Swearing, with some cooking thrown in
Posted: 19 January '10 by Niall
Gordon's Great Escape
I have to confess – Kelly and I like Gordon Ramsay. Behind all of the swagger and media-courting I think there’s a great chef with a lot of talent, drive, and ambition.
So we settled down to watch “Gordon’s Great Escape” with some expectation. The basis for the programme certainly sounded good – Gordon was off to India, avoiding the posh restaurants to find authentic regional cooking. Yes, the format has been done plenty of times before, but it does make for interesting television.
The first of three one-hour shows should have been very watchable. The cooking sequences were good – cooking for passengers on an accident-prone train, learning to make Biryani with an irascible royal chef, and making ant chutney in the jungle. There were plenty of thoughtful confessions too in which Gordon talked about the difficult year that he’s had, and his need to get back to cooking – although I was left wondering was this a frank admission or more spin.
However, the programme was completely ruined by the persistant, needless swearing of the host. It was like a buzzing at the edge of your hearing which, once heard, seems to drown out all other sounds. And worst of all, the local people and chefs that Gordon met along the way were faultlessly polite, which only emphasised his crass behaviour.
The “Great Escape” was made when I changed the channel.
I’ve no idea who the programme-makers thought were going to watch “Gordon’s Great Escape”. Foul-mouthed food-lovers? Or viewers who are also afflicted with Tourette’s, perhaps. For me “Gordon’s Great Escape” is a terrible waste and a bit of an embarassment.
Other information
This episode: Monday 18 Jan, 9PM on Channel 4
Next episode: Tuesday 19 Jan, 9PM on Channel 4
You can visit the Channel 4 website to see some clips.
Tags: gordon ramsay, News, television
Categories: News > On TV and Radio
Last night’s programme was far better.
In the North-East of India – took his life in his hands out on that hunt, I thought.
One cringe-worthy moment in which he came on strong to the wife of the chef he had just spoken to, mind you..