat by a fraction of a second. Or how about standing in a lesson with a legendary violinist who would scream at me in German. I have played in an orchestra where Kurt Masur has turned to the concertmaster and told her she can't play!! I've seen musicians throw tantrums and run off stage, or refuse to come out of their dressing rooms. And don't get me started on those opera stars. So perhaps I'm just used to the idea of being pushed and pushing myself beyond the regular niceties. Most often than not it takes more than niceness to run a good ship.

[Willie24]

Mapiva - I am altering my opinion of Gorden Ramsay. Last night I watched two episodes of Kitchen Nightmares on BBCA and was pleasantly surprised and entertained. He truly is a different person than he portrays on his US show. I'm still put off by his profanity - I'm no prude by any stretch of the imagination, but I found it distracting to the flow of the show and disrepectful to the people who were in his company at the time. I can understand it in the kitchen - been there, done that - but when you're sitting down with local townspeople of mixed gender and spouting out the F word I don't get it.

We don't all hate Ramsay, we just haven't seen his actual personality in most cases.


Openmindedly,
Willie

[amazingrace]

[quote=Dillbert;231618

Would you patronize an establishment where the kitchen staff are having their heads beat in for your dining pleasure?[/quote]


I'm not sure how much of that is real, and how much is done for 'show'... but to answer the above question:

No, I would not patronize such a place, and I would tell the management/owner the reason.

I've waitressed in quite a number of places from 1962 to 1996, from an exclusive country club...all silver service...to small family owned restaurants. Only once did I witness anything close to Ramsay's typical performances. I was called in to sub in a place I had never worked before on Easter Sunday because they expected to be very busy, and one of the regulars had called in at the last minute. It was fairly easy, all buffet, so even being unfamiliar with the place, I caught on fast. About half way through the day one of the little bus girls dropped a cup and saucer and they shattered. The owner/chef came out of the kitchen and right there in the dining room filled with patrons, he ranted at this poor girl until she was in tears, telling her how stupid and clumsy she was, and that it would be taken out of her pay. Then went back into the kitchen, and continued as if nothing had happened. At the end of the shift, he complimented my work, paid me and asked if I wanted a steady job. I said I didn't like the way he treated his help, and I didn't think I would ever need a job badly enough to work for him. And furthermore I would never eat in his restaurant for the same reason. And I never did.

[amazingrace]

[quote=Geimhreadh;238932]. But considering that

<95% of americans are certifiably retarded, > ??

they're forced to resort to that shock value, uninformative entertainment to get ratings.
quote]

I'd like to see the source of this "statistic".

[Mapiva]

Originally Posted by amazingrace

About half way through the day one of the little bus girls dropped a cup and saucer and they shattered. The owner/chef came out of the kitchen and right there in the dining room filled with patrons, he ranted at this poor girl until she was in tears, telling her how stupid and clumsy she was, and that it would be taken out of her pay. Then went back into the kitchen, and continued as if nothing had happened.

Well I would understand if you did not want to patronize this establishment. This man was just throwing his weight around and yelling nonsense at something that was not preventable or even worth getting mad over. I cannot claim to know Gordon Ramsay personally but I can vouch for this - Gordon would never fly off the handle over something like that. When he does fly off in a range you will notice it is usually for one reason only: The person does not care about their job and is not putting their best effort forth.

[AndreaKulbaba]

Just my two cents:

I moved from Canada to Ireland a year ago. In Canada I only ever saw Ramsey yelling at people on ****'s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. When I was in Ireland though, they had another programme on (I don't think it was the F Word, but not sure) where he was in his own restaurant. I was a bit shocked at the difference; he wasn't yelling at anyone, he didn't throw anything, and he was actually being really nice to people. And now (I'm in Scotland now) I get to watch the F Word sometimes, and I can't believe how different this Ramsey is from the one that we see in Canada.

I guess it's a bit like profesional wrestling (but without the steroids) in that they created this persona for him to attract viewers and to give them someone to hate. I don't think they would have as many viewers in Canada and America if he wasn't protrayed in that way.

[irish foodie]

i have such a love/hate thing with gordon.

in earlier years i agreed with his attack on the fellow he shoved onto a stove. having cooked in a hot kitchen i totally understood where he was coming from with his aggression.

then i watched the programmes and loved them mostly. and i love the way he makes failing restaurants better and mostly i agree with his changes. and i love the way he wants to clean the kitchens and get rid of the dirt and dirty habits some of them have. and his modernisation of the restaurants is mostly great.

what turned me off him a bit (and this is SO trite) is his friendship with the beckhams. somehow it tore away all his macho skin and made him just a sad wannabe. i know that is ridiculous, but for me he went way, way down.

and before this i had said i would queue to enter one of his restaurants if i were in the uk and now we have a gr restaurant here in ireland and wild horses would not drag me to that place. mostly i have to say because he is never there - and i know that is stupid because obviously he is not present in everyone of the 20 odd restaurants he runs, but for me, if i were gonna pay that money i would expect gr to be there.

[kuan]

Geimhreadh has edited out his comments about 95% of Americans. Thank you Geimhreadh.

I'm moving this to the Late Night Cafe.

[Mapiva]

Maybe his friendship with the Beckhams might have something to do with his footballing career. I don't think he was ever in the major leagues but he was definitely a pro soccer player in his past life.

[Ishbel]

Mapiva
As a Scot, I can assure you that he WAS in a major league, he played for Glasgow Rangers until he was injured and then turned to food.

Rangers are one of Glasgow's two teams

(PS I hurts me to say anything kind about Rangers - I'm a Hibs fan!)

[Mapiva]

Originally Posted by Ishbel

Mapiva
As a Scot, I can assure you that he WAS in a major league, he played for Glasgow Rangers until he was injured and then turned to food.

Rangers are one of Glasgow's two teams

(PS I hurts me to say anything kind about Rangers - I'm a Hibs fan!)

See then? It's settled. He's friends with the Beckhams not because he's a wannabe but because he's a footballer!

(PS - you didn't say anything kind about the Rangers, just that it's one of the 2 teams so no worries for you).

Nowadays it's so common for chefs to become celebrities. All the celebrities have their favorite pet chefs don't they? Gwyneth has Mario, Madonna has Jamie, Posh and Becks have Gordon, oh and who else is out there...?