As a cook, this episode was surprisingly hard for me to watch and nearly brought a tear to my eye on a couple occasions. We do just want a normal life with standard 8 hour shifts. The job is exhausting and the rewards aren't really worth the effort. I'll be taking the LSAT test in August and hope to move on from this life and go to law school. Wish me luck.
Not cooking, but I quit my career and went to law school a couple years back. Taking the bar exam in a few weeks. One of the guys in my class was a cook and quit and found his way into the legal field too. Good luck
My ex's friend was head chef and owner of a renown restaurant in Sydney. He quit and went to law school as a mature student, passed and became a corporate lawyer
The worst thing about the blue plaster thing is that its food safety conscious and blue plasters are required in first aid kits in food prep so youd never accidentally eat it.
Gordon didn't even ask him to get a skin coloured plaster. He specified a white plaster. It looks almost as obvious as the blue one in the clip! What a pointless escapade 😂
@@GeorgeFarren Eh I guess that makes sense? Blue plasters probably come across as more "cheap" than white ones, but why would there be blue plasters in the building if it was that much of a concern
@@comparethequeercat He does say 'in the dining room' in the clip, it's possible that they did follow that for those same food safety best practices reasons in the back of house, and white in the dining room was a compromise to not look ugly for customers
One thing for which I'll be forever grateful to Gordon Ramsay was when he burned toast on camera. I was developing my skills at home cooking and getting to be very neurotic about how things turned out, often holding myself to such a standard that it was bumming out everyone else, even as they actually enjoyed my cooking. And then, in a video about English breakfast, Gordon Ramsay burned toast. And he laughed, and hurriedly popped in another slice. And I thought, "If the 'you fucking donkey' guy just laughs it off when he burns the toast, then what the fuck am I doing?" I chilled out a lot after that.
@@ThermicLighthe actually went to In and Out Burger once and he enjoyed it so much he told his driver to go through the line again and order another one.
@@ThermicLight Have you actually followed Gordon Ramsey or are you just going off of highlights on TV. Much like Adam said, TV personalities are just that, TV personalities. Yes he yells a lot but it's only at people who should know what they're doing. Take Hell's Kitchen, the people that are brought in claim to be and usually are professional chef's. The fact that many of them continuously mess up a dinner service is not acceptable of a professional chef. Same with Kitchen Nightmare's. The owners that act like they're hot shit despite running a restaurant into the ground is also unacceptable. But when you look at shows like Master Chef or Master Chef Junior he's a very different person. Yes he's critical but the people competing are there to learn and he knows this. Especially with Master Chef Junior, he's very encouraging and only critiques to teach. He knows they're little kids and the fact they can even cook as well as they do is crazy on it's own. There's even stories of show crew employees working on his show and many have said he treats them with respect and is kind of a goofy joker. Outside of Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares you'd be hard pressed to find content of him being an asshole, it's usually quite the opposite. @Kakarot1591 gave a great example demonstrating he knows when to be critical and when to be kind.
I've worked in restaurants for nearly twenty years. The best feeling in the world is when the front and back of house dig through the weeds as one cohesive whole. When every team member assists and anticipates each movement of the kitchen, the expo line, the dining room, the bar, etc. An effective dinner service feels like a symphony. To be a vital piece of a precise machine feels incredible.
I've never worked in food, my area is software. It's a really, unusually broken software place that has yelling. Sometimes there are software emergencies (the website goes down or the incoming orders are falling or the money isn't moving around correctly) and there is somewhat anxious coordination. The best feeling is successfully breaking the problem into parts that can each be performed by the person with the most applicable expertise.
I wanna say Adam, you have achieved your goal of getting people to chill the hell out about food, at least in my case. Cooking is one of the few activities I can consider myself genuinely skilled at, and take pride in. Never in any way other than as a home cook, but still I had a kinda uppity attitude with my own family or friends about it. Now, after having been a viewer since 2019 into 2020, your influence has really curtailed that impulse in me. I'm much more laid back about food, and much less of a dickhead about food. And for that, I'm grateful
Adam is teaching us that it’s okay to improvise with food. You don’t need to follow recipes, just learn some basics and you can throw together whatever with whatever you’ve got. Ya, sometimes it’s not going to be worth saving the leftovers, but other times something delightful will result…with a lot less stress.
@@Nicksonian Pretty much. Cooking becomes ten times easier once you realize that, with the crucial exception of baking, you don't usually have to be that precise with your measurements. Just develop a good intuition for 'sane' amounts of seasoning. Also, plenty of recipes will turn out just fine if you have to skip a minor ingredient or make a substitution. The latter is important, it means suddenly, a small spice wrack can do a good job of cooking almost anything, rather than needing to have a hundred different herbs and spices on hand.
A lot of what Gordon Ramsay cooks nowadays seems to be focused more on looking good than actually tasting good. Recently he published a video on TikTok where he made a massive steak sandwich, and when other people tried to recreate it they all showed that it was nearly impossible to eat due to stacked it was. It's food for the cameras, not for humans.
Just saw that video a few minutes ago :D Yeah, it's huge. But it def looked good, with the juices flowing, etc. Could taste the onions! And their crunchiness. However, I thought to myself that that particular sandwich is soooo basic! Even for the Gordon's level - he always does the same prep, same ingredients, same method ('a cast iron skillet, olive oil (!), a clove of garlic, rosemary...' blah blah). Damn that's boring!! As if there's no other method to prepare a steak!? Or any other piece of meat in that regard... So the final result is that the video was as GENERIC as it could be! (In other words, trash.) Nobody gained anything (new) and the sandwich was absolutely the same - terribly ordinary stuff - Gordon makes every single day! So if you're a chef or he's a chef - what's the point of making the same stuff (same way) over and over again? Especially for the telly? It (the latter format) means exactly that the skills should be applied in different ways, virtuosicly and ingeniously. It's experimentation, and invention, and innovation... Not some steak just all over again!!!! At some point it just becomes stupid, a performance routine, a meme.
I think Gorden the dad who cooks at home with his kids is a much more enjoyable man in TV than the screaming chef on TV... basically lockdown helped me like him more than I did before lockdown...
Favorite quotes: "If you're yelling in the workplace, and there's no literal explosion going on, that's not a sign of strength-it's a sign of weakness. It means you're out of control-of yourself or your team." "A real man's courage is to acknowledge that he doesn't know everything, and he doesn't have to. Real strength is in learning and constant self-improvement. Real strength is in working with other people so that they can do the things you can't do, and vice versa. Real strength is making the people you work with feel valued and heard and supported. And if you don't value the people you work with, that's really your fault. You either should have trained them better or hired someone else, or maybe they really do just suck and you need to fire them, but you can do that quickly and quietly. Professionally. With library voices."
The second quote feels kind of damning where it's like, Adam will tolerate abuse but if it's delivered in a quiet/restrained matter rather than a loud, eye-grabbing manner. Keep in mind Marco Pierre White made Gordon Ramsay cry and when brought up to him, Marco went "No I yelled at him and then Gordon *CHOSE* to cry." That's the kind of person Adam is batting for.
Idk if this applies at fine dining-level restaurants but I was taught that the purpose of wearing blue or bright-colored bandaids is to make them visible to prevent food from getting sent out with an inconspicuous bandaid on the plate
A video on the history of our public school lunch program would be interesting. It’s sad to see what it has turned into. The Chris Farley Lunch Lady making meals from scratch has been replaced with corporate premade prison style meals that get delivered and microwaved all under the guise of health.
This. I remember when there was this "health initiative" to make school lunches healthier. It made lunches taste significantly worse and honestly I don't think they are much better for you.
its always comments like this that makes me grateful of the schools i went to. i graduated highschool in 2020 so some things might have changed, but the school lunches were always good, in highschool there was always a 'build you own' style lunch line where you would pick what you want with things like, pastas, rice, even gryos! the other lines were also good, i think that the reason is because i had a really good school district.
Toward the end of the podcast, I realized this was not about GR or cooking. It was management and politeness. A ‘library voice’ is what is needed in today’s world. Our TV shows, news broadcasts, movies, sporting events, etc., should reflect this. Sadly, verbal and physical violence has become the norm. This has spilled over from so-called ‘entertainment’ to what is happening in our daily lives. Thanks, AR, for contributing to a saner world.
People should be themselves, and there should be understanding for oppressed minorities, yes including those who grew up in an abusive home, to be themselves. Elites like to create rules of “culture and professionalism” that are methods to gatekeep and prevent minorities from having a voice. I totally disagree.
In live audio production the best advice I have learned is in line with this. First: never run anywhere. By running you’re communicating that something’s about to break and nothing is working Secondly: always speak to musicians through a microphone into the stage monitors (or in ears) or walk up to them and speak no matter how small the venue is. To be heard without microphones You’ll need to raise your voice to be heard and by raising your voice you’re communicating aggression. Just by shouting “HEY” in order to get attention from someone will sour the atmosphere
When you take one month to make 1 cooking video library voice can work. When you are in a busy kitchen having to get 30 plates of food out an hour I cannot hear your library voice
"There are a lot of permanently anxious workaholics among the gen X generation" Oh my god, this hit so hard. This explains my parents and my fiancees parents and a lot of other gen Xers we know.
@@SimuLord I got over all that after working with zoomers and millenials for a while. A lot of the will quit if you look at them funny. They wont put up with much bullshit, and why should they. Kinda relaxing when you dont have to compete with a bunch of psychos.
I'm on the cusp of X and Millennial, so I was on the receiving end of those workaholic values. Here in the US, the rug was pulled out from under workers by the time I made it into the workforce. Thankfully, I have resisted the urge to take it out on others or pull what's left of the ladder up behind me.
I would be a lot more open to going back to restaurant work if I knew everyone in the kitchen was committed to controlling themselves. It just felt so shitty to be screamed at for making the simplest mistake. You are so spot on when you say some people just want to go to war in the kitchen whether there is one or not. It's really frustrating to deal with people who feel entitled to act out when things go wrong instead of acting like professionals.
The screaming came about due to a particular reason of noise and little space it was hard to hear people making even harder was the small kitchens so you tried your best not to walk around to much because you would get in each other way. For some reason people took the screaming turned it into belittling finding fault for minor issues.
Gordon's best show is his series with prisoners (Gordon Behind Bars). He's genuinely nice to them and wants them to succeed and it is so much more powerful and entertaining than his traditional angry shows
Blame the American cut of those 'angry shows.' You should see how he helps people grow in Hotel and Kitchen Nightmares. It's very similar, in UK/EU. Just not in the USA.
The one with the little kids is also really sweet. He really comforts those kids when their dished flop and tries to bolster their confidence in pointing out where things did go well.
I noticed that some years back! Yes, somehow in the USA he found producers who very much wanted to amp up the tension--which is true to one degree or another of ALL the US food shows. @@definitelyzeblackcat743
you should look at the difference between his media persona in the Uk vs the Us his persona in the Us it seems to get amped up for the American audience
Gordon's definitely softened a bit over the years. I remember people love watching Masterchef Junior because he's very patient, supportive, and understanding of the kids. (He's had 5 of them after all)
trades are having a similar issue, because people are sick of spending all day being bullied by their own boss, so they get jobs in industries where that isn't treated as both the norm and a positive. also gordon's grilled cheese was a crime against humanity and i'll never forgive him for that.
@@slipperynickels I was training in tool and die and left because it was verbally abusive. Luckily in a much better place in CNC machining now but that was a terrible few months
Another particularly cruel dynamic I've had with yelling in the workplace is the supervisor exclusively scolding you from across the room. So, any time you screwed up (it happens in a fast paced warehouse environment) everyone in the department got to know about it.
That’s a huge no-no for me. I’ve managed many people and I’ve used bad language and even raise my voice a few times but I would never scold someone in front of the group. Every employee gets a 30 minute meeting once a week and I can discuss it there. The only time I would scold someone in front of the group is, if they were scolding, someone else, I would tell them to cut it out .
