Can you tell me in which episodes of Ramsay's Kitchen nightmares (both UK and US) he liked the food overall?

I think you need to proofread your Q again :) As it is now, I can’t fathom what you’re asking.

I have watched all of them (UK and US) and that is the only one I can remember.

And I must add that the UK one is so different from the one in the United States. It is actually depressing to compare the two. He is nice in the UK one and a total dick in the one here. I assume we love watching assholes and he will play the part if paid enough.

Ahhh. Much better.

And offhand, I really can’t think of any. But that’s not too surprising. If you subtract the histrionics for the cameras on his other show, Hell’s Kitchen, it’s apparent that he has a very high standard and a keen palate.

But he holds himself to those standards because when he does cook, you realize that the guy is not talking out his ass. He really can cook and has extensive food knowledge.

He is a total dedicated perfectionist and is usually right on the mark (as most of the people he’s dealing with eventually admit).

So many places nowadays use shortcuts with frozen and processed crap and he calls them on it. And he also shows them simple ways to do it fresh.

He definitely has a passion for good food and good service. And many of the failing places he deals with have lost their passion. Lackluster food and lackluster service and unbelievably dirty kitchens. I wouldn’t want to eat there.

But I definitely would not want to be working with him. It would drive me up the wall :)

@johnpowell

Have you watched him on Master Chef? Totally different from Hells Kitchen. You’d think he had a personality transplant.

On Master Chef Joe Bastianich plays the heavy with his silence and baleful glares.

Ramsay is more like the helpful cheerleader. It’s really funny.

But he’s still just as exacting and fussy about the food. He just refrains from yelling at them about it :)

I’ve stopped watching HK altogether as it’s just a big set-up by the producers. They purposely choose a bunch of mostly incompetent losers with only a couple capable ones thrown in.

If they wanted to they could get far far better quality contestants the way Top Chef does.

But then, who would be left for Ramsey to cuss and scream at?

Plus, he obviously knows better than to be boorish to the contestants on Master Chef since they are all home cooks with no experience in a professional kitchen.

If he started screaming at them, they’d lose their audience totally.

@Buttonstc
I think he is nicer to the “Masterchef” contestants because they are amateurs and he knows they do not have the experience or knowledge of professional chefs.
The guys on Hells Kitchen are supposed to be professionally trained chefs and when they fuck up the way they do, it is understandable that he is pissing on them.

@Buttonstc :: He is nicer on Masterchef, but still a dick. The AU version of masterchef is the best by far if you are into that sort of thing. Even the nicer Masterchef US Ramsey is still a dick compared to his shows in the UK. Watch Hotel GB and Gordon Behind Bars.

Yes, you’re absolutely right.

And, on HK, I don’t question that he has the right to get on their case if they’re screwing up. It’s just that the standards for contestants on HK is so laughably low that it’s inevitable for a high number of them to get chewed out all over the place. A lot of them are incompetent to begin with.

I don’t believe that he really has input on which contestants are chosen (probably isn’t even in the country at the time) and the first episode is when he’s meeting them.

Heck, they’re far more exacting in choosing the amateur home cooks for MC. All the judges participate in the vetting process there and it shows in the quality of the show.

I just totally lost patience with the ship of fools on HK. That’s reality TV at it’s very worst.

Do you guys get Top Chef over there? What do you think of it?

I love love love Top Chef.. That is what baffles me about HK. They intentionally pick bad people. Even the best on HK is so much worse than the first to get the boot from top chef.

I watch a lot of cooking shows but mostly eat bananas and freezer pizza.

@johnpowell

Where do you find the Aussie version of MC?

I think I have caught a few of Ramseys British airings on BBC, but haven’t noticed any AU version.

And even the UK ones on BBC are sporadic at best.

Oh my… I get them from bittorrent trackers that focus on UK/Canada/Australia tv. If you are down with FTP I can send you info on how to get into my server and download them.

Seriously, the Australian Masterchef is the best. No joke, and it is on six nights a week.

@johnpowell

I would love to do that except for one teeensy problem. I have no idea what I’m doing in that regard :)

It’s not that I wouldn’t like to. It’s just that I’m aware of how seriously one can screw up their computer by downloading the wrong thing on a torrent site. (Obviously not a problem for you since you know what you’re doing)

Do you have a link to any really really easy tutorials on how to do this stuff ?

If Fluther doesn’t allow posting it on here, my email addy is my exact Fluther SN at Gmail. That’s my primary email addy if you have a link to any torrent tutorials for technotards.

I’ve tried Googling for it in the past but all the info sites presuppsed knowledge or experience I don’t have.

