I watch UKTV Food channel quite often and tonight there was a good programme with Gary Rhodes and Jamie Oliver and how they started out as chefs and then became TV personalities.

Gary Rhodes is one of my all time favourite chefs - I love how everything he makes looks so perfect and how he makes it all look so easy. Although I haven't tried it yet his bread and butter pudding is supposedly legendary.


Who are your favourite chefs and why?

I'm not a fan of Gary Rhodes I must say, I dunno if it's his voice or sometimes pretentious way of cooking.


Can I have 3 faves.
I'm a fan of Gordon Ramsey when he does his simple style of cooking, cooking that a simple novice housewife could cook, again not when he reduces everything and makes a jus.

Jamie O has to the be THE king of TV chefs, his style, is simple, good food, that anyone can make. If I'm making something special I tend to pick up the Jamie O cookbook.

Antony 'wozzer' Thompson, Saturday cooks, daily cooks and christmas cooks, is something I always watch. I love him. Again he cooks simply, he cooks good hearty food. Stews, casseroles, simple curries, everyday store cupboard ingredients, that I generally have. Not at all pretentious or 6 chuncky chips piled on a plate like Jenga with a dripping of some sauce rund the edge.

I can't say that I like any of them, though if I had to pick my least unpleasant it would have to be Ainsley Harriott.

Gordon Ramsey is just a foul mouth ex-footballer, who is just as bad playing football as he cooks.
Antony Worrall Thompson is a short arsed Imp
Hugh Fern-Gully Witlessness - posh, tree hugging, save the planet crusader.
Jamie Oliver, smug and obnoxious git.

Nigella and Mary Berry.

Why? They make me feel I can cook anything.

I've eaten at 3 of his restaurants and although he may not have cooked for me personally, he trained the chefs that did - and trust me, they can cook.

I agree on Worral Thompson though.

My fave chefs are:

Bill Grainger: easy to make, and proves healthy can still be delish
Gordon Ramsay: inspirational IMO. Came from nothing and proves you don't have to be born rich to succeed
Nigella: easy recipes and great food + a lady in the public eye that doesn't give a monkey's chuff if she's not a size 6. A good role model.
Last edited by Minky_Bum : 30-12-2007 at 15:44

I tend to trust the ones who have got successful restaurants. Harriott hasn't got one, nor has Delia Smith or Nigella.

It has to be Gary Rhodes. I judge that because his books are the only ones I buy full price when they come out - and I actually use them.

His "New British Classics" is one of my favourites.

When Jamie Oliver was first on, I couldn't see past his silly chat and faffing around. These days though, I really like him. He's calmed down a lot, and does really nice looking food with good quality, simple ingredients. I loved his recent series, and I really like the book of it (I got it for Christmas).

I used to really like Nigella (her Domestic Goddess and Feast books are wonderful, and I have cooked a lot of the recipes from them, and refer to them frequently) - however, her recent series really annoyed me, as it seemed to go against all the things I liked about her (enjoying time spent cooking, enjoying the process, using great ingredients etc) and was all about rushing and cheating. Also, she seems to have become a charicature of herself, with all that posing and simpering and lip-licking and pouting.

This year I've been watching quite a lot of Saturday Kitchen, and I really like James Martin. He does some lovely looking food, and has a really nice, down to earth manner.

Keith Floyd
Ken Hom
Anthony Worrell Thompson
Jamie Oliver

I always think I can manage what they do, and they aren't too precious about stuff. I particularly like programmes such as Saturday Cooks, with quick and easy recipies.

A couple of AWT's are regulars in my reportoire now - a morrocan tagine, and aubergine and potato curry (that I've adapted and now use sweet potato instead and also add okra if I can get it)

I don't like those that are so precise on things, saying this is how it must be - I find Delia awful for that, she is so condescending - even telling people how to make toast!

I find to get an idea of the TV chefs, maybe try it as described the first time, and the I experiment and alter the recipie to suit my tastes and requirements. I'm sure that eventually they bear no resemblence to the original recipie!

