What can you learn from Gordon Ramsay Recipe

 

It is so easy to dislike someone instantaneously. It is human nature at its very best. I am one of many people who easily choose to hate Gordon Ramsay.

He is a celebrity chef who is not only a master of culinary cuisine, he has several cooking reality shows. Usually a bunch of spoilt brats with major attitude who think they can cook and win the ultimate prize - to cook for Gordon Ramsay. I used to work in the kitchen before and I know how a fiery chef can be - and I am not a big fan of any of them. They are intense, extremely volatile, volcanic temper, worst boss you can ever have. Funny, like an idiolised star, those who worked for great chefs are dying to get even the miniscule of compliment. Once given it is glorious. If not a normal chat or brief and everything is forgiven.

TV critics began to land killing punches with their reviews of the ubiquitous Ramsay. I read once that they think he is beginning to "saturate" - a bit like Eddie Mcguire (who hosted the Who wants to be a millionaire, President of AFL Collingwood football club, regular AFL commentator, hosted Logie awards and even at one stage a CEO for a major TV network) or the has-been Claude Van Damme. So I formed my negative opinion based on these reports and how Ramsay market himself, a rude and impossible to please chef. Why would anyone want to watch his show. Until one fine day. The day of justification.

I read a weekend magazine where he was interviewed by a freelance journalist. The journalist asked him of why he keeps pumping out TV shows that could easily undermine his credibility as a top class chef by slowly sweeping him into a pile of bad publicity tip. His answer was simple yet strikingly profound - for me at least, a Ramsay boo boy.

"I am using these shows to fund my restaurants". I gulped and cannot helped but wonder - who has the last laugh?

"I don't want to be dictated by those wankers who sit on their arse behind a desk and tell me how to run my restaurant". Right.

It didnt take long before I was slammed with an epiphany. How many of the aspiring young chefs with strong business minded are a bunch of copped out? What other choices do they have? To compete they need expansion, in order to expand, they need money to inject into the restaurant - a new theme, new decor, new website, fresher produce, costly maitre'd, cellar range, bigger kitchen, better location. All these are expensive -  and it is fucking expensive to run a good restaurant. So I guess that Ramsay did the right thing after all, I would rather to do my own reality show and have my business advertise the way I want it and not having anyone breathing down my neck telling me what to do.

By watching Ramsay shows, on the other hand, I was reminded that to be a professional in whatever you do - you act like one. Not just yapping how good you are. You exude, explode, permeate, splash, beam and spray YOUR PASSION. With passion, it will see a professional run the extra miles and still have the reserve for competitiveness, fire and desire - to be better. That separates between the good pro and the best pro.

It goes the same with life. It is nothing personal for Ramsay to yell, cuss and scream. He just want get the job done - at a standard. He pushes the poor sorry idiots excruciatingly through the pinhole of perfection. Only the best will remain - the rest filtered through the process of natural selection. Only the best will cross that finishing line, because they are hungrier, they see bigger pictures, they dont take thing personally, they keep their mouth shut, they have an objective in life and accept that it is filled with adversity along the way. That life is full of shits and it is how you keep charging ahead after each fall that matters. Which is why a tiny ridiculous praise is all they need, impermanently.

So how hungry are you in your profession? Are you the best in what you do? Do you get what Ramsay Recipe of Life have in store for your profession appetite?

Comments

[KJH]

I am always surprised and delighted by the erudite articles you post. Their diversity is also quite breath taking. ALways entertaining and thought provoking. A new career could be in the offering with the literary skills displayed

[bruce]

i met gordon at the syd good food show
thousands of people from grandmothers to school chilren paid $25 to see him cook for 45 minutes
it was a great show he is an entertainer who does a good job of promoting his image
look at his interview on fri 19/6 on chnll 9 today show ,who else could tell the female interviewer at 7am that when he looked on the tv at 6am he got a 6am rise from her, this is the stuff we love in our daily lives
great entertainer not so the liberal senator from sth aust that wonts to interfer in 2008 in the way we choose to watch tv,, what a deadsiht life he must have.