I used to think that Gordon Ramsey was a jerk

alfadriver said:

In reply to aircooled :

....Maybe it's just me, but I very much don't find it very entertaining to see someone mentally abuse people like he and many other abusive jerks do in reality TV.  Drama like that takes away from whatever creativity that is involved in the show.  I think it's sad that he agreed to be like that on the shows....

I get it.  Not your thing.  I am not really a huge fan of it either, but it is sadly a very much a thing in entertainment, especially "reality" entertainment.  Seems like he is a decent person in reality thankfully.

I, personally, can't watch any shows where they trick or embarrass people (i.e. practical jokes etc).  Even Impractical Jokers can be a bit much sometimes, but they very much make themselves the targets, which is way more appropriate.  Some of that Tik Tok crap... 

In reply to brandonsmash :

I don't get the hate for him.

Having worked a lot in L.A. in film/TV, I can almost guarantee that 95% of what you see of Ramsey is just a character.... a character that he has marketed into a fabulous empire full of money.  I have a feeling he's a perfectly normal joy to be around in real life, although I never met him personally.

Some of the ones I remember meeting:  Lou Diamond Philips who usually plays a gangster or a criminal is genuinely the quietest, sweetest guy who doesn't really like the spotlight.  Remember Steve from Blues Clues?  He's actually a foul-mouthed, cigarette smoking normal guy off the set.  My favorite misconception was meeting the guy who plays Dave Lennox.  The sweet old man with overalls and a scally hat would often roll up to the set in a limo with yesterday's unbuttoned suit, four hot women, blasting T-Pain, and root beer cans falling out of the door.  Super great guy, just a bit different than the persona he plays in the commercials.

In reply to aircooled :

It's too bad for him that he accepted being a toxic, abusive, jerk, then.  Don't really care to get to know him or taste his food, as he's made a lot of money being a toxic, abusive, jerk.  Given this is supposed to be reality TV, that choice and outcome is a real disappointment.

It would have been interesting what the outcome of a situation I had once was with a chef like that.  We went to one the best restaurants in SE Michigan (as a large group), and I ordered one of my favorite things.  It came out looking really bland, and it tasted really salty.  So I sent it back thinking it was just made wrong.  Came back almost identical.  So I sent it back, and told the waiter that if this is how they intended to present this particular dish, I wasn't interested in eating anything else.  Sat through dinner with my friends just conversing.  Had that been someone like what Ramsey presents, I really wonder how they would have reacted to me.

(less than a month later, I ordered the same-ish dish on a cruise ship, and it was awesome- so it was the chefs and their presentation that was the problem)

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Having worked a lot in L.A. in film/TV, I can almost guarantee that 95% of what you see of Ramsey is just a character.... a character that he has marketed into a fabulous empire full of money.  I have a feeling he's a perfectly normal joy to be around in real life, although I never met him personally.

 

Again, he had to choose to accept that persona as a toxic, abusive, jerk.  Didn't have to do that, and could have taken a more mentoring chef.  Instead chose a negative path.  His loss.

Anyway, I've beaten this toxic, abusive horse to death now.  

In reply to alfadriver :

Yeah, I was about to say you've now made 6 posts in this thread essentially saying the same thing.

Speaking of celebrity chefs, a lot of people seem to rag on Guy Fieri. Why the hate? It seems like he's the anti- Ramsey. Relentlessly upbeat. 

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

Fieri came to our town and reviewed three local restaurants for Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. One, you could tell it wasn't great but he was still positive about it. Another one was actually just about to be sold, the owner was tired of it. He loved the food, gave her a lot of encouragement and helped her move into selling her cooking on a larger retail stage - all off-camera. He's also known for serving food to firefighters.

I'd put him in the good people category.

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

Fieri came to our town and reviewed three local restaurants for Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. One, you could tell it wasn't great but he was still positive about it. Another one was actually just about to be sold, the owner was tired of it. He loved the food, gave her a lot of encouragement and helped her move into selling her cooking on a larger retail stage - all off-camera. He's also known for serving food to firefighters.

I'd put him in the good people category.

My family went through a period where they were obsessed with cooking shows. The worst that Fieri would do would be to damn with faint praise. He'd be enthusiastic even when the joint was clearly mediocre. But if you paid attention, it was clear which were genuinely good. 

What a lot of people don't appreciate was how much these shows have contributed to the culinary landscape. Millions of people have come to realize that there's life beyond Applebees, Olive Garden, or the neighborhood slop joint, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

But, yo, free bread sticks. (I kid, I kid.)

I think a lot of the Guy Fieri "hate" is because he can kind of come off a bit douchey. With the wild shirts, bleached hair and facial hair, and wearing his sunglasses on the back of his head when inside. 

In reply to Puddy46 :

I've worked for Guy Fieri twice. Both times he was a generally unpleasant person to be around on set when the cameras weren't rolling; he had an extremely high opinion of himself and woe betide anyone who didn't share that view. 

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

Speaking of celebrity chefs, a lot of people seem to rag on Guy Fieri. Why the hate? It seems like he's the anti- Ramsey. Relentlessly upbeat. 

You have the people that mock him because of the frosted tips and wardrobe that looks like he's a roadie for Smashmouth.  Those folks are just jumping on a bandwagon.

Then you have the people that genuinely don't like him.  There are a number of reasons, his politics, accusations of homophobia and antisemitism, his statements against restaurant workers collecting benefits during COVID (which is strange as he then did a benefit to help those same workers,) and other things.

All that being said, he does have a decent philanthropy streak.  

Personally he always just kinda looked and acted like a frat boy that never grew up, and that gets wearing at times.

Not that he was a saint himself, but if Anthony Bourdain didn't like you, there was probably a reason.

In reply to brandonsmash :

Well that's disappointing to hear. 

This thread has almost turned into a "don't meet your hero's" kinda thing lol

alfadriver said:

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Having worked a lot in L.A. in film/TV, I can almost guarantee that 95% of what you see of Ramsey is just a character.... a character that he has marketed into a fabulous empire full of money.  I have a feeling he's a perfectly normal joy to be around in real life, although I never met him personally.

 

Again, he had to choose to accept that persona as a toxic, abusive, jerk.  Didn't have to do that, and could have taken a more mentoring chef.  Instead chose a negative path.  His loss.

Anyway, I've beaten this toxic, abusive horse to death now.  

Disagree whole-heartedly.  As an actor, myself, we don't view it that way at all.

It's a character.  Period.  If non-actor folks assume that what they see on TV is real because it's "reality TV," they have missed the point.  There is no such thing as reality TV.  There are hundreds of examples of TV in which Gordon Ramsey is a peach.  How many of us fell in love with Milton Berle?  In real life he was a complete douche.  How many of us love the womanizing character of Barney on How I Met your Mother when in real life NPH is a feminist gay guy?

Ramsay is a dick on the camera because it sells ad spaces.  Nobody really likes Drill Sergeants either, but they get the job done.  

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

Speaking of celebrity chefs, a lot of people seem to rag on Guy Fieri. Why the hate? It seems like he's the anti- Ramsey. Relentlessly upbeat. 

Again... it's a character.  He's wonderfully charitable, but he was born Guy Ferry.  He changed his name to Fieri to reflect his family's original name before immigrating.

I wonder if anyone has taken a swing at the character known as Gordon Ramsay? I've had more than a few jobs that if you tried to do what Gordo does, in real life, you'd be spitting Chicklets.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

It's Guys voice for me. I can overlook the string of dead restaurants he's left behind, and the boy band hairstyle, I'll even forgive putting his name on the sub par casino restaurant in town. His voice just grates me like nails on a chalkboard. 

Johnny Garlics (or was it Rockets?) was pretty good though, I'll give him that. 

The fake drama of those shows makes them unwatchable to me. Unfortunately, that's what sells. Humans, as a group, love nothing more than to see someone suffer more than they are or fail. Misery loves company. Maybe it's because I don't live my life in misery, but I don't enjoy watching other people get abused, real or not. I find it uncomfortable to watch and kind of disgusting. Y'all can keep the fake BS, if I want to see someone abused, I'll get my wife to slap me.

I find the best cooking shows are on YouTube. No fake drama required. Nothing but cooking. You can go behind the scenes in everything from 5-star restaurants to roadside food stands. You can learn how to cook some spectacular food and no one will scream in your face if it doesn't come out perfect.

If you want an entertaining food show that's actually about food, watch the Babish Culinary Universe videos. 

In reply to Toyman! :

If you like Bert Kreischer, Something's Burning, can be entertaining. Sitting around with a couple of comedians drinking and cooking. 

Also really enjoy Hot Ones. 

In reply to Toyman! :

I am also a big fan of Babish, I haven't watched a lot of his new stuff though. I have been watching Joshua Weissman's stuff and I really like how he presents his content. He has one show that he tries to make a meal better and faster than you can get take out. 

I'm a fan of Frankie Celenza:

Mr_Asa said:

By contrast, if you watch him with the kids cooking shows, he is one of the nicest, most encouraging people you'll ever see.

My gf was a baker in a past life, and a restaurant manager in another, and he is her favorite celebrity chef.

Yeah thought the same until I saw the kids show as well as the Nat Geo show where he travels around the world and cooks local stuff.  The oldschool chef culture thankfully seems to be fading as food has had such a resurgence.

The "angry chef" was a stereotype for a time. The chef Ramsay trained under was a jerk as well.

That trickled down into stereotypes like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld.

also the classic British sitcom Chef!