The dilution of Gordon Ramsey – By Eddie Francis
AS I write this, my latest dispatch ?from the front? of London eating places, I?m absolutely furious!
Gordon Ramsay has, for the couch food guru, become a god, the Adonis of gastronomy, a genius amongst chefs. Well, after tonight?s experience, I for one am thoroughly disillusioned.
How can he have the audacity; the bare-faced cheek? How can he cross the pond and dare to ?entertain? us by tormenting and blatantly taking the rise out of incompetent restaurateurs then claim to fix them up in a flash?
York & Albany is the latest branch to spawn from the Ramsay family tree and is as bland, boring and nondescript as a restaurant and bar could be. I?m not even going to bother explaining where it is: it?s that rubbish!
What he has essentially done is this: taken a beautiful old building, spent a few quid on dull pastel coloured bits and bobs in an attempt to ?do it up?, but not so as to loose the character ? two inch gaps under the doors, single glazed iron framed climate-change-inducing windows are just a couple of examples ? and staffed the place with jesterly dressed, eastern European morons who have received no apparent training and therefore know sod-all about any of the things on offer.
My partner and I didn?t bother to eat as we couldn?t even get a drink out of the lounge waitress as she, and the other staff, messed around whipping each other, joking and singing whilst the frumpy, simple- looking manager did endless snail-paced laps of the draughty, miserable room.
I would venture to suggest that Gordon gets out of the TV studio, stops flogging low-grade Gin and BT technical services, stops telling the yanks how to fix up their restaurants, and focuses on getting his own house in order. People patronise his establishments with a level of expectation that accompanies such culinary mega stardom and anyone with half a brain can see that the place is utter rubbish. It can survive only on so-called food tourists: People who go out wearing enjoyment blinkers, mesmerised by just being there ? obliviously to the fact that they are eating food served by village idiots in a dull, characterless, over designed temple of pretence and marketing prowess.
No doubt the food is ok ? as Ramsay prodigy Angel Harnett is ?at the stove? but I care not a sausage! The passion, love and obsession that makes a great restaurant is totally absent here. There are so many great places in town that ooze a commitment to doing what they do well, so spend your hard earned cash elsewhere.
I feel at this stage that I should clarify something: Gordon Ramsay currently ?runs? around 20 restaurants, and is supported by a loyal army of dedicated henchmen ? and women who keep the standards up. Forget right now, any thoughts you have that when you go to a Ramsay restaurant he is in the kitchen. Forget also, any thoughts you have that one of his henchmen are there either. Angela Harnett is currently overseeing ? in addition to York & Albany ? her Mayfair restaurant Murano, plus restaurants in New York and Dubai. Who the duck is in the kitchen?
How diluted can something get before it becomes unrecognisable? This diluted is the answer.
I must apologise for not maintaining my commitment to this column. It was Christmas, I?ve been to The Netherlands and Prague, and I?ve started a new job. My mind has ? as can be expected ? been on other things but have no fear, I am back in the culinary driving seat and will hopefully bring you better news in the coming weeks, as I continue to offer (hopefully) more useful advice on where to eat and drink when you visit The Smoke. In the mean time, if any readers wish to send me some feedback, or ideas on places to visit then I would love to hear from you. Hopefully mum will tag my details on to the bottom of this passage of opinionated drivvle. God, Ramsay makes me mad!
NB Reminder of disclaimer: The views expressed in this feature are NOT those of Thamenews.net which bears no responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of any part of this article. Besides, it not worth sueing us Gordon, we are paupers, live in a tent and are currently living on baked beans!
To contact Eddie with your feedback to this, or any other of his contributions, email him at:
eddie@useyourloaf.net
Image: a shot of the York and Albany, from the York and Albany website