This reminds me of a documentary about the Battle of Midway. The captain of one of the US ships was a soft spoken man who stood stoicly unmoved by explosions. He even made puns. The man interviewed said just looking at the captain inspired him to do his job despite bleeding and freaking out about the torpedoes he could literally see the ship dodging.
the lesson i'm taking away from the blue bandage story is that gordon ramsay doesn't realize that he's structurally set up his restaurant to be stocked with band-aids that he'll scream at people for using, which is like... definitionally self-defeating. at some point hours in advance, possibly days or even weeks, someone showed up with a box of colorful band-aids. and in theory, gordon is such a stickler for details that he saw the band-aids, but apparently didn't tell this person that they needed to go back out and buy more inconspicuous band-aids. i totally agree with you that he was wrong to yell at the waitstaff with the band-aid. he should've been yelling at himself, because he shouldn't have provided his employees with band-aids that he didn't want them to use. he could have made it impossible to make this mistake, but he neglected to. and that's not the waitstaff's fault - it's gordon's.
@ObsoleteVodkaYT Just a quick reminder that the blue bandage story was during a time when he was going after a michellin star. It is true that blue bandages do help with food/drink situations but this is fine dining and not your normal restaurant, you never know when you are going to be spot checked by one of the michellin investigators. A blue bandage can imply low standards and gordon wouldn't want that. Also note that the blue bandage was being worn by a server. A chef cooking and wearing a blue bandage is fine but a maitre'd/waiter wearing a blue bandage is unsightly because everyone can see your bandage and would hyperfocus on that. you can lose michellin stars because of tiny details like that, not just for your food quality dropping Also, Gordon is more chill when he is not in a professional kitchen. Masterchef adult and junior, his travelling series unchartered and great escape and even his home cooking series. It's just that when he's in a kitchen he places a very strict bar for himself and the chefs he is working with to uphold and maintain. that also includes the front of staff.
@@muchluck7981You could lose a Michelin star because a server dared to wear a bandage? Thats ridiculous lmao, and regardless going for a Michelin star doesn't excuse treating your staff terribly. Thought it would be common sense, but treating people right is more important than some award.
@@BeyondTrash-xe1vs It's not really treating your staff like shit. It's called holding a standard. Could it be handled better? Yes but not saying anything at the same time is just as bad because that waiter is unintentionally setting an example to the other wait staff that it's fine to use that kind of bandage for the front of house Also at the same time, he was really after a michellin star at the time and michelin was sending in secret diners, anybody could be an inspector of michelin and you wouldnt know it
This was excellent. Thank you Adam. I once heard "hurt people, hurt people." And I didn't realize that about the Marco/Gordon relationship, but I did see that video of the ravioli. Loved the breakdown on the bad of Ramsey and how there is a real danger for millions of people seeing that angry yelling person each night. And it goes beyond just wanna-be chefs. That stuff leaks into your everyday outside of the kitchen, as a father, husband, boss, employee - you think it's cool or macho to yell to get what you want. It is nice to see Gordon's moved on from telling people they are an idiot to calling them "donuts" which to be honest is unfair for donuts (they are so damn delicious, but anyway.) But at least it's a softer take, but the message is still there. It'd be interesting to see if Gordon could pivot away from that persona since he has so much power, because all signs point to him being a really nice person outside of the TV stuff.
While I am not a pilot, following some pilots on youtube has led me to appreciate the types of "crew resource management" that have been shown to work in the cockpit, and I have found many ways to apply it in my life. Yelling at and demeaning ones coworkers does not actually achieve results.
I always liked the "old" UK-Kitchen Nightmares Ramsay and disliked the loud US one. The UK series was just way more calm, focused (not only on the food itself) and overall respectful to the Ppl and profession itself.
I've mentioned this a couple of times here - the first few seasons are excellent - it starts getting 'gimicky' toward the end with lots of silly team-building stuff thrown in - but the first few are all about the business and the food - and very little ranting (even when you suspect there should be. e.g GR being fed rancid scallops and having to literally vomit them up by a useless chef)
When Gordon Ramsey visited Masterchef Australia he was polite and showed how to cook the dishes he presented there. Teaching the competants some cooking skills. Btw. Marco Pierre White was just the same. So when the premise of a cooking show is to be supportive and inclusive then those TV bastards can drop that bastardness.
I love how the classic boomer argument of "hurf back in MYYYY DAAAY we used to be tough and do things the right way" when it comes to toxic workplaces is so easily defeated by real life examples of top level kitchens being run by well treated, well mannered and calm staff. The world can be a better place, most of humanity just doesn't want it to be.
Great work, Adam. I have felt the same for ages. The culture of promoting drama, anger and bullying to make a bigger buck creates an angry, damaged society. Hurt people hurt people.
"They don't remember me but I remember them." That line is especially scary coming from an Italian. Totally agree with Adam on not having to be an arse as a prerequisite for being a boss or someone in charge.
I'll go first. Yes. When we are in the weeds, the best thing is to work together. In my later work life, I worked in a medical facility. On one day during the big of Covid, I was paired with a person I absolutely couldn't stand and she couldn't stand me. Suddenly we found ourselves in the weeds. We both just pitched in while noticing all around us. By the end of that shift and working together in tandem, we grew utmost respect for one another. And are friends now.
as a lowly shift manager, my favorite thing has been to use the library voice and encourage my staff to be themselves. its so nice to see people flourish.
Lol I think a lot of y'all are missing the point. His point of continuously re-emphasizing it is that 99% of the reason why Gordon Ramsay became a TV persona is because of his looks. There are plenty of excellent chefs out there working in Michelin star kitchens, but he just happened to be good looking is basically the synopsis of his back story lol
@@xX_dash_Xx I'm an relatively sure this is not actually about what he things about his look. It is about how ramseys sucses had not only to do with his skill as a cook and am chef, but with his marcability, what your looks are part of
Adam, you're so articulate and fluent. It makes even your lengthy videos fly by. So it delights me to point out that, at 11:25, you say "R.S.V.P. Carrie Fisher" when surely you meant to say "R.I.P." 😂
Right? I recognize that what we see here is a persona, not least because it’s only parts of a whole personality. But I was thrown for a loop when I cooked the crust pie (hold your head with pride, Adam, you’re a genius for this creation!) for Christmas and my daughter and her husband were delighted partly because he knows Adam from his music-persona, not his cook-persona 😄
Can't thank you enough for this, man. I absolutely love the perspective of framing his antics as abuse, because that's exactly what it is. There's this horsecrap culture of abuse among male-dominated fields and I applauded in my own home when you said "burn that shit to the ground"
@@Tavares0709Indeed, wrestlers work with unfair contracts and often develop health problems and die young. That industry is far from a standard you'd want to hold others to.
Just got through the episode. My days in the kitchen following culinary school was not unlike the place depicted by Gordon Ramsey. Being abused by the chef was commonplace and eventually became the reason I changed my mind about wanting to become a chef. These days I’m a home chef with chops, but not anything I picked up in the kitchens where I was the bitch boy who took the job no where near as seriously as Anthony Bourdain did. I simply jumped ship and went somewhere else. Not very heroic, but there’s only so much abuse that I was willing to endure. The next job, was by far, a worse and more demeaning job, I lasted almost a year before I told the boss to fuck himself and his wife, she should murder him in his sleep, before he killed her.
@@Checkmate1138 his reaction was much like the daily greeting: “go fuck yourself faggot”. Or words very similar. This happened back around 1985, so gay or not, it wasn’t like today, where someone is insulted, no one would care. I recently learned he died, I only hope it was an employee had a hand in it, or better, his wife.
As someone currently looking for work, most employers don't actually seem to check too closely if you actually match their requirements before sending an invite to apply. I get lots where I only have one of their things they are looking for, and even that is a minor skill I haven't used in years. It's actually quite irritating.
I liked boiling point and the original kitchen nightmares in the uk while it does have those flaws of being more a persona than reality I appreciate how much more low key it is and he only really yells if there is gross negligence w safety standards and cooking and none of those grating sound queues to denote something bad is happening
The number of times I’ve stolen Adam’s line from the Christmas cookies episode; “It’s Christmas, not a special forces operation.” I’m a musician, and I often catch my colleges or myself in the same high tension low stakes trap.
Wouldn't the cook's blue bandage be better since in the off chance it fell into food, you could know what was contaminated more easily? A lot of food is flesh colored, not much is blue.
Hey, remember when Gordon got epically ratioed when he made a "grilled cheese" and somehow managed to both burn the bread and not melt the cheese? Yeah...
@@willywestsidee okay but having been doing the whole food media thing for like 25 years, the fact that he published that one instead of reshooting it or scrapping it is... a decision to be sure.
@@commodorjack8633 Gordon is just the personality on the front, he has a whole team producing and publishing "his" shows. Could be that they didnt have enough time to redo the recipe and moved on the other 9 recipes they shot that day. Could be the opposite problem, running out of time. Could be that nobody asked for another take, so the rest of the pipeline published what they had. Could be that gordon literally just didnt care about doing it again, because who cares about one bad grilled cheese when hes done thousands of recipes. What does he have to prove haha
Hearing a kitchen manager or head chef shout and belittle others really makes me to never return to that restaurant ever again. I was at a Subway restaurant once, where i had to listen to a manager yell at their staff about how awful they were while I ate. I put in a complaint online, and got an email from that manager back saying they were joking with the staff and she was mad at me for pointing out the inappropriateness of her behaviour. I have no idea how the manager got my email address, except from customer service who probably shared my email without redacting my name...
I think there's something to be said for America's role in shaping the media personality of Gordan Ramsay that we know today. Before his star started to rise over here, he was already quite well known across the pond, and while his persona was still very much a suffer no fools or bullshit kind of entity, it wasn't nearly as dialed up or abrasive as it become once American media got a hold of it. Back in the day, the original seasons of the UK Kitchen Nightmares was a favourite of mine, and part of that alchemy was the balance Gordon struck between being genuinely helpful to and nurturing of talent, while also calling a spade a spade in no uncertain terms. The aim of the show was very clearly to help right ships that had gone wrong. Some efforts were more successful than others, but I never doubted the end goal. American Kitchen Nightmares by contrast is unwatchably mean. It felt like the participants were chosen solely to give Ramsay a justification to blow his stack constantly. It was clear that the purpose of the show was to showcase all of the most unpleasant aspects of Ramsay for no other reason that to watch him scream and swear creatively. It was such a disappointment. Clearly, leaning into that side of the persona has made him obscenely rich, so I get why he's said "fuck it, if that's what they want, I can provide" but for fans who remember the before times, it's sad. I genuinely liked Ramsay back then, even when he was laying into someone, because it never felt malicious. It never felt undeserved, and it's purpose was almost always as a wake-up call.
I've always disliked Iron Chef and Hell's Kitchen. The drama and abuse never landed with me. But I quite enjoyed Kitchen Nightmares where usually the only person getting berated is the egotistical owner that is causing the problems for the business, and his latest show Next Level Chef. while he does criticize obvious mess ups, it's not abusive like his previous shows, as it's a mentorship competition.
Gordo had a show which I saw in the 90s where he cooked for folks in his London Apt. His friends, chefs he knew and his wife were in it. And it was relatively calm informative and kindly. (noone to yell at) I enjoyed watching that. the Master Chef and HK nonsense is where I finally decided to stop watching. I remember one episode where salmon was on the menu and one young chef poached it. Gordon never HEARD of Poaching fish, which I found absurd. Just glance through Escoffier or Julia Child. when Gordon finally tasted it he admitted it was fine. But all the psychotic yelling beforehand was totally unnecessary. Thanks Adam for covering this. All the best Jim Oaxaca Mexico
From what I remember he thought it was raw so he smashed it and they never said anything to him and just started making another one, not his fault if they don't tell him its poached. Maybe this is a different episode though, correct me if I'm wrong.
I worked and kitchens for over 20 years and this really hits home. I called it the "Gordon Ramsey effect" as I can see this style of "leadership" became more and more prevalent. Its abuse is what it is and makes working in a kitchen or anywhere toxic. The high stress low reward dynamic this creates has been one of the several reason why I don't work in kitchens anymore. Add to this the rampant nepotism, the "I got my restaurant management degree" boss, a wage often so low you can't afford to eat at the places you work and lastly the Karen factor. The "customer is always right" mindset that has given way too many people the perceived "right" to shit all over service workers in general. Working in kitchens doesn't need to be a physical, mental and emotional grind, but the celebrity chef culture of the 2000s and beyond has certainly made it harder to get away from that. Thank you for doing this video Adam, your content reminds me of what I love about being in a kitchen
I'd like to add Richard Corrigan to the list of library voiced chefs, I got a chance to eat at his restaurant in Mayfair and the kitchen was quiet and extremely calm. I challenge anyone screaming and shouting to provide a better experience than I had at that place...
