Is it just me or does Gordon Ramsay look
out of place promoting the butchery of one of our large and commercial
supermarkets?
Especially when it seems they entrusted the boom-swinger on set
with half an hour to get Gordon up to speed with the pronunciation of
boerewors.
Don’t get me wrong. I do not have a problem
with the product he is promoting, and neither with celebrity chefs. But there
is a difference between judging a cook-off on television and promoting a
product that you neither use, nor have probably seen.
The one is show business
and the other mind-numbing advertising. My thoughts go to those young Chefs de Partie working 80 hour weeks for a pittance of a salary. What are their thoughts?
In the old days chefs were artists
In the good old days chefs considered
themselves close to artists, creating sumptuous beautiful dishes in a
restaurant environment. They worked as apprentices – long hard hours to learn their
trade. Today the bar has been shifted. The word chef is bandied about
ingeniously.
To me it is rather disappointing seeing a
top class chef endorse anything from butcheries to spices.
It is unrealistic as
I doubt they use the products they punt. It all just sits wrong with me.
Celebrity vs real life
My concern is
that all this celebrity business is diluting the blood, sweat and tears of the
real boys and girls in the kitchens of the world. Will our future chefs
understand the dedication that goes into getting to the top?
Or like LA Law
churned out a new generation of bewildered lawyers who thought law would be
glamorous, are we going to see kids starting to chef for the wrong reasons?
Blood, sweat and tears
Maybe it is just a sign of the times. I
have no doubt that Gordon worked as hard as anyone to get to the top. But
somehow I just hope that young chefs today are still inspired by the likes of
Fernand Point and Joël Robuchon, and do not approach their careers with stars
in their eyes.
Then again, maybe it is a good thing. Maybe those young Chef de
Parties go to work with a spring in their step. Maybe they think that working
hard and staying focused can get them a slot on television.
For me I still think
that Gordon Ramsay looks like a fish out of water advertising a product I am
sure he has little regard for.
He possibly needed the cash. Or did Nataniel
maybe just contact Gordon: “Matey, I can’t deal with all this wors anymore. We
need a butch ex-soccer player celebrity chef.”
Your comments?