I watched “The F Word“, Gordon Ramsay’s latest outlet for his bad temper and vitriol last night, and while it was very funny, I was almost annoyed with myself for enjoying it.
What’s with the “Celebrity Cookbook Amnesty“? Anyone want to send him his OWN cook books to throw in the skip?
While the guy can clearly cook, and his passion for getting people to cook more is laudable, last nights menu managed to contain absolutely nothing of merit. The starter was basically raw tuna rolled in some sesame seeds. It was described as seared, a word that always worries me when I see it other than in the middle of a recipe. Searing is something you do to seal the juices into meat before slow cooking. It’s not the last thing you do before putting stuff on the plate. Either cook it properly, or serve it raw. Stop f***ing around and being flash.
The main course was basically another starter: a sliver of sea bass balanced on a few florets of broccoli. If I order sea bass I expect the whole filet, not a third of it, and I expect a main course to have more than one vegetable. I’d have been stopping at the kebab van on the way home for something to fill me up.
And the dessert? Doughnuts and apple fritters is something I’d expect from a cheap chinese restaurant, not some high class pretentious place. Argh!
The show did have two redeeming features, though. The first was a taste test between his quick bouillabaise, and Janet Street Porter’s fish stew. JSPs was clearly more appetising, a delicious looking tomatoey concoction with lots of lovely saffron. Gordon’s looked like it was served in pureed overcooked grass, a nasty brownish green coloured mess that I’d have sent back without tasting.
And the second? Cliff Richard saying he might pay £2.50 for one of the wines he’d tasted if he was giving it to people he didn’t like – it turned out to be from his own vineyard. Which, I think, speaks volumes about many celebrity endorsed brands, which have more to do with the marketing value of their name than the quality of the product.