As Ozzy Osbourne once put it in one of his interviews, "people know the OZZY OSBOURNE! but, nobody knows the Ozzy Osbourne." Also it's funny as hell to hear you being so lethargic in your podcasts, as compared to your regular videos where you sound energetic.
I was a line cook for 10 years, I can say with confidence Ramsay and White aren't the only chefs who don't use "library voices." It's very common in the restaurant business. And these weren't even high end places mind you. I also found it kinda messed up that you implied Gordon only married Tana for her families money. Kinda disingenuous you there. I also find it kind of weird that you kept bringing up Gordon's good looks, like if it's a strike against him or his character. Because he can totally help and control his genetics and how he was born, right? Cmon man, it's not a good look on you. His looks are really irrelevant to ask the points you're making. Idk Adam. This whole video just rubs me the wrong way. Ramsay was his roughest and meanest in boiling point, sure, even he has admitted that, but in Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares and Hotel Hell his chastisement of the volunteers, and they are indeed volunteers who signed up for this "abuse," no one forced them to do anything they didn't want to do, it's all warranted. The Hell's Kitchen contestants are trained professionals who make simple mistakes and can't even get through a dinner service, and the KN/HH people are usually business people who have no business running kitchens, and not only lie and manipulate Gordon who on is there to help them out of a hole they dug, but the conditions of the kitchens is often so disgusting, how could One not flip out on these people, they can kill someone with these low or absent standards. I say the people in these programs deserve every bit of chastisement Ramsay brings to them. One could also argue these contestants are as fame hungry and covetous as you've straw-manned Ramsay to be. Also Ramsay being an absolutist about his food and skills isn't exclusive to Ramsay, 99% of other cooks do this too so idk why YOU'RE making a big deal of it. Don't agree with me? Just look how Ramsay is on any other show he does. Whether it's his Bourdain style travel shows where he humbly ingratiates himself into another food culture, or MasterChef and MasterChef Junior, or his stand and stir shows, you can see how kind, humble and passionate he really is, not to mention the great charity work he's done, including but not limited to offering convicts jobs when they get out of prison, the Gordon and tana Ramsay foundation that helps sick kids, supporting unicef, John aids foundation and many others. It took you an hour to determine deduce that "GORDON RAMSAY IS A BIG POOPOO MEANY HEAD." C'mon Adam get real. Some people are mean. Gotta get used to that. Be resilient And be disagreeable and don't take shit, that's how I handle mean people, and that's in any field. I worked in the film industry too, that's another mean abusive field where people constantly get stepped on, and not just by execs but DEPARTMENT HEADS! But you're just expected to take it, and nobody talks about them. Idk, like I said this whole video just rubbed me the wrong way. Ramsay isn't really the monster most people make him out to be.
Exactly. I don’t understand how he can just say these things having a) never met the guy and b) having 0 actual experience in the kitchen. Who does he think he is to chastise two 3 Michelin star chefs and just pretend he knows better. He has his head way too far up his own ass
Adam, I’m so glad you tackled The topic of Gordon--the Enigma of Eatery. Gordon totally confuses me at every turn, but I think your observations have helped decipher his Carefully Curated Culinary Craftiness as personified on his shows. If distracting me from my own kitchen problems is the goal, he does it outstandingly each time. Yes, personas are a big part, but every now and then he slips and shows his other side; a kind, fatherly and compassionate cook from a tough upbringing. One of these moments happened when he visited a Hindu retreat center to explore vegetarianism. While there, he was a loss for words. He never cussed and behaved himself while watching them cook simple and delicious food. Of course it didn’t last for long and by the next episode he was back to making crude remarks about anything and everything he deemed worthy of his constant scrutiny. Love your show Adam! ❤🎉😊David Petersen/Houston, Texas
I really respect your wisdom and love so many of your skills and recipes. I'm also really happy to see that your opinion of that man is much like my own, just a showman with a schtick. Thanks for these extended talks. I seldom disagree with you on anything because I know you have so much more wealth and breadth of experience in the kitchen and the garden. I'm glad this video popped up in my sub list this weekend.
Reminds me of my first job as a 14 year old. If we asked how something needs to be done then we were idiots who cant think for ourselves. If we did something ourselves then we were yelled at for not asking first. Everything needed to be done fast and cheap and with quality, one of these things missing and we get yelled at. Making a mistake means getting yelled at. We were often getting a verbal list of things we should be doing and how it should be done, writing anything down is a waste of time and paper and forgetting anything meant getting yelled at. Trying to learn something is a waste of time but when we had to do something that we didnt know then we were useless idiots. That job cost me way more than I earned.
This got weird when ragusea really went overboard while referring to Ramsay's complexion. Especially because it also ends up insulting and ridiculing others who feel like they have similar complexion
I really do hope you see this because i want to thank you for all the help you've given me on weeknights for easy meals. You've genuinely improved a little part of my life with all your cooking help.
I want to see an animated short in the style of MeatCanyon where Adam is the head chef at a restaurant and he kills Gordon Ramsay with kindness in the kitchen. Every time Gordon isn't yelled at for a mistake he just gets more anxious with the compliments from Adam.
You didn't cover it here, but one show of gordons that i like is the ones where he travels and gets to try diffrent foods from diffrent peoples. It's way more layedback and he is way more humble in it. It's super enjoyable to me.
I agree wholeheartedly with your message that leadership isn't just instilling fear in people, and that individuals should be mindful of how they treat others, as they can profoundly impact them (both negatively or positively). Your psychological analysis of Gordon Ramsay strikes me as quite similar to a "psychobiography," which attempts to understand someone by applying psychological principles, research, and their developmental history. One of the most famous authors of psychbiographies is Dan McAdams - you might find his material helpful and interesting if you ever wanted to do more of it. He has a lot of material, but his most famous piece is likely his article from The Atlantic analyzing Donald Trump. In any event, your analysis was pretty good psychbiographically speaking. I thoroughly enjoyed this podcast.
Hurtful comments are remembered by those who were hurt. I worked in a very good, neighborhood restaurant as a young teenager washing dishes. I remember everyone being nice, no yelling, no drama. Somewhere along the way, drama became marketable; hence, Ramsey, et al.
I used to be a big fan of Gordon and watched many episodes of his "Hell's Kitchen", "Kitchen Nightmares", and "Masterchef", but Adam is right, we should NOT be supporting bad workplace behavior, even if it is for entertainment.
The early TV Gordon Ramsay persona more or less doesn't exist anymore. It kind of died a while ago in a past season of Hell's Kitchen, which is the last place he comes close to deploy it. I think he has moved on. I don't think it's fair to say he's still playing this character. I think I last saw it 4-5 years ago.
I have only ever experienced Gordon Ramsay through his Ultimate Cookery Course which was fantastic (if a bit misinformed in places) and was what ultimately gave me the confidence to develop as a home cook having not really gotten a lot of those skills growing up. It's fascinating to hear this side of his story.
I agree with all of Adam's points (as well as some of Kenji's statements decrying Gordon's impact on the generation of young male chefs that followed him), but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't enjoyed a fair amount of his content. His Ultimate Cookery Course series is genuinely helpful and kinda underrated, IMO. And Kitchen Nightmares US is one of my favorite not-so-guilty pleasures.
I love this. It all needed to be said. The hallmark of a tyrannical boss isn't the exercise of power but the abuse of it. These tirades very seldom raise morale or improve performance or help the organization in any way. The boss does it to scratch some personal itch, regardless of the impact, which is usually negative. I think they're reenacting unacknowledged abuse they've suffered and learned to inflict on themselves. It's hard to get through to them about it because they formed an identity around the assumption that this is the right and good and constructive way to run things, despite all evidence to the contrary. I think they find it deeply threatening when anyone criticizes this belief. This isn't just about what goes on in restaurant kitchens. I see examples of it everywhere.
I could listen to Adam talk about any subject. He models extremely healthy behavior and evolved conceptions of masculinity to an audience with many young men who probably get a lot from it. I wish his pod was twice a week!!!
One of the great parts of the channel Vincenzo’s Plate is the frequency at which Vincenzo points out how much of a bully Ramsay is and how terrible he is at making Italian cuisine.
@@ErebosGR “Traditional” methods are not intrinsically better, and dunking on people that are clearly not even trying to make things by the method that he prefers is just pointless rage-farming. I like Vincenzo as a cook, but as a reaction guy, he adds very little and perpetuates the territoriality over food and recipes that is one of the more noxious and annoying phenomena online.
@@keithjackewicz8423 I never said traditional cuisine nor its methods are inherently better now, but at the time, for various reasons, they mostly were. Vincenzo dunks on people that try to pass Italian-American dishes as Italian. It's about cultural misrepresentation. What "territoriality"? Don't you use words you don't understand.
@@ErebosGR Vincenzo does not attack misrepresentations, he attacks anybody that even deviates slightly from tradition unless they’re somebody whose clout he wants to chase.
i worked in a kitchen as a dishwasher and occasional prep cook. 2 weeks after i was hired. the owner and the cook get into a fight, cook walks, then the two prep cooks walk. in the middle of dinner. at the time i kind of felt sorry for him. but then he started hiring anything that walked through the door instead of hiring good reliable people that can work together. the reality is that he hired 4 guys all form different parts of our southern neighbor, these men came from different social classes. and clearly did not get along. hell the first shift was like pushing 400 pounds around. nothing was getting done until the owner came down and re-explained positions and duties, again. which makes it the 3rd or 4th time. 2nd shift was actually pretty good. everyone got along and no fights broke out. 3rd times the charm. i came in early, and made sure my station was set up and the silverware and glasses were done first. everyone was just coming in. my station as dishwasher was in a secluded spot that's kind of shielded, plus the dishwasher was kind of load. plus i could play my own music at the owners request. it took yelling, 1 hour into dinner that dashed any hope that this was a long term solution. i left my station, and went to investigate, what i witnessed i thankfully have never seen anything as horriffic. an all out brawl was taking place, the cook against the 2 preps. one of who had be , thrown on the the cooktop . i instinctively yelled stop. and grabbed a bucket filled with ice and threw the contents at the men. the hvac went off. the 2 preps were legal but so new to America they feared repercussions and fled. didn't even wait for their pay. very strange. the cook was fired on the spot. and that was that. i turned around to see the entire restaurant that an hour ago had been filled with customers , completely devoid of a single customer, including the adjoining bar. and it remained that way until we closed a month later. towards the end our only customer was the homeless man asking for ice. lucky for me this was just a Friday Sat sometimes thursday job as i was in school several years later whilst working at a certain south lake tahoe ski resort as a cook in one of their restaurants, first year, about 3/4 of the way through the season, the resort had a junket tour come in from the bay area. it's skiing and casinos hotel thing. people who have never gone skiing before, kind of fun thing to do. even if you are a karen that takes anything as a pretext. on the day of the incident, i was WRAPPING up my WRAP station. hey i was the one who took tortilla chips home and clear coated them with rare earth magnets, just so i could walk around with a chip one my shoulder. though that i wasn't. too busy, it would fall off if i moved arround too much today she walked in quite literally closing. i mean im wrapping everything up. the work tables a filled wrapped cooking pans and plastic containers. though she's in luck as the Chinese food section hadn't been shut down. she asked for some stuff that was either sold out or had just been pulled and stored. i pointed to the dishes we did have up. i asked her if i could double up the portions to make up for being out of food. now i must note. in this particular kitchen is a workspace and little office and where the walk-in is located. both my supervisor and manager are talking. and they can see me. they can hear me being polite and see that i'm not disrespecting her in any way. what happens next after i served her her food and i turned back to my work. is that most of that food ended up on the back of my head. she threw the food i just graciously served her, at me, just because of perceived wrong. my manager, was on that like white on rice. oh my god i have never seen someone move so quickly before. thats who saw it happen, supervisor came over and consoled me and helped me clean off the food. none of my other customers ever came close to that level of kareness. i did have someone who couldn't stop laughing over the chip on the shoulder. and quite a few that called me a wise ass, which i always found amusing as i never discuss iq with customers anyway little miss karen was introduced to security who then introduced to the Eldorado county Sherriff that lady is really lucky that i allowed the ski resort handle the situation instead of filling my own complaint with the sheriff. in the end though it stayed with me for a very long time, i essentially shrugged it off and kept working. well not the day but i didn't walk and was at work the next day
I made a comment on Epic Rap Battles of History's video about Gordon Ramsay versus Julia Child. I am STILL getting responses that Gordon Ramsay is SOOOO much more important than Julia Child, mostly from brits and younger people who aren't aware of Julia Child. He's an ass! Even if it's a TV persona and he's nothing like that (ask me if I believe that), Julia Child was always the consummate professional and was never anything less than dignified and polite.
