I love him. You may not. The question is given the level of “coarse language” should Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant programs – eg Kitchen Nightmares – be shown on free-to-air television as early as 8.30pm?
Today the radio was filled with talkback… yes still talking about Troy Buswell but also about the amount of swearing on Gordon Ramsey’s popular program “Kitchen Nightmares”. This show is on at 8.30pm on Tuesday and Thursday nights and is rated M for coarse language.
Ramsey’s feedback style is… direct. If you haven’t caught his show before he is more likely than not to say to some hapless chef ” What the f*&k is this? It’s f*^king sh!t. Call yourself a f$#king chef?!”
I haven’t counted how many swear words he might say but put it this way – he doesn’t hold back.
One night, albeit when it was on a later timeslot, I even heard the C-word dropped. My jaw hit my chest in disbelief… did I really hear that word on FTA telly?
I love his show though. I tune in every night, record it to miss the ads, and settle in with my cuppa to watch him take apart a restaurant and make a success of it and he obviously rates otherwise the TV execs wouldn’t schedule his show three nights a week…
There’s no doubt though that he is a bully in the way he gives his feedback. It might make good telly but I would hate to have anyone treat me as he treats these restaurant owners who presumably sign up for some Sado-Masochism – Gordon Ramsey style.
But that is all by-the-by… should his show, given the level of coarse language (very high) be allowed to be screened at 8.30?
What say you, my friend?
{ 12 comments }
I am not sure whether Australia has as many TV chefs as the UK. I know a number of out chefs have ‘made it’ over there: Nigella ‘the posh female one’; Jamie ‘the chirpy back-to-basics one’; and of course Gordon ‘the swearing one’. And that rather illustrates my point. In the world of TV cookery each celeb-chef needs a gimmick, with Gordon’s being his no-holds-barred tell-it-as-it-is delivery. Apparently this is how many chefs behave in their kitchens where they are lords (inevitably) of all the survey.
Saying all that there is much more to the man than the profanity. I think he rarely gives bad advice. He may give the same advice to many of the failing restaurateurs he visits, but that does not diminish its value, nor make Ramsey’s delivery of it any less entertaining.
Kitchen Nightmares is must-watch TV for me – if only for that smug superiority one gets when watching these fools running their business into the ground. (Maybe I am being a little too honest there.)
As for the swearing on TV, I have no f**cking problem with that whatso-f**cking-ever… and anyone who thinks otherwise is a prudish w**ker who should look around at the world we live in and grow the f**k up…
ROFLMFAO
I love Chef Ramsey! I am not a big TV watcher so I have only seen the Kitchen nightmares show about 4 times but I NEVER miss Hell’s kitchen! He does curse entirely too much but if you are competing to run the top kitchen in the country you better be the best!
(I am watching hell’s kitchen right now while typing this). But this is an awesome show. It comes down to parenting, if you don’t want your child exposed to the cursing than don’t let them watch it!
I got to see Ramsey on an episode of Larry King Live, where he talked a lot about his family, it was another side of him that I admired!
I agree with the description of his bullying style feedback , but haven;t ever watched full episode (not watching much TV at all at the moment). With the swearing being on at 8.30pm I don’t see a problem with it as long as there is always plenty of warning at the start.
NB. My site will be undergoing maintenance until approx midday Wednesday (Australian time).
The thing that I admire about Gordon was described by one of those “bent out of shape” Chefs that Gordon was “helping”.
The first few encounters were the usual two alpha-males front-ups which Gordon inevitably wins due to;
(a) Physical size
(b) Practice at being the king of confrontation
(c) He’s usually correct
In a follow up to one of Gordon’s interventions this chef said something along the lines of:
“I thought this guy was a show-pony until I saw him (long after all the cameras and assistants had left) on his hands and knees at 3.00am in the morning scrubbing rancid grease off the underside of MY grill pans – He’s the real deal, he believes it and he does what he says”
That’s what you call leadership and that’s what earns respect.
I agree with Kevin (Original commenter) that the swearing / agressive thing is his TV Chef trademark – People only put up with character flaws like that if there is substance beneath the style.
I don’t admire his bullying, but it’s entertaining to watch. I admire his passion and his ability.
I don’t watch Gordon Ramsey because this “prudish w**ker” objects to the amount of swearing and I also think he should be on tv a bit later. Having said that, I did watch a couple of episodes of his previous series and have to say he’s good at exposing the flaws of any kitchen out there and at helping get them corrected.
I don’t watch the shows myself, never seen more than a couple of minutes of the show but i keep hearing about the language in the shows.
I really wish they would show an educational program right before one of the Ramsey programs showing people how to change the channel if something on the station they are watching offends them or they don’t want to watch.
Anything but having to hear people complain about the show on tv!
They have a rating saying this program is rated M for coarse language… isn’t that enough?
Oh how I love, love, love this show and have seen him on Larry King Live and yes, I agree… a very nice man… but people forget he is letting them basically take control of his kitchens – you had better be good and had best be able to cope with the hectic crap that he is going to throw at you… gotta love Chef Ramsey – words and all…
I absolutely LOVE me some Gordon Ramsey. I don’t have a problem with the time slot as there is plenty of warning regarding the language, not to mention the amount of publicity he has generated.
He was on Sixty Minutes a week or so ago with his family – that showed a very different side to the man behind the mouth.
I remember one episode – the Welsh Fish Restaurant -where Ramsey told the wife who was front of house under no circumstances do you argue with customers.
On last night’s Hells Kitchen – he broke this cardinal rule.
I was disappointed.
My idol is flawed.
i love gordon ramsey. i find him to be straight forward and passionate. the time the profram is on is not a problem neither is his swearing. kids should be in bed asleep when he comes on anyway, they have school to rest for!. it comes down to personal oppinion, hence the old saying, “if you don’t like it, don’t f*cking watch”……we watch all his shows. he is brilliant and i support him 100%.
keep up the good work!