TV review: The F Word, Channel 4
4:05pm Thursday 14th January 2010 in TV
Just as I thought Gordon Ramsay had completely lost the plot, he pulled it back from the brink.
The multi-millionaire chef has not had the best of times recently — with revelations about supposed extra-marital affairs and stories about his economy with the truth about his past, his star seemed to have fallen somewhat.
Having watched a couple of episodes of this programme, which aims to find the country’s best local restaurant, I began to think that star was about to crash land.
Number one here was clearly Lasan in Birmingham, but Gordon kept questioning the dishes, asking the chef to aspire to more.
I can see the point in London, where your restaurant may attract tourists and people from around the country, but surely a local restaurant relies on repeat custom from, er, locals, who turn up because they can rely on the menu and enjoy their favourites time and again.
Radically altering dishes just to satisfy a rude, gobby TV chef is surely not the way forward. And rude he is — Ramsay constantly interrupts, rubbishes the opinions of others while constantly demanding they defer to him. I would have told him to chef off way before this series got so far.
Anyway, Lasan head chef Aktar Islam, despite being the best in this competition, has been called arrogant by Ramsay, who has made no secret of his dislike of him, instead constantly bigging up the ridiculously named owners Jay (the chef) and Taffeta Scrimshaw from the Pheasant restaurant in posho Keyston, Cambridgeshire.
Anyway, just when I thought Ramsay was going to award the title to the game-inspired menu at the Pheasant, he surprised me by giving his vote to Aktar’s masala beef and curried pumpkin.
So, Gordon sneaks it right at the end of the last course.
He’s begun to push his luck — and he’s had plenty — though, and he may be about to get his just desserts.
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