Seeing him bite into it was funny. Strange that none of the famous cooks can make the most basic stuff; pizza, grilled cheese, hamburger, pasta etc. They always overcomplicate it and they don't know what makes it good. Ask them to make vanilla ice cream and you'll get it with cinnamon, sea salt, and a basil leaf.
This video resonates immensely with me. Thank you so much Adam for posting it and spreading the word. Story time. After migrating to a new country, where the work experience I had in my home country wasn't even considered by most employers, I landed a position as a line/prep cook at a fancy cafe downtown. I had never worked in a kitchen before. I was, however, a humble home cook, who made my day-to-day, simple meals, and sometimes made pizza or sushi, or stew for friends. Nothing fancy, just had basic cooking skills and a lot of enjoyment for cooking. At this kitchen, we ran a mostly cold line, making salads and toast. The only things we cooked were poached eggs and sometimes almond oatmeal. I assume it wasn't as difficult as most other big restaurant kitchens with huge menus, however, it was still pretty challenging since our chit times for orders were 5 minutes max. Most other cooks there were culinary students, including the head chefs they would hire, who by the way, were super eager to command a kitchen and show "how it's done". That's when I experienced most things Adam talked about in the video. The intensity, the yelling at the kitchen... I was lucky that the first head chef who trained me was friendly (albeit strict, still), and even tolerated me screwing up sometimes (I remember one time when I dropped a whole bowl of frozen corn, he was visibly disappointed but calmly told me to clean it up). However, the next one wasn't as kind. I remember him telling a coworker (who previously used to work at another much more easy-going kitchen), "If people are not screaming at each other, it's not a real kitchen" and "you need to be loud to make things work in the kitchen". As the months went by, they opened a new location, and to my surprise, the director of operations, who I had become good friends with, insisted I become that new location's head chef. I did. She was an incredible person, who was always laughing and having a good time, even during the most intense rush hours. She taught me to be kind, not strict. Patience, not pressure. She hammered into my brain "at the end of the day, it's just toast", despite a lot of people in the cafe disagreeing - these people thought that if we had to kill ourselves to make a perfect avocado toast, we should. That's fucking lame. I ran my kitchen with kindness. Sometimes we would get new trainees who struggled a lot under pressure. I would stop them in the middle of the lunch rush, tell them to breathe, or crack jokes at them to try to lighten the mood, and if they would mess up an order, I would say with a smile "that is okay. No one is going to die because of toast. Put that aside and make another one". I spent my last months there trying to reinforce this behavior in my kitchen, and sometimes would butt heads against the other head chefs who would make their kitchens as miserable as a place as they could (my friends would have terrible days whenever they had shifts working under these chefs). A year after I started, I found a job in my field and went on with my career, never to work in kitchens again (hopefully lol), but still having a fond memory of my time as a head chef who ran a kitchen with lots of kindness and no yelling. The same culinary students who would stress out and yell at the kitchen, I remember coming up with a term for that - "Gordon Ramsey Syndrome". And now, I have Adam fucking Ragusea making a video that basically states that what I did is good, and valid, and should be the standard, and it is even proven to work in high-end kitchens, which is the best part. Thanks again Adam, you rock!
I love this episode so much so that when it showed up on my new suggestions I re-watched it from start to finish again. This is one of your best work. Great message, thank you!
I really enjoy the shift in your content. The Gordon Ramsey persona permeates the reality television genre. I appreciate all of the hours of my life not squandered on television when I see clips of the boorish behavior in the medium. Your content is much more useful and enlightening. Keep up the good work.
27:43 makes me recall the FMJ quote "When under fire, Animal Mother is the finest human being on the planet - all he needs is somebody to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life."
The most upsetting thing about Ramsay is seeing the little glimpses of him being happy. He could be such a beautifully enthusiastic television presenter, chatting with local restaurateurs and home cooks as you see in his travel shows but instead he wants to be the belligerent television chef.
He's only belligerent on the US programming, the UK versions of his show are a lot more real and show him actually being a human being instead of the character they created for ratings
@@JimBob1937 yeah even if he wanted to start genuinely trying to help people (as he did in the uk show) you will have directors, producers, editors hell even the scum-level people will all be begging him to just yell and get mad. The show was never about cooking- It was about drama and screaming
@@AnthonyHoul Have you seen the show? Most of those places were horribly dysfunctional before Ramsay even showed up. He doesn't even do most of the screaming in most episodes.
I remember watching his Indian travel show and wondering why he didn’t film his other shows like that. He was so much more likeable without the yelling.
UA-cam persona basing his persona on talking trash about michellin class personas to get his personal persona giving some personaly subjective views on persons who genuinely know how to cook. Personally, I don't how to make a michellin class meal, but this persona is far from making a wholesome meal for a persona. Personally, I've never found pleasure in belittling another person to personal gain.
Thank you! Thank you! Gordon Ramsay in any of his shows has never appealed to me and it is for all the reasons you so eloquently stated. His abusive bullying, whether staged or not, has no place as representing how food service should be; nor how ANY workplace should be for that matter. Let's hope for more civility and reason for all of society.
Thank you!!! I absolutely HATE his media persona! So many wannabe Gordons running around insulting and degrading people just because he does too. "But he's so sweet with kids" most people fire back. Well why can't he be nice to adults too! Treat others how you want to be treated. No one actually likes to live/work/exist in a hostile environment, and it's up to people like him to set the example for others to follow. It infuriates me that people say "well, he can insult cooks because he is a cook and knows better than them". That's completely ridiculous. Nothing can justify berating someone down for any reason. 80% of the time those people he is berating on those shows literally don't have the knowledge and are just trying to make it work. Or they have no idea their food is bad simply because that's all they're used to. Or they're under a lot of stress and make mistakes because surprise, surprise, they've got a rabid dog breathing down their backs. That abusive persona spills over into wannabe chefs at restaurants, wannabe chefs on YT, wannabe chef commentors on YT, and anyone else who loudly voices their opinion as fact on cooking. I'm sick of seeing it and sick of people excusing it.
the way you describe sounds a lot like dealing with a Narcissist. You can call them out as often as you want but a Narcissist is always a Queen Be and he / she will always have an Army of Skanks AKA The Flying Monkeys who will defend everything the Narcissist does or says.
One of my favorite youtube channels is chef Jean Pierre's channel. He's funny and down to earth. He doesn't take things too seriously, and his recipes are easy to follow, and it's easy to add your own touch to the recipes.
Fun fact if anyone wants to watch a film so terrible its ironically great, ‘Burnt’, by Bradley Cooper, had Gordan as culinary advisor and it shows. The film is the hyper masculine lovechild of Gordan’s persona and the lore (and reality) of Marco’s menacing, abusive, militant, self aggrandizing personality. Its truly terrible and offers a fascinating glimpse into his mind and the paradigm of the tortured chef arc that went on wayyyy too long
Treat others as you wish to be treated, it's that simple. Additionally, I have learned not to take shit from others. I refuse to be abused. It has its cost, but in the end has served me well. The greatest benefit is the self-esteem it brings. Additionally I insist that others should be treated respectfully. I was not always like this, but once I started down that road I just couldn't turn back. Now I sometimes find myself wondering if I have taken this too far.
I freaking love Kitchen Nightmares even as I recognize it is a highly constructed and framed series. There is some deep and interesting analysis of the time and place Ramsey came from. Good video.
As a cook, this episode was surprisingly hard for me to watch and nearly brought a tear to my eye on a couple occasions. We do just want a normal life with standard 8 hour shifts. The job is exhausting and the rewards aren't really worth the effort.
I'll be taking the LSAT test in August and hope to move on from this life and go to law school. Wish me luck.
Good luck 🎉❤
Best of luck
Not cooking, but I quit my career and went to law school a couple years back. Taking the bar exam in a few weeks. One of the guys in my class was a cook and quit and found his way into the legal field too. Good luck
My ex's friend was head chef and owner of a renown restaurant in Sydney. He quit and went to law school as a mature student, passed and became a corporate lawyer
You want an easy 8 hour job and are becoming a lawyer? Lmao the military is easier than that
The worst thing about the blue plaster thing is that its food safety conscious and blue plasters are required in first aid kits in food prep so youd never accidentally eat it.
Gordon didn't even ask him to get a skin coloured plaster. He specified a white plaster. It looks almost as obvious as the blue one in the clip! What a pointless escapade 😂
@@GeorgeFarren Eh I guess that makes sense? Blue plasters probably come across as more "cheap" than white ones, but why would there be blue plasters in the building if it was that much of a concern
Yes, if there's a blue band aid in the goulash it can easily be retrieved but a flesh colored one is a bit more difficult to spot!
@@comparethequeercat He does say 'in the dining room' in the clip, it's possible that they did follow that for those same food safety best practices reasons in the back of house, and white in the dining room was a compromise to not look ugly for customers
RSVP Carrie Fisher
One thing for which I'll be forever grateful to Gordon Ramsay was when he burned toast on camera. I was developing my skills at home cooking and getting to be very neurotic about how things turned out, often holding myself to such a standard that it was bumming out everyone else, even as they actually enjoyed my cooking. And then, in a video about English breakfast, Gordon Ramsay burned toast. And he laughed, and hurriedly popped in another slice. And I thought, "If the 'you fucking donkey' guy just laughs it off when he burns the toast, then what the fuck am I doing?" I chilled out a lot after that.
In my observation wouldn't yell at someone who burns a toast. He would yell at someone if the burned toast was served to the customer.
@@krux02 - Ramsey is the kind of insufferable critic who would complain about greese in his fast food. Too much of a cork sniffer for my liking.
I’m gonna set the smoke alarms off! That’ll wake up the missus!
@@ThermicLighthe actually went to In and Out Burger once and he enjoyed it so much he told his driver to go through the line again and order another one.
@@ThermicLight Have you actually followed Gordon Ramsey or are you just going off of highlights on TV. Much like Adam said, TV personalities are just that, TV personalities. Yes he yells a lot but it's only at people who should know what they're doing. Take Hell's Kitchen, the people that are brought in claim to be and usually are professional chef's. The fact that many of them continuously mess up a dinner service is not acceptable of a professional chef. Same with Kitchen Nightmare's. The owners that act like they're hot shit despite running a restaurant into the ground is also unacceptable.
But when you look at shows like Master Chef or Master Chef Junior he's a very different person. Yes he's critical but the people competing are there to learn and he knows this. Especially with Master Chef Junior, he's very encouraging and only critiques to teach. He knows they're little kids and the fact they can even cook as well as they do is crazy on it's own. There's even stories of show crew employees working on his show and many have said he treats them with respect and is kind of a goofy joker. Outside of Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares you'd be hard pressed to find content of him being an asshole, it's usually quite the opposite.
@Kakarot1591 gave a great example demonstrating he knows when to be critical and when to be kind.
I've worked in restaurants for nearly twenty years. The best feeling in the world is when the front and back of house dig through the weeds as one cohesive whole. When every team member assists and anticipates each movement of the kitchen, the expo line, the dining room, the bar, etc. An effective dinner service feels like a symphony. To be a vital piece of a precise machine feels incredible.
I've never worked in food, my area is software. It's a really, unusually broken software place that has yelling. Sometimes there are software emergencies (the website goes down or the incoming orders are falling or the money isn't moving around correctly) and there is somewhat anxious coordination. The best feeling is successfully breaking the problem into parts that can each be performed by the person with the most applicable expertise.
Masterfully said, and as a chef in training, I agree wholeheartedly.
This sounds like a book excerpt. Get writing, Michelle!
@@beardlessodin945 I really appreciate the confidence boost! Very kind!
