Gordon Rocks. In one episode he tells the restaurant owner if he isn't going to "try", then he will just call "fucking Jamie Oliver" to come help him. Awesome. Give TopGear on BBC America a try also.
micah
· 1 year ago
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Last night there was a show where there was a 21 year old "head chef." Reminded me of some of the techstars founders: young, ambitious, but trying too hard.
I love when he eats the food. The look of amazed horror always makes me laugh.
Tara Anderson
· 1 year ago
Micah, I agree with you about the similarities between start-ups and successful kitchens. All of your points are relevant but I especially enjoy the third one. I've worked in a few kitchens in my time and earned a reputation for being mean. However, when you are in the trenches and trying to get plates out on time and looking good, you don't have time to beat around the bush. You have to make sure you are being heard without any worry about how someone is going to react to what is being said. I'm still trying to transition that skill into my startup life, but you are proving helpful in that respect.
Robin Ann
· 1 year ago
I. love. this. blogpost. It's sweet! lol
It also happens to be the first thing I've read from your site. If this is the appetizer, I'm really looking forward to the rest of my meal ;-)
-RobinAnn
micah
· 1 year ago
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@tara well said. I am a firm believer in saying what you mean and meaning what you say. