Yesterday, I was able to catch 4 episodes of The US version of Kitchen Nightmares, starring (as himself) renowned and award-winning Chef and Restaurateur Gordon Ramsay. I know, I know, the first season came out last year, and I am, as they say, huli sa balita, but hey, better late than never.
I cannot cook to save my life (though my experiments in the kitchen were thankfully not total disasters [read: the people I cooked for are still alive and well]), but I do have strong opinions about what I eat, the restaurants I go to--from the menu options, to the decor of the place, down to the general atmosphere of a restaurant. I love watching cooking shows, and so far, my hands down favorite is iron chef Mario Batali. This is why, last year, I just closed my eyes to prevent myself from looking at the bill, and got out my credit card to pay for a really expensive dinner in one of Mario's restaurants in Vegas. It was such a wonderful experience that I literally had tears in my eyes after (I also tried Wolfgang Puck but my dining experience in Mario's resto was just more memorable overall).
Anyway, I never really got to watching Hell's Kitchen and so my impression of Chef Ramsay was based largely on word-of-mouth. One thing I was sure of, he's a much meaner and more brutal version of Simon Cowell, and I would not willingly subject myself to one of his honest appraisals.
So I watched Kitchen Nightmares (which I understand has an earlier UK version which is much tamer and deletes most of the scenes with profanities) and was hooked from the get-go. The concept is relatively simple: Chef Ramsay searches for struggling restaurants all over the US and tries to rescue them in one week. What follows is a melodramatic display of emotions, alternating between hapless resignation and hysterics, as owners and chefs bristle at criticisms, and resist much-needed change. Like ANTM, there are makeovers -- the decor of the resto is changed, the menus are modified, some chefs are fired -- and in the end, the resto is saved.
The show is an eye-opener for those who are in the food business. Chef Ramsay's passion for restaurants and his adherence to strict safety and hygiene measures, is admirable, and his love for food and commitment to giving customers a great dining experience resonates with simple viewers like me. Customers should always be treated right, and should always be served yummy food that comply with stringent safety and health standards. It is but our right, and the owner's concomitant duty, to get our money's worth, whether we choose to eat in a hole-in-the-wall family diner or a fine dining resto.
Chef Ramsay, you are, as Kimora (eeew) says -- fabulosity personified.
2 comments:
I watched this show as well, as an aspiring chef, key word being aspiring, I really enjoyed getting an inside look on what most future restaurant owners fear most, failure. If we can get a glimpse of where some of these places go wrong, we can use that to avoid making the same mistakes. I know its a tv show, and some of the drama may be manufactured, but the problems are real and they face business owners worldwide. Seeing how to avoid them before they happen to me, has been a blessing that I wouldn't have seen without this show.
stressful siya pero magaling! and i loooove mario.naks first name basis.try mo hanapin sa http://www.youku.com at baka may episodes dun.
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