@@michelleneal6860 You’re quite welcome! It was truly said and deeply felt! You have a knack for beautiful sentence structure, of a surety!
I wanna say Adam, you have achieved your goal of getting people to chill the hell out about food, at least in my case. Cooking is one of the few activities I can consider myself genuinely skilled at, and take pride in. Never in any way other than as a home cook, but still I had a kinda uppity attitude with my own family or friends about it.
Now, after having been a viewer since 2019 into 2020, your influence has really curtailed that impulse in me. I'm much more laid back about food, and much less of a dickhead about food.
And for that, I'm grateful
Adam is teaching us that it’s okay to improvise with food. You don’t need to follow recipes, just learn some basics and you can throw together whatever with whatever you’ve got. Ya, sometimes it’s not going to be worth saving the leftovers, but other times something delightful will result…with a lot less stress.
@@Nicksonian Pretty much. Cooking becomes ten times easier once you realize that, with the crucial exception of baking, you don't usually have to be that precise with your measurements. Just develop a good intuition for 'sane' amounts of seasoning. Also, plenty of recipes will turn out just fine if you have to skip a minor ingredient or make a substitution. The latter is important, it means suddenly, a small spice wrack can do a good job of cooking almost anything, rather than needing to have a hundred different herbs and spices on hand.
A lot of what Gordon Ramsay cooks nowadays seems to be focused more on looking good than actually tasting good. Recently he published a video on TikTok where he made a massive steak sandwich, and when other people tried to recreate it they all showed that it was nearly impossible to eat due to stacked it was. It's food for the cameras, not for humans.
Tbh,that's more or less a common problem with a ton of tiktok.
Either it's impractical to eat or make, or outright based on lie.
Just any UA-cam sandwich is over stacked, now a basic hamburger is a sorry thing too, there is little chance on salvation annyway
@@2adamastA basic hamburger is the perfect amount of sandwich for me, are people really saying that it's too little?
Just saw that video a few minutes ago :D Yeah, it's huge. But it def looked good, with the juices flowing, etc. Could taste the onions! And their crunchiness.
However, I thought to myself that that particular sandwich is soooo basic! Even for the Gordon's level - he always does the same prep, same ingredients, same method ('a cast iron skillet, olive oil (!), a clove of garlic, rosemary...' blah blah). Damn that's boring!! As if there's no other method to prepare a steak!? Or any other piece of meat in that regard...
So the final result is that the video was as GENERIC as it could be! (In other words, trash.) Nobody gained anything (new) and the sandwich was absolutely the same - terribly ordinary stuff - Gordon makes every single day!
So if you're a chef or he's a chef - what's the point of making the same stuff (same way) over and over again? Especially for the telly? It (the latter format) means exactly that the skills should be applied in different ways, virtuosicly and ingeniously. It's experimentation, and invention, and innovation... Not some steak just all over again!!!! At some point it just becomes stupid, a performance routine, a meme.
Adam, never accept those reality tv casting offers. I worked in reality, it’s exactly as you’d expect if not worse.
In reality tv? Which one? If you don’t mind sharing.
It may have been next level chef, I think that's what it's called. They had a couple of youtubers on there
I feel like I would prefer Gordon the person to Gordon the persona projected on TV.
Oh 100%
I think Gorden the dad who cooks at home with his kids is a much more enjoyable man in TV than the screaming chef on TV... basically lockdown helped me like him more than I did before lockdown...
On that note - watch his actual European program (that is for normal people) and not the US program (for mentally unstable sociopaths).
@@triaxe-mmbFor real, he should stop with all the creaming
According to Kenji, who has worked under him, Gordon does in fact embody the aggressive screaming boss persona in real life too.
Favorite quotes:
"If you're yelling in the workplace, and there's no literal explosion going on, that's not a sign of strength-it's a sign of weakness. It means you're out of control-of yourself or your team."
"A real man's courage is to acknowledge that he doesn't know everything, and he doesn't have to. Real strength is in learning and constant self-improvement. Real strength is in working with other people so that they can do the things you can't do, and vice versa. Real strength is making the people you work with feel valued and heard and supported. And if you don't value the people you work with, that's really your fault. You either should have trained them better or hired someone else, or maybe they really do just suck and you need to fire them, but you can do that quickly and quietly. Professionally. With library voices."
The second quote feels kind of damning where it's like, Adam will tolerate abuse but if it's delivered in a quiet/restrained matter rather than a loud, eye-grabbing manner.
Keep in mind Marco Pierre White made Gordon Ramsay cry and when brought up to him, Marco went "No I yelled at him and then Gordon *CHOSE* to cry." That's the kind of person Adam is batting for.
Idk if this applies at fine dining-level restaurants but I was taught that the purpose of wearing blue or bright-colored bandaids is to make them visible to prevent food from getting sent out with an inconspicuous bandaid on the plate
that's exactly right
A video on the history of our public school lunch program would be interesting. It’s sad to see what it has turned into. The Chris Farley Lunch Lady making meals from scratch has been replaced with corporate premade prison style meals that get delivered and microwaved all under the guise of health.
This. I remember when there was this "health initiative" to make school lunches healthier. It made lunches taste significantly worse and honestly I don't think they are much better for you.
I thought Jamie Oliver fixed Americas Public School Systems lunch programs...🤣🤣😂😂
Just came here to say, f*ck Big Mike
its always comments like this that makes me grateful of the schools i went to. i graduated highschool in 2020 so some things might have changed, but the school lunches were always good, in highschool there was always a 'build you own' style lunch line where you would pick what you want with things like, pastas, rice, even gryos! the other lines were also good, i think that the reason is because i had a really good school district.
Wondered when someone would drag M. Obama. Dog whistles heard
Toward the end of the podcast, I realized this was not about GR or cooking. It was management and politeness. A ‘library voice’ is what is needed in today’s world. Our TV shows, news broadcasts, movies, sporting events, etc., should reflect this. Sadly, verbal and physical violence has become the norm. This has spilled over from so-called ‘entertainment’ to what is happening in our daily lives. Thanks, AR, for contributing to a saner world.
Well said. I was looking for a way to express the feelings Adam evoked in this podcast. Thank you for finding them. Kinder, gentle response.
A library voice is what got us here. Not enough parenting and kicking asses. Too many participation trophies and no bail for criminals.
People should be themselves, and there should be understanding for oppressed minorities, yes including those who grew up in an abusive home, to be themselves. Elites like to create rules of “culture and professionalism” that are methods to gatekeep and prevent minorities from having a voice. I totally disagree.
In live audio production the best advice I have learned is in line with this.
First: never run anywhere. By running you’re communicating that something’s about to break and nothing is working
Secondly: always speak to musicians through a microphone into the stage monitors (or in ears) or walk up to them and speak no matter how small the venue is. To be heard without microphones You’ll need to raise your voice to be heard and by raising your voice you’re communicating aggression. Just by shouting “HEY” in order to get attention from someone will sour the atmosphere
When you take one month to make 1 cooking video library voice can work. When you are in a busy kitchen having to get 30 plates of food out an hour I cannot hear your library voice
"There are a lot of permanently anxious workaholics among the gen X generation"
Oh my god, this hit so hard. This explains my parents and my fiancees parents and a lot of other gen Xers we know.
@@SimuLord I got over all that after working with zoomers and millenials for a while. A lot of the will quit if you look at them funny. They wont put up with much bullshit, and why should they. Kinda relaxing when you dont have to compete with a bunch of psychos.
I'm on the cusp of X and Millennial, so I was on the receiving end of those workaholic values. Here in the US, the rug was pulled out from under workers by the time I made it into the workforce. Thankfully, I have resisted the urge to take it out on others or pull what's left of the ladder up behind me.
I'm a late Xer and have to say...boomers are workaholics. We already figured out that putting in effort doesn't pay off the way it used to.
Now imagine this going on for generations, because previous generations where just that, generations.
I would be a lot more open to going back to restaurant work if I knew everyone in the kitchen was committed to controlling themselves. It just felt so shitty to be screamed at for making the simplest mistake. You are so spot on when you say some people just want to go to war in the kitchen whether there is one or not. It's really frustrating to deal with people who feel entitled to act out when things go wrong instead of acting like professionals.
The screaming came about due to a particular reason of noise and little space it was hard to hear people making even harder was the small kitchens so you tried your best not to walk around to much because you would get in each other way. For some reason people took the screaming turned it into belittling finding fault for minor issues.
@@lostboy8084and then you need to scream even louder to scream over the other people screaming in the kitchen.
Gordon's best show is his series with prisoners (Gordon Behind Bars). He's genuinely nice to them and wants them to succeed and it is so much more powerful and entertaining than his traditional angry shows
The scrambled eggs recipe he used is still wack though
Blame the American cut of those 'angry shows.' You should see how he helps people grow in Hotel and Kitchen Nightmares. It's very similar, in UK/EU. Just not in the USA.
The one with the little kids is also really sweet. He really comforts those kids when their dished flop and tries to bolster their confidence in pointing out where things did go well.
I noticed that some years back! Yes, somehow in the USA he found producers who very much wanted to amp up the tension--which is true to one degree or another of ALL the US food shows. @@definitelyzeblackcat743
I hear it's super delicious @sabojude
Gordon Ramsay's classes on Masterclass are actually legit awesome, which surprised me to no end because I find his primary media persona horrifying.
you should look at the difference between his media persona in the Uk vs the Us his persona in the Us it seems to get amped up for the American audience
Gordon's definitely softened a bit over the years. I remember people love watching Masterchef Junior because he's very patient, supportive, and understanding of the kids. (He's had 5 of them after all)
@@m.c.murdoch6 His Ultimate Cookery Course series is genuinely helpful and a bit underrated, IMO.
Kenji has talked about this a few times as well. Creating work environments that aren’t abusive is important.
trades are having a similar issue, because people are sick of spending all day being bullied by their own boss, so they get jobs in industries where that isn't treated as both the norm and a positive.
also gordon's grilled cheese was a crime against humanity and i'll never forgive him for that.
@@slipperynickels I was training in tool and die and left because it was verbally abusive. Luckily in a much better place in CNC machining now but that was a terrible few months
Kenji isn't the best person to talk about anything
@@manaspradhan8041 Could you please expand on this comment?
@@manaspradhan8041why? I’m curious
Another particularly cruel dynamic I've had with yelling in the workplace is the supervisor exclusively scolding you from across the room. So, any time you screwed up (it happens in a fast paced warehouse environment) everyone in the department got to know about it.
That’s a huge no-no for me. I’ve managed many people and I’ve used bad language and even raise my voice a few times but I would never scold someone in front of the group.
Every employee gets a 30 minute meeting once a week and I can discuss it there.
The only time I would scold someone in front of the group is, if they were scolding, someone else, I would tell them to cut it out .
This reminds me of a documentary about the Battle of Midway. The captain of one of the US ships was a soft spoken man who stood stoicly unmoved by explosions. He even made puns. The man interviewed said just looking at the captain inspired him to do his job despite bleeding and freaking out about the torpedoes he could literally see the ship dodging.
the lesson i'm taking away from the blue bandage story is that gordon ramsay doesn't realize that he's structurally set up his restaurant to be stocked with band-aids that he'll scream at people for using, which is like... definitionally self-defeating. at some point hours in advance, possibly days or even weeks, someone showed up with a box of colorful band-aids. and in theory, gordon is such a stickler for details that he saw the band-aids, but apparently didn't tell this person that they needed to go back out and buy more inconspicuous band-aids.
i totally agree with you that he was wrong to yell at the waitstaff with the band-aid. he should've been yelling at himself, because he shouldn't have provided his employees with band-aids that he didn't want them to use. he could have made it impossible to make this mistake, but he neglected to. and that's not the waitstaff's fault - it's gordon's.
@ObsoleteVodkaYT Just a quick reminder that the blue bandage story was during a time when he was going after a michellin star. It is true that blue bandages do help with food/drink situations but this is fine dining and not your normal restaurant, you never know when you are going to be spot checked by one of the michellin investigators. A blue bandage can imply low standards and gordon wouldn't want that.