The recipes I actually make myself most often would be Nigella's - I make her cupcakes and butter biscuits at least once a month, and I probably do at least one of her recipes per week.

For watching, I also really like Rick Stein. His Mediterranean series was beautiful.

Jamie Oliver. He makes things that I would normally hate look so appetising.

Anthony Bourdain.
Tyler Florence.
Sophie Grigson.
My favourite though, has to be Nigel Slater. I love his passion. I love the way he writes as well, also Simon Hopkinson although I don't think he's a TV chef.

I really must look into reading/watching (?) his stuff. I know very little about him, but I make his chocolate brownie recipe at least once a month (my boyfriend is addicted) and every time I do, someone at work (I take them in, can't eat them all ourselves!) comments about how they're the best brownies they've ever had. They really are amazing.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magaz...235755,00.html (the top one)

Maybe its because I have worked in hotel and restaurants alike, I know that the Head Chef is just a Kitchen Manager. What most people don't realise, is that most of the hard graft is done by the Commis Chefs. Preparation is the biggest part, while the Gordon Ramsey's just make it look like a pretty picture on a plate.

But surely you cannot get to the position of Head Chef in the first place without being a great cook? I'm sure Gordon Ramsay can cook a meal you know.

Ramsay has excellent Commis Chefs then.

I am sure he could, but so can anybody that puts their mind to it. Maybe I just can't get past the 'foul mouthed ex footballer' to see that he may have some good ideas occasionally. It could also be, that I don't need a celebrity chef to give me ideas on how to cook. Part of my own enjoyment in cooking is experimenting with the foods and trying new experiences. I don't need Nigella, Gordon or Jamie's over priced books to tell me their opinions.

So you are saying anyone can be a World Class Chef if they just 'put their mind to it'? What rubbish!! Ramsay worked 20hour days for years under one of the greatest Chefs ever to get where he is now.

As a chef myself i can tell you that the workload of a head chef and a commis are very different things.The stress actually can get worse the higher up the ladder you climb even though the job might be a little less hands on with the food.And most chefs will tell you that the hard graft never actually ends,if you are a head chef worth your salt you wouldn't leave a kitchen full of commis chefs on their own and expect to have excellent food served to customers at service time!

I agree, Gordon Ramsay may not be the most lovable of characters but there is no doubt he is one of the worlds great chefs. Even his most fiercest critics will concede that point. I detect a smidgeon of jealousy from our Scottish chum!

So you confirm what I said, a Head Chef is a Kitchen Manager. Thus with this job comes the responsibility of the staff, the menu, the food orders, etc. I didn't say that they didn't work hard to get there where they were, though the comment about Commis not being good enough on their own is demeaning. Surely any Head Chef worth his salt, would have staff that could work unsupervised for short periods of time.

Jealous? split shifts, long hours with little gratitude and unsociable hours. Your right I miss it terribly, thats why I like to cater for a select group of people nowadays.

Well of course the head chef is the manager,that goes without saying.As for demeaning commis chefs,I would never demean anyone in my own profession,I was once a commis and have nothing but respect for any young person who wants to make it as a chef.
And yes any head chef worth his salt would leave his staff work unsupervised by himself or herself but commis always need a sous chef or chef de partie to be in the kitchen.
The industry has changed quite a lot,I run a very large kitchen and not one of my staff do split shifts and work no longer than 8 1/2 hours a day with 1 night off and 2 full days off.
And as the old saying goes Scots-Dragon,if you can't stand the heat.......

Gordon Ramsay

Atol Kutchar
Paul Rankin
Rachel Allen
Gordon Ramsay
Heston Blumenthal
Raymond Blanc

Believe it or not I have nearly 50 cookery books that I have collected over the years and have used them a great deal.Delia Smith explains everything step by step. I love Nigella, Gary Rhodes, Mary Berry, you cannot fail if you make one of her cakes, Rick Stein and too many others to mention.