Kitchen: Gordon Ramsey

Kitchen
Friday, 28th of November, 2008

Read Also Update on Nov. 30, 2008: London Times Pity the (other) woman.

Anne writes:

I don’t care for Gordon Ramsey, not that he minds.

Watching the world blow up before our eyes — remember that I live at Ground Zero and wrote yeaterday about Mumbai — I’ve had enough of testosterone-infused, bad boy antics.

Surely Ramsey can be entertaining, without being an sob. If we demand and applaud this behavior of him, then we’re in bed with him and have no reason to complain.

I have nothing against testosterone, especially between the sheets. Quite the opposite! The hormone has a decidedly different effect on me, rendering me a lover, not a cursing warrior who enjoys decimating people to pieces, while puffing up my own ego.

The NY Times writes about York & AlbanyEnough of the rant. Ramsey loves the attention.

It seems that Mr. Ramsey has cooked up a new pot of stew, after opening York & Albany, his latest venture, an inn and restaurant built from the ruins of a 19th century pub that had been a derelict eyesore in the Camden neighborhood of north London.

Only Her Hairdresser Knows For Sure

When it comes to breaking news of Tamsey’s alleged seven-year affair with writer Sarah Symonds, my only questions is: was his wife in agreement? If so, no problem.

I still remember almost gagging on my Lillet, standing in the London kitchen with the wife of a prominent New York builder … uncomfortable that I was setting sail in the morning with her husband and his mistress. I felt a bit of chicanery, until said wife asked me: “How well do you know Alice? (name changed)”

It turns out that Madame New York builder was leaving the following morning with her boy toy, for a stay in the South of France. My fiance and I heard all the details over dinner, at the suggestion of the Mister.

Simply stated, the Europeans handle these matters differently than Americans, and I don’t care what they tell Americans writing books about infidelity. Europeans are also far more discreet than we are.

Bad boy Gordon RamseyBack to Ramsey. If Mrs. Ramsey’s — Tana — is on board with his alleged affair, God bless them. If she isn’t, well Ramsey may be headed to divorce court. According to press reports, denial is the word of the day.

The current debate in London is whether or not the infidelity will hurt the Gordon Ramsey brand. The prevailing argument is that in today’s world, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

Yesterday Richard Harden, co-publisher of the Harden’s Restaurant Guide, said that the affair rumours would undermine Mr Ramsay’s family image. I didn’t know that he had one.

“It must damage the package,” he said. “In the long term it is a weevil burrowing into the carefully built structure that is Gordon Ramsay.”

The DailyMail reports that Ramsey was cool as cucumber soup, even joking about the rumours on his BBC Good Food show.  Referring to his alleged affair with “professional mistress” Sarah Symonds, author of the book, “Having An Affair?” Handbook for the Other Woman”, Ramsey said:

“I have been following her for 25 years and wanted my book signed but I didn’t have the gut to ask her for a kiss.

“She gave me a book on how to cheat. All I wanted to do was show her my recipes for spotted dick.” Daily Mail

Enough said on this subject. The video I’m dying to show you — of Ramsey choking on the above body part — has been removed from YouTube. Too bad … the footage was priceless!

Gordon Ramsey’s latest book Three Star Chef is in the Anne of Carversville Kitchen.

Love,
Anne