Also note that the blue bandage was being worn by a server. A chef cooking and wearing a blue bandage is fine but a maitre'd/waiter wearing a blue bandage is unsightly because everyone can see your bandage and would hyperfocus on that. you can lose michellin stars because of tiny details like that, not just for your food quality dropping
Also, Gordon is more chill when he is not in a professional kitchen. Masterchef adult and junior, his travelling series unchartered and great escape and even his home cooking series. It's just that when he's in a kitchen he places a very strict bar for himself and the chefs he is working with to uphold and maintain. that also includes the front of staff.
@@muchluck7981 you have something in your mouth
@@muchluck7981You could lose a Michelin star because a server dared to wear a bandage?
Thats ridiculous lmao, and regardless going for a Michelin star doesn't excuse treating your staff terribly.
Thought it would be common sense, but treating people right is more important than some award.
@@BeyondTrash-xe1vs It's not really treating your staff like shit. It's called holding a standard. Could it be handled better? Yes but not saying anything at the same time is just as bad because that waiter is unintentionally setting an example to the other wait staff that it's fine to use that kind of bandage for the front of house
Also at the same time, he was really after a michellin star at the time and michelin was sending in secret diners, anybody could be an inspector of michelin and you wouldnt know it
This was excellent. Thank you Adam. I once heard "hurt people, hurt people." And I didn't realize that about the Marco/Gordon relationship, but I did see that video of the ravioli. Loved the breakdown on the bad of Ramsey and how there is a real danger for millions of people seeing that angry yelling person each night. And it goes beyond just wanna-be chefs. That stuff leaks into your everyday outside of the kitchen, as a father, husband, boss, employee - you think it's cool or macho to yell to get what you want. It is nice to see Gordon's moved on from telling people they are an idiot to calling them "donuts" which to be honest is unfair for donuts (they are so damn delicious, but anyway.) But at least it's a softer take, but the message is still there. It'd be interesting to see if Gordon could pivot away from that persona since he has so much power, because all signs point to him being a really nice person outside of the TV stuff.
While I am not a pilot, following some pilots on youtube has led me to appreciate the types of "crew resource management" that have been shown to work in the cockpit, and I have found many ways to apply it in my life. Yelling at and demeaning ones coworkers does not actually achieve results.
But it sure is entertaining, especially when paired with a crash zoom
@@SimonWoodburyForget living hell it sounds like to me
I always liked the "old" UK-Kitchen Nightmares Ramsay and disliked the loud US one. The UK series was just way more calm, focused (not only on the food itself) and overall respectful to the Ppl and profession itself.
I've mentioned this a couple of times here - the first few seasons are excellent - it starts getting 'gimicky' toward the end with lots of silly team-building stuff thrown in - but the first few are all about the business and the food - and very little ranting (even when you suspect there should be. e.g GR being fed rancid scallops and having to literally vomit them up by a useless chef)
Thank goodness there's people who know there was a difference in the UK vs the US edition.
The F word was also a great show. All the US shows suck imho.
When Gordon Ramsey visited Masterchef Australia he was polite and showed how to cook the dishes he presented there. Teaching the competants some cooking skills. Btw. Marco Pierre White was just the same.
So when the premise of a cooking show is to be supportive and inclusive then those TV bastards can drop that bastardness.
I love how the classic boomer argument of "hurf back in MYYYY DAAAY we used to be tough and do things the right way" when it comes to toxic workplaces is so easily defeated by real life examples of top level kitchens being run by well treated, well mannered and calm staff.
The world can be a better place, most of humanity just doesn't want it to be.
Great work, Adam. I have felt the same for ages. The culture of promoting drama, anger and bullying to make a bigger buck creates an angry, damaged society. Hurt people hurt people.
“Why I roast my Gordon Ramsay and not my Gordon Ramsay”
why I roast my Gordon Ramsay and not my Marco Pierre White
I really think Ramsay's tv personality is terrible, absolutely. He is never in the wrong
"They don't remember me but I remember them." That line is especially scary coming from an Italian. Totally agree with Adam on not having to be an arse as a prerequisite for being a boss or someone in charge.
I'll go first. Yes. When we are in the weeds, the best thing is to work together.
In my later work life, I worked in a medical facility. On one day during the big of Covid, I was paired with a person I absolutely couldn't stand and she couldn't stand me. Suddenly we found ourselves in the weeds. We both just pitched in while noticing all around us. By the end of that shift and working together in tandem, we grew utmost respect for one another. And are friends now.
I wanna thank you for working in medical during the height of Covid but I don't know how to really say it other than thanks
Im still enamored how youre able to host a solo podcast and still be as engaging as many of the hundreds of famous dude bro podcasts out there
Helps he has experience in journalism and thus the ability to tell a story compared to untrained groups just kinda vibing and talking
I mean his wife co-hosts podcasts with him.
as a lowly shift manager, my favorite thing has been to use the library voice and encourage my staff to be themselves. its so nice to see people flourish.
alright Adam, we get it, you're really really attracted to young Gordon
and old apparently too
Lol I think a lot of y'all are missing the point. His point of continuously re-emphasizing it is that 99% of the reason why Gordon Ramsay became a TV persona is because of his looks. There are plenty of excellent chefs out there working in Michelin star kitchens, but he just happened to be good looking is basically the synopsis of his back story lol
Adam Ragusea calls Gordon Ramsey sexy and attractive for an hour straight that's the video yall
I still don't understand if he Adam thinks Ramsey is hot or looks like a "boiled potato". Maybe somewhere in the middle
You can be both. I mean he's not wrong about Gordon being very handsome, especially when he was young
@@xX_dash_Xx I'm an relatively sure this is not actually about what he things about his look. It is about how ramseys sucses had not only to do with his skill as a cook and am chef, but with his marcability, what your looks are part of
@@xX_dash_Xx Gordon will be a boiled potato to me forever.
Gordon is awesome. Not sure why Adam is so salty
Adam, you're so articulate and fluent. It makes even your lengthy videos fly by. So it delights me to point out that, at 11:25, you say "R.S.V.P. Carrie Fisher" when surely you meant to say "R.I.P." 😂
There are so many reasons why I love listening to you, Adam - but your metacognition is what I love the most.
Right? I recognize that what we see here is a persona, not least because it’s only parts of a whole personality. But I was thrown for a loop when I cooked the crust pie (hold your head with pride, Adam, you’re a genius for this creation!) for Christmas and my daughter and her husband were delighted partly because he knows Adam from his music-persona, not his cook-persona 😄
Can't thank you enough for this, man. I absolutely love the perspective of framing his antics as abuse, because that's exactly what it is. There's this horsecrap culture of abuse among male-dominated fields and I applauded in my own home when you said "burn that shit to the ground"
You probably think WWE is real wrestling
@@heytherebatoMaybe not, but someone still comes out of it with their ribs broken
@@Tavares0709Indeed, wrestlers work with unfair contracts and often develop health problems and die young. That industry is far from a standard you'd want to hold others to.
Just got through the episode.
My days in the kitchen following culinary school was not unlike the place depicted by Gordon Ramsey. Being abused by the chef was commonplace and eventually became the reason I changed my mind about wanting to become a chef.
These days I’m a home chef with chops, but not anything I picked up in the kitchens where I was the bitch boy who took the job no where near as seriously as Anthony Bourdain did.
I simply jumped ship and went somewhere else. Not very heroic, but there’s only so much abuse that I was willing to endure.
The next job, was by far, a worse and more demeaning job, I lasted almost a year before I told the boss to fuck himself and his wife, she should murder him in his sleep, before he killed her.
Damn, those are some strong words. I hope whatever you're up to now is more fulfilling and enjoyable (genuinely).
Haha 😂, what was his reaction?
@@Checkmate1138 his reaction was much like the daily greeting: “go fuck yourself faggot”. Or words very similar. This happened back around 1985, so gay or not, it wasn’t like today, where someone is insulted, no one would care. I recently learned he died, I only hope it was an employee had a hand in it, or better, his wife.
yikes
Yo wtf that's a really weird thing to say to somebody 😳
As someone currently looking for work, most employers don't actually seem to check too closely if you actually match their requirements before sending an invite to apply. I get lots where I only have one of their things they are looking for, and even that is a minor skill I haven't used in years. It's actually quite irritating.
what industry are you in?
"permanently anxious British Gen X workoholic". Ragusea you've described my mother better than I ever could.
I liked boiling point and the original kitchen nightmares in the uk while it does have those flaws of being more a persona than reality I appreciate how much more low key it is and he only really yells if there is gross negligence w safety standards and cooking and none of those grating sound queues to denote something bad is happening
The UK version is about food. The US version is all yelling.
Take a shot every time Adam fawns over Gordon's appearence 😆
felt a bit voyeuristic after a while ngl
Take a shot every time he says "what Brits call..."
@@pXnTildeindeed, beards poorly hide a sad reality our millennials are getting old
No thank you I don't need to die of alcohol poisoning
the sexual tension of adam talking about guys in their 20s'll never get old
He really does have a way of going on and on about men's bodies. Thinking back to some of the body builder stuff
You can address your comment to him
The number of times I’ve stolen Adam’s line from the Christmas cookies episode; “It’s Christmas, not a special forces operation.” I’m a musician, and I often catch my colleges or myself in the same high tension low stakes trap.
Wouldn't the cook's blue bandage be better since in the off chance it fell into food, you could know what was contaminated more easily? A lot of food is flesh colored, not much is blue.
Hey, remember when Gordon got epically ratioed when he made a "grilled cheese" and somehow managed to both burn the bread and not melt the cheese?
Yeah...
and remember the hundreds of other foods hes made that turned out extremely good? If you cook 500 times your bound to have a few slip ups.
Yeah...
@@willywestsidee okay but having been doing the whole food media thing for like 25 years, the fact that he published that one instead of reshooting it or scrapping it is... a decision to be sure.
@@commodorjack8633 i don't agree with you but i'm not bothered to argue so
@@commodorjack8633 Gordon is just the personality on the front, he has a whole team producing and publishing "his" shows.
Could be that they didnt have enough time to redo the recipe and moved on the other 9 recipes they shot that day.
Could be the opposite problem, running out of time.
Could be that nobody asked for another take, so the rest of the pipeline published what they had.
Could be that gordon literally just didnt care about doing it again, because who cares about one bad grilled cheese when hes done thousands of recipes. What does he have to prove haha
@@commodorjack8633 When you're that renowned and that rich you tend to stop caring about people making fun of you for a bad grilled cheese.
Hearing a kitchen manager or head chef shout and belittle others really makes me to never return to that restaurant ever again.
I was at a Subway restaurant once, where i had to listen to a manager yell at their staff about how awful they were while I ate. I put in a complaint online, and got an email from that manager back saying they were joking with the staff and she was mad at me for pointing out the inappropriateness of her behaviour. I have no idea how the manager got my email address, except from customer service who probably shared my email without redacting my name...
I think there's something to be said for America's role in shaping the media personality of Gordan Ramsay that we know today. Before his star started to rise over here, he was already quite well known across the pond, and while his persona was still very much a suffer no fools or bullshit kind of entity, it wasn't nearly as dialed up or abrasive as it become once American media got a hold of it.
Back in the day, the original seasons of the UK Kitchen Nightmares was a favourite of mine, and part of that alchemy was the balance Gordon struck between being genuinely helpful to and nurturing of talent, while also calling a spade a spade in no uncertain terms. The aim of the show was very clearly to help right ships that had gone wrong. Some efforts were more successful than others, but I never doubted the end goal.
American Kitchen Nightmares by contrast is unwatchably mean. It felt like the participants were chosen solely to give Ramsay a justification to blow his stack constantly. It was clear that the purpose of the show was to showcase all of the most unpleasant aspects of Ramsay for no other reason that to watch him scream and swear creatively. It was such a disappointment.
Clearly, leaning into that side of the persona has made him obscenely rich, so I get why he's said "fuck it, if that's what they want, I can provide" but for fans who remember the before times, it's sad. I genuinely liked Ramsay back then, even when he was laying into someone, because it never felt malicious. It never felt undeserved, and it's purpose was almost always as a wake-up call.
I agree with this 100%
I've always disliked Iron Chef and Hell's Kitchen. The drama and abuse never landed with me. But I quite enjoyed Kitchen Nightmares where usually the only person getting berated is the egotistical owner that is causing the problems for the business, and his latest show Next Level Chef. while he does criticize obvious mess ups, it's not abusive like his previous shows, as it's a mentorship competition.
