Gordon Ramsay

Poor old Gordon Ramsay has run afoul of an Australian Senate Committee looking at swearing on television. It seems that Mr. Ramsay used the word "fuck" 80 times in a 40-minute program that he makes called "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares".

Now using the word 80 times in 40 minutes is probably not a record (make a note to check the Guinness Book of Records). However, on TV it might be a record for a food program. But most people already know that if they are going to watch Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen it is going to be a full onslaught of coarse language. If you can't handle the heat in the kitchen then get out of the kitchen. Simply, don't watch the show.

The end result here will be things like parental controls being installed on all new digital televisions. A review of ratings classifications and more detail with respect to what phrases like "occasional coarse language' actually mean. In terms of "occasional coarse language" I have never really been able to work out whether that was 10 fucks, shits, dicks, and piss-offs in 40 minutes or was it 20 or 30 or 40. I would reckon 80 fucks in 40 minutes is "frequent coarse language".

The television viewing public need to take a little more responsibility for themselves rather than rely on the government to regulate what we watch. If you do not like Gordon Ramsay or his style then vote by not watching. When his ratings fall the investors will scamper off and Gordon Ramsay will not longer invade our television screens.

Organic Alcohol

Is it a fad? Is it going green for the environment? Do you feel any better the morning after?

These might be some of the questions one asks themselves when considering an order of organic alcohol! There are at least three major hotel chains who have jumped on the organic alcohol wagon: the Marriott, the Ritz-Carlton, and the Kimpton Hotels. It is also worth noting that the most frequently swearing chef on the planet, Gordon Ramsay, is carrying organic alcohol in his newest restaurant.

It seems that a company called Square One is leading the way in organic spirits.

So, what does it take to be certified organic? Simply, there can be no herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers used at any stage of the process. Furthermore, no nitrogen or other chemicals can be used during the distilling process. I wonder if this means that the producers get the odd batch that is not drinkable?

Well, now that I know I can order organic, I might have to duck down to the Marriott or the Ritz after work and see if Indonesia is up with the trend towards organic spirits. If not then it might be off to the Ranch Farm to buy some organic produce of my own. I am sure I can learn to build a distillery on the Internet...I can see thriving underground business potential!

Gordon Ramsay & Hell's Kitchen

Reality shows provide us with many WTF moments and Gordon Ramsay (a world class chef) and his show, Hell's Kitchen, probably move close to the top of the WTF list after this one. Ramsay is probably as well know for his outrageous expletive-filled outbursts at anyone who angers him, and perhaps because his brother was arrested in Bali on a drug charge, as he is for anything else.

So, the story goes like this. One of the contests, Matt, was preparing a pancetta to stuff a quail and in the urgency to get it ready he accidentally slices of the top of his thumb. Now, the thumb unfortunately falls into the pancetta while Matt flees the kitchen scene to get some attention to his now shorter thumb.

The show must go on, so the other chefs take over, fry up the pancetta, stuff the bird, and then feed it to Ramsay. Reports say that the other chefs were not aware of the thumb slicing incident and not wanting to get on the wrong side of the host carried on as they would. Ramsay though was aware of what had happened and let things go on with the following exclamation, "Oh God - finger pancetta."

What is interesting here is that Ramsay then went on to sample the dish and gave it the thumbs up. I guess this is pun intended. A touch of cannibalism may be?