Anyhow, do you watch The Chew at all? They have a lot of really east consumer friendly recipes. I love watching Top Chef and even bought one of their cookbooks. But a lot of the recipes are very “cheffy” with esoteric ingredients or techniques.

Email on the way…

BTW

On Food Network, they’re currently showing, in order, the episodes from last season’s competition Next Iron Chef all this afternoon and evening. I was so rooting for Ming Tsai.

I have it on in the background. Talk about getting really top notch contestants.

Spike (formerly on TC), Chiarrello, Samuelson, Guarneschelli, Chuck Hughes, the woman with the spiky blond hair whose name I can’t remember, etc.

@Buttonstc , I believe you’re referring to Anne Burrell. Wasn’t she originally a sous chef for Mario Batali on Iron Chef? And now she’s on Next Iron Chef and she already has the show Secrets of a Restaurant Chef on FN.

No I can’t, because I don’t watch that shite.

@laurenkem

Actually, I had temporarily forgotten that Anne was in that group of contestants so there were two spiky blondes :) Of course Anne’s name I know well since I watch her show “Secrets” whenever it airs, and I have from the first day it began. It is one of the few FN shows I will watch. Most of them are a waste of time.

I remember the days when they had people with an actual base of food knowledge who could teach (rather than just “personalities”). Gone are the days of David Rosengarten, Sarah Moulton, Jacques and Julia, etc.

I’ll also watch Tyler and Alton and Chuck Hughes, the rare new Ina Garten episodes and that’s about it.

Anyhow, the OTHER spiky blonde was Elizabeth Falkner, a young hip pastry chef with a surprising amount of savory food knowledge and technique outside of her own field. Very innovative ideas. She surprised everyone and outlasted quite a few of the very experienced chefs ( Ming Tsai, Chiarello, Marcus Samuelson etc.)

The new season of the competition starts tonight.

Even tho this show is a Top Chef ripoff, it’s still worth watching because of the quality of the contestants, most with years of experience, knowledge and success behind them.

I enjoy watching quality folks at the top of their game doing what they do best (instead of just bombastic personalities with catchphrases.)

Okay, @Buttonstc , now I know which one you mean! I’ve gotten used to seeing her lately, but I never really learned her name for some reason.

Ack, fell asleep last night trying to watch the new season – thank goodness I’ve got the DVR set up to record it.

Is it mean of me to be rooting against Alex Guarneschelli (sp)? Sorry, I don’t like her.

ha ha. You root for whomever you want. Amanda Freitag has always rubbed me the wrong way. She just seems kind of snobbish.

But my two favs are Mehta and Eliz. Falkner. She almost won last season. The finale was her against Jeffrey Zacharian.

Considering that he has several decades experience in the restaurant biz and she’s only 23, that’s pretty damn impressive.

I like Mehta for his eclecticism and precision. He’s interesting.

But I think its about time for a woman Iron Chef Winner so I’ve got my fingers crossed for Falkner.

She also has an extra edge on some of them since most regular chefs hate doing desserts and its frequently a dessert which sends them home.

But she works full time asva pastry chef which is a distinct advantage. Last yr. they tended to underestimate her because of it but she’s a hell of a good cook and very creative.

It will be an interesting season.

ha, I agree with you about Amanda Freitag, @Buttonstc . I find it interesting to see her on the other end of the judging. If you’ve ever seen her on Chopped, she really does not come across as a very nice person and, indeed, quite snobbish. So yes, I quite enjoy seeing her get cut down to size this time!

Chef Zacharian, IMO, has absolutely nothing to prove, given his track record. I have a hard time even understanding why he’s on these shows. Pretty cute, though. :)

The only “fad” chef (don’t know what else to call them) I care for is Guy Fieri, and I was quite happy when he won Next Food Network Star several years ago. Sure enough, look at him now. Love almost all his food!

Zacharian is currently an Iron Chef. He was last seasons winner.

I think one reason many of them appear on these shows is that it’s good for business.

In a competetive area like NYC especially where the percentage of restaurant failures is so high, this definitely gives them an edge.

If I were visiting NYC, his restaurant would be on the top of my short list of places to eat. I’d also love to go to one of Lydia Bastianich’s eateries.

I’m not much of a fan of Guy Fieri honestly. I’m not big into really spicy food and I think there were far more knowledgeable contestants and far better cooks eliminated in his season (Nathan Lyon for one).

He’s a nice enough guy but his main claim to fame isn’t his food. It’s his hair, tattoos, backwards sunglasses and catchphrases. And how much food he can stuff into his face on DDD :) I don’t hate him but I just don’t watch his shows either, (unless there’s a fairly local restaurant being featured.) Meh.

But to each his own…