@@i0li0il0i ?? What are you talking about?
@@i0li0il0iWow what a "truth teller". Really "telling us how it is" like the big stwong man you are
Gordo had a show which I saw in the 90s where he cooked for folks in his London Apt. His friends, chefs he knew and his wife were in it. And it was relatively calm informative and kindly. (noone to yell at) I enjoyed watching that. the Master Chef and HK nonsense is where I finally decided to stop watching. I remember one episode where salmon was on the menu and one young chef poached it. Gordon never HEARD of Poaching fish, which I found absurd. Just glance through Escoffier or Julia Child. when Gordon finally tasted it he admitted it was fine. But all the psychotic yelling beforehand was totally unnecessary.
Thanks Adam for covering this. All the best Jim Oaxaca Mexico
From what I remember he thought it was raw so he smashed it and they never said anything to him and just started making another one, not his fault if they don't tell him its poached. Maybe this is a different episode though, correct me if I'm wrong.
@@willywestsidee A chef can't tell poached salmon from raw ? So he smashes it?
@@yes0r787 i mean the whole point of the show is him getting angry at the food, if this was not on tv im sure he wouldn't smash the salmon
It's refreshing to hear a dissenting voice on Ramsay for once
I worked and kitchens for over 20 years and this really hits home. I called it the "Gordon Ramsey effect" as I can see this style of "leadership" became more and more prevalent. Its abuse is what it is and makes working in a kitchen or anywhere toxic. The high stress low reward dynamic this creates has been one of the several reason why I don't work in kitchens anymore. Add to this the rampant nepotism, the "I got my restaurant management degree" boss, a wage often so low you can't afford to eat at the places you work and lastly the Karen factor. The "customer is always right" mindset that has given way too many people the perceived "right" to shit all over service workers in general. Working in kitchens doesn't need to be a physical, mental and emotional grind, but the celebrity chef culture of the 2000s and beyond has certainly made it harder to get away from that. Thank you for doing this video Adam, your content reminds me of what I love about being in a kitchen
I'd like to add Richard Corrigan to the list of library voiced chefs, I got a chance to eat at his restaurant in Mayfair and the kitchen was quiet and extremely calm. I challenge anyone screaming and shouting to provide a better experience than I had at that place...
I also always liked Ramsey's old BCC show "F Word" - showed a lot more of his regular human side
As Ozzy Osbourne once put it in one of his interviews, "people know the OZZY OSBOURNE! but, nobody knows the Ozzy Osbourne."
Also it's funny as hell to hear you being so lethargic in your podcasts, as compared to your regular videos where you sound energetic.
7:04 damn, for a video railing against Gordon's meanness, your comments about the crags on his face were pretty nasty and mean-spirited.
Anthony Bourdain said kitchen nightmares was closer to what Gordon was really like, not boiling point.
I was a line cook for 10 years, I can say with confidence Ramsay and White aren't the only chefs who don't use "library voices." It's very common in the restaurant business. And these weren't even high end places mind you.
I also found it kinda messed up that you implied Gordon only married Tana for her families money. Kinda disingenuous you there.
I also find it kind of weird that you kept bringing up Gordon's good looks, like if it's a strike against him or his character. Because he can totally help and control his genetics and how he was born, right? Cmon man, it's not a good look on you. His looks are really irrelevant to ask the points you're making.
Idk Adam. This whole video just rubs me the wrong way. Ramsay was his roughest and meanest in boiling point, sure, even he has admitted that, but in Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares and Hotel Hell his chastisement of the volunteers, and they are indeed volunteers who signed up for this "abuse," no one forced them to do anything they didn't want to do, it's all warranted. The Hell's Kitchen contestants are trained professionals who make simple mistakes and can't even get through a dinner service, and the KN/HH people are usually business people who have no business running kitchens, and not only lie and manipulate Gordon who on is there to help them out of a hole they dug, but the conditions of the kitchens is often so disgusting, how could One not flip out on these people, they can kill someone with these low or absent standards. I say the people in these programs deserve every bit of chastisement Ramsay brings to them. One could also argue these contestants are as fame hungry and covetous as you've straw-manned Ramsay to be.
Also Ramsay being an absolutist about his food and skills isn't exclusive to Ramsay, 99% of other cooks do this too so idk why YOU'RE making a big deal of it.
Don't agree with me? Just look how Ramsay is on any other show he does. Whether it's his Bourdain style travel shows where he humbly ingratiates himself into another food culture, or MasterChef and MasterChef Junior, or his stand and stir shows, you can see how kind, humble and passionate he really is, not to mention the great charity work he's done, including but not limited to offering convicts jobs when they get out of prison, the Gordon and tana Ramsay foundation that helps sick kids, supporting unicef, John aids foundation and many others.
It took you an hour to determine deduce that "GORDON RAMSAY IS A BIG POOPOO MEANY HEAD." C'mon Adam get real. Some people are mean. Gotta get used to that. Be resilient And be disagreeable and don't take shit, that's how I handle mean people, and that's in any field. I worked in the film industry too, that's another mean abusive field where people constantly get stepped on, and not just by execs but DEPARTMENT HEADS! But you're just expected to take it, and nobody talks about them. Idk, like I said this whole video just rubbed me the wrong way. Ramsay isn't really the monster most people make him out to be.
Exactly. I don’t understand how he can just say these things having a) never met the guy and b) having 0 actual experience in the kitchen. Who does he think he is to chastise two 3 Michelin star chefs and just pretend he knows better. He has his head way too far up his own ass
Adam, I’m so glad you tackled The topic of Gordon--the Enigma of Eatery. Gordon totally confuses me at every turn, but I think your observations have helped decipher his Carefully Curated Culinary Craftiness as personified on his shows. If distracting me from my own kitchen problems is the goal, he does it outstandingly each time. Yes, personas are a big part, but every now and then he slips and shows his other side; a kind, fatherly and compassionate cook from a tough upbringing. One of these moments happened when he visited a Hindu retreat center to explore vegetarianism. While there, he was a loss for words. He never cussed and behaved himself while watching them cook simple and delicious food. Of course it didn’t last for long and by the next episode he was back to making crude remarks about anything and everything he deemed worthy of his constant scrutiny. Love your show Adam! ❤🎉😊David Petersen/Houston, Texas
I really respect your wisdom and love so many of your skills and recipes. I'm also really happy to see that your opinion of that man is much like my own, just a showman with a schtick. Thanks for these extended talks. I seldom disagree with you on anything because I know you have so much more wealth and breadth of experience in the kitchen and the garden. I'm glad this video popped up in my sub list this weekend.
As a Brit, very impressed & gratified by the attention to detail about our relatively recent cultural history
Reminds me of my first job as a 14 year old. If we asked how something needs to be done then we were idiots who cant think for ourselves. If we did something ourselves then we were yelled at for not asking first. Everything needed to be done fast and cheap and with quality, one of these things missing and we get yelled at. Making a mistake means getting yelled at. We were often getting a verbal list of things we should be doing and how it should be done, writing anything down is a waste of time and paper and forgetting anything meant getting yelled at. Trying to learn something is a waste of time but when we had to do something that we didnt know then we were useless idiots. That job cost me way more than I earned.
This got weird when ragusea really went overboard while referring to Ramsay's complexion. Especially because it also ends up insulting and ridiculing others who feel like they have similar complexion
I really do hope you see this because i want to thank you for all the help you've given me on weeknights for easy meals. You've genuinely improved a little part of my life with all your cooking help.
I want to see an animated short in the style of MeatCanyon where Adam is the head chef at a restaurant and he kills Gordon Ramsay with kindness in the kitchen. Every time Gordon isn't yelled at for a mistake he just gets more anxious with the compliments from Adam.
According to urban dictionary, a gypsy dog is all ribs and male genitalia. So you were partially correct in calling it skinny
You didn't cover it here, but one show of gordons that i like is the ones where he travels and gets to try diffrent foods from diffrent peoples. It's way more layedback and he is way more humble in it. It's super enjoyable to me.
I love these. It's light hearted and explores cultural foods.
I agree wholeheartedly with your message that leadership isn't just instilling fear in people, and that individuals should be mindful of how they treat others, as they can profoundly impact them (both negatively or positively). Your psychological analysis of Gordon Ramsay strikes me as quite similar to a "psychobiography," which attempts to understand someone by applying psychological principles, research, and their developmental history. One of the most famous authors of psychbiographies is Dan McAdams - you might find his material helpful and interesting if you ever wanted to do more of it. He has a lot of material, but his most famous piece is likely his article from The Atlantic analyzing Donald Trump. In any event, your analysis was pretty good psychbiographically speaking. I thoroughly enjoyed this podcast.
Great episode, and I’ve found a kindred spirit in the “my new favorite way” method of explaining new things.
Hurtful comments are remembered by those who were hurt. I worked in a very good, neighborhood restaurant as a young teenager washing dishes. I remember everyone being nice, no yelling, no drama. Somewhere along the way, drama became marketable; hence, Ramsey, et al.
Wasn’t expecting your critique to have this much class consciousness, impressive
I used to be a big fan of Gordon and watched many episodes of his "Hell's Kitchen", "Kitchen Nightmares", and "Masterchef", but Adam is right, we should NOT be supporting bad workplace behavior, even if it is for entertainment.
The early TV Gordon Ramsay persona more or less doesn't exist anymore. It kind of died a while ago in a past season of Hell's Kitchen, which is the last place he comes close to deploy it. I think he has moved on. I don't think it's fair to say he's still playing this character. I think I last saw it 4-5 years ago.
I have only ever experienced Gordon Ramsay through his Ultimate Cookery Course which was fantastic (if a bit misinformed in places) and was what ultimately gave me the confidence to develop as a home cook having not really gotten a lot of those skills growing up. It's fascinating to hear this side of his story.
I agree with all of Adam's points (as well as some of Kenji's statements decrying Gordon's impact on the generation of young male chefs that followed him), but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't enjoyed a fair amount of his content. His Ultimate Cookery Course series is genuinely helpful and kinda underrated, IMO. And Kitchen Nightmares US is one of my favorite not-so-guilty pleasures.
I love this. It all needed to be said. The hallmark of a tyrannical boss isn't the exercise of power but the abuse of it. These tirades very seldom raise morale or improve performance or help the organization in any way. The boss does it to scratch some personal itch, regardless of the impact, which is usually negative. I think they're reenacting unacknowledged abuse they've suffered and learned to inflict on themselves. It's hard to get through to them about it because they formed an identity around the assumption that this is the right and good and constructive way to run things, despite all evidence to the contrary. I think they find it deeply threatening when anyone criticizes this belief. This isn't just about what goes on in restaurant kitchens. I see examples of it everywhere.
I’m only 8 min. in and Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but in which universe was gordon ramsay a teenage beauty 😂
The one where Adam finally comes out
Right? He looked/looks like a pittbull. He's best feature is that he's tall.
i know adam doesn’t read a lot of his comments but i wanna say i listen to this pod when i work out, and it’s always really funny/informative😂
I could listen to Adam talk about any subject. He models extremely healthy behavior and evolved conceptions of masculinity to an audience with many young men who probably get a lot from it. I wish his pod was twice a week!!!
I have parasocial relationships with my favorite UA-cam channel creators and I get upset if they don't get along.
One of the great parts of the channel Vincenzo’s Plate is the frequency at which Vincenzo points out how much of a bully Ramsay is and how terrible he is at making Italian cuisine.
Vincenzo is more of a “do it this way or it’s wrong” doofus than Ramsay is.
@@keithjackewicz8423 Not if his entire point is to make traditional Italian cuisine.
@@ErebosGR “Traditional” methods are not intrinsically better, and dunking on people that are clearly not even trying to make things by the method that he prefers is just pointless rage-farming. I like Vincenzo as a cook, but as a reaction guy, he adds very little and perpetuates the territoriality over food and recipes that is one of the more noxious and annoying phenomena online.
@@keithjackewicz8423 I never said traditional cuisine nor its methods are inherently better now, but at the time, for various reasons, they mostly were.
Vincenzo dunks on people that try to pass Italian-American dishes as Italian. It's about cultural misrepresentation.
What "territoriality"? Don't you use words you don't understand.
@@ErebosGR Vincenzo does not attack misrepresentations, he attacks anybody that even deviates slightly from tradition unless they’re somebody whose clout he wants to chase.
Nice to see the change in scenery. It’s lovely.
I don't think "gypsy" refers to Roma in Britain but refers to all travellers, most notably Irish travellers which have nothing to do with Roma
Disclaimer I'm not Bri'ish I'm french but I've head Brits say "gypsy" to refer to irish travellers
i worked in a kitchen as a dishwasher and occasional prep cook. 2 weeks after i was hired. the owner and the cook get into a fight, cook walks, then the two prep cooks walk. in the middle of dinner. at the time i kind of felt sorry for him. but then he started hiring anything that walked through the door instead of hiring good reliable people that can work together. the reality is that he hired 4 guys all form different parts of our southern neighbor, these men came from different social classes. and clearly did not get along. hell the first shift was like pushing 400 pounds around. nothing was getting done until the owner came down and re-explained positions and duties, again. which makes it the 3rd or 4th time. 2nd shift was actually pretty good. everyone got along and no fights broke out. 3rd times the charm.
i came in early, and made sure my station was set up and the silverware and glasses were done first. everyone was just coming in. my station as dishwasher was in a secluded spot that's kind of shielded, plus the dishwasher was kind of load. plus i could play my own music at the owners request. it took yelling, 1 hour into dinner that dashed any hope that this was a long term solution. i left my station, and went to investigate, what i witnessed i thankfully have never seen anything as horriffic. an all out brawl was taking place, the cook against the 2 preps. one of who had be , thrown on the the cooktop . i instinctively yelled stop. and grabbed a bucket filled with ice and threw the contents at the men. the hvac went off. the 2 preps were legal but so new to America they feared repercussions and fled. didn't even wait for their pay. very strange. the cook was fired on the spot. and that was that. i turned around to see the entire restaurant that an hour ago had been filled with customers , completely devoid of a single customer, including the adjoining bar. and it remained that way until we closed a month later. towards the end our only customer was the homeless man asking for ice. lucky for me this was just a Friday Sat sometimes thursday job as i was in school
several years later whilst working at a certain south lake tahoe ski resort as a cook in one of their restaurants, first year, about 3/4 of the way through the season, the resort had a junket tour come in from the bay area. it's skiing and casinos hotel thing. people who have never gone skiing before, kind of fun thing to do. even if you are a karen that takes anything as a pretext.
on the day of the incident, i was WRAPPING up my WRAP station. hey i was the one who took tortilla chips home and clear coated them with rare earth magnets, just so i could walk around with a chip one my shoulder. though that i wasn't. too busy, it would fall off if i moved arround too much
today she walked in quite literally closing. i mean im wrapping everything up. the work tables a filled wrapped cooking pans and plastic containers. though she's in luck as the Chinese food section hadn't been shut down. she asked for some stuff that was either sold out or had just been pulled and stored. i pointed to the dishes we did have up. i asked her if i could double up the portions to make up for being out of food. now i must note. in this particular kitchen is a workspace and little office and where the walk-in is located. both my supervisor and manager are talking. and they can see me. they can hear me being polite and see that i'm not disrespecting her in any way. what happens next after i served her her food and i turned back to my work. is that most of that food ended up on the back of my head. she threw the food i just graciously served her, at me, just because of perceived wrong. my manager, was on that like white on rice. oh my god i have never seen someone move so quickly before. thats who saw it happen, supervisor came over and consoled me and helped me clean off the food. none of my other customers ever came close to that level of kareness. i did have someone who couldn't stop laughing over the chip on the shoulder. and quite a few that called me a wise ass, which i always found amusing as i never discuss iq with customers
anyway little miss karen was introduced to security who then introduced to the Eldorado county Sherriff
that lady is really lucky that i allowed the ski resort handle the situation instead of filling my own complaint with the sheriff. in the end though it stayed with me for a very long time, i essentially shrugged it off and kept working. well not the day but i didn't walk and was at work the next day
@@Earthesion ?????
This is the first time I've listened to one of these all the way through. This was very captivating and good to listen to.
I made a comment on Epic Rap Battles of History's video about Gordon Ramsay versus Julia Child. I am STILL getting responses that Gordon Ramsay is SOOOO much more important than Julia Child, mostly from brits and younger people who aren't aware of Julia Child. He's an ass! Even if it's a TV persona and he's nothing like that (ask me if I believe that), Julia Child was always the consummate professional and was never anything less than dignified and polite.
Gordon's grilled cheese is absolutely hilarious. He should have looked in a mirror, punched it and said "GIVE ME YOUR JACKET YOU DONKEY!"
Seeing him bite into it was funny. Strange that none of the famous cooks can make the most basic stuff; pizza, grilled cheese, hamburger, pasta etc. They always overcomplicate it and they don't know what makes it good.
Ask them to make vanilla ice cream and you'll get it with cinnamon, sea salt, and a basil leaf.
“Some people just need a war, and they will make a war to fight if none exists.” That’s something I knew was true but had never seen put into words.
This video resonates immensely with me. Thank you so much Adam for posting it and spreading the word.
Story time. After migrating to a new country, where the work experience I had in my home country wasn't even considered by most employers, I landed a position as a line/prep cook at a fancy cafe downtown. I had never worked in a kitchen before. I was, however, a humble home cook, who made my day-to-day, simple meals, and sometimes made pizza or sushi, or stew for friends. Nothing fancy, just had basic cooking skills and a lot of enjoyment for cooking.
At this kitchen, we ran a mostly cold line, making salads and toast. The only things we cooked were poached eggs and sometimes almond oatmeal. I assume it wasn't as difficult as most other big restaurant kitchens with huge menus, however, it was still pretty challenging since our chit times for orders were 5 minutes max.
Most other cooks there were culinary students, including the head chefs they would hire, who by the way, were super eager to command a kitchen and show "how it's done". That's when I experienced most things Adam talked about in the video. The intensity, the yelling at the kitchen... I was lucky that the first head chef who trained me was friendly (albeit strict, still), and even tolerated me screwing up sometimes (I remember one time when I dropped a whole bowl of frozen corn, he was visibly disappointed but calmly told me to clean it up).
However, the next one wasn't as kind. I remember him telling a coworker (who previously used to work at another much more easy-going kitchen), "If people are not screaming at each other, it's not a real kitchen" and "you need to be loud to make things work in the kitchen".
As the months went by, they opened a new location, and to my surprise, the director of operations, who I had become good friends with, insisted I become that new location's head chef. I did. She was an incredible person, who was always laughing and having a good time, even during the most intense rush hours. She taught me to be kind, not strict. Patience, not pressure. She hammered into my brain "at the end of the day, it's just toast", despite a lot of people in the cafe disagreeing - these people thought that if we had to kill ourselves to make a perfect avocado toast, we should. That's fucking lame.
I ran my kitchen with kindness. Sometimes we would get new trainees who struggled a lot under pressure. I would stop them in the middle of the lunch rush, tell them to breathe, or crack jokes at them to try to lighten the mood, and if they would mess up an order, I would say with a smile "that is okay. No one is going to die because of toast. Put that aside and make another one". I spent my last months there trying to reinforce this behavior in my kitchen, and sometimes would butt heads against the other head chefs who would make their kitchens as miserable as a place as they could (my friends would have terrible days whenever they had shifts working under these chefs). A year after I started, I found a job in my field and went on with my career, never to work in kitchens again (hopefully lol), but still having a fond memory of my time as a head chef who ran a kitchen with lots of kindness and no yelling. The same culinary students who would stress out and yell at the kitchen, I remember coming up with a term for that - "Gordon Ramsey Syndrome".
And now, I have Adam fucking Ragusea making a video that basically states that what I did is good, and valid, and should be the standard, and it is even proven to work in high-end kitchens, which is the best part. Thanks again Adam, you rock!
I love this episode so much so that when it showed up on my new suggestions I re-watched it from start to finish again. This is one of your best work. Great message, thank you!
I really enjoy the shift in your content. The Gordon Ramsey persona permeates the reality television genre. I appreciate all of the hours of my life not squandered on television when I see clips of the boorish behavior in the medium. Your content is much more useful and enlightening. Keep up the good work.
27:43 makes me recall the FMJ quote "When under fire, Animal Mother is the finest human being on the planet - all he needs is somebody to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life."
The most upsetting thing about Ramsay is seeing the little glimpses of him being happy. He could be such a beautifully enthusiastic television presenter, chatting with local restaurateurs and home cooks as you see in his travel shows but instead he wants to be the belligerent television chef.
He's only belligerent on the US programming, the UK versions of his show are a lot more real and show him actually being a human being instead of the character they created for ratings
@troyhasapython Yeah, Kitchen Nightmares UK is so chill and more documentary like than overly reality drama machine 3000 like in the US.
Can't blame him. The act he puts on gets him the money.
@@JimBob1937 yeah even if he wanted to start genuinely trying to help people (as he did in the uk show) you will have directors, producers, editors hell even the scum-level people will all be begging him to just yell and get mad. The show was never about cooking- It was about drama and screaming
@@AnthonyHoul Have you seen the show? Most of those places were horribly dysfunctional before Ramsay even showed up. He doesn't even do most of the screaming in most episodes.
I remember watching his Indian travel show and wondering why he didn’t film his other shows like that. He was so much more likeable without the yelling.
UA-cam persona basing his persona on talking trash about michellin class personas to get his personal persona giving some personaly subjective views on persons who genuinely know how to cook. Personally, I don't how to make a michellin class meal, but this persona is far from making a wholesome meal for a persona. Personally, I've never found pleasure in belittling another person to personal gain.
Thank you! Thank you! Gordon Ramsay in any of his shows has never appealed to me and it is for all the reasons you so eloquently stated. His abusive bullying, whether staged or not, has no place as representing how food service should be; nor how ANY workplace should be for that matter. Let's hope for more civility and reason for all of society.
Thank you!!! I absolutely HATE his media persona! So many wannabe Gordons running around insulting and degrading people just because he does too. "But he's so sweet with kids" most people fire back. Well why can't he be nice to adults too! Treat others how you want to be treated. No one actually likes to live/work/exist in a hostile environment, and it's up to people like him to set the example for others to follow. It infuriates me that people say "well, he can insult cooks because he is a cook and knows better than them". That's completely ridiculous. Nothing can justify berating someone down for any reason. 80% of the time those people he is berating on those shows literally don't have the knowledge and are just trying to make it work. Or they have no idea their food is bad simply because that's all they're used to. Or they're under a lot of stress and make mistakes because surprise, surprise, they've got a rabid dog breathing down their backs. That abusive persona spills over into wannabe chefs at restaurants, wannabe chefs on YT, wannabe chef commentors on YT, and anyone else who loudly voices their opinion as fact on cooking. I'm sick of seeing it and sick of people excusing it.
the way you describe sounds a lot like dealing with a Narcissist. You can call them out as often as you want but a Narcissist is always a Queen Be and he / she will always have an Army of Skanks AKA The Flying Monkeys who will defend everything the Narcissist does or says.
I still think its funny so I don't mind
It's not like they don't know what they signed up for. The show is a pressure cooker, that's the whole point.
One of my favorite youtube channels is chef Jean Pierre's channel. He's funny and down to earth. He doesn't take things too seriously, and his recipes are easy to follow, and it's easy to add your own touch to the recipes.
Fun fact if anyone wants to watch a film so terrible its ironically great, ‘Burnt’, by Bradley Cooper, had Gordan as culinary advisor and it shows. The film is the hyper masculine lovechild of Gordan’s persona and the lore (and reality) of Marco’s menacing, abusive, militant, self aggrandizing personality. Its truly terrible and offers a fascinating glimpse into his mind and the paradigm of the tortured chef arc that went on wayyyy too long
Treat others as you wish to be treated, it's that simple. Additionally, I have learned not to take shit from others. I refuse to be abused. It has its cost, but in the end has served me well. The greatest benefit is the self-esteem it brings. Additionally I insist that others should be treated respectfully. I was not always like this, but once I started down that road I just couldn't turn back. Now I sometimes find myself wondering if I have taken this too far.
I freaking love Kitchen Nightmares even as I recognize it is a highly constructed and framed series. There is some deep and interesting analysis of the time and place Ramsey came from. Good video.
Irony of scripted reality, LOL
Love this take as well as your vibe and approach to things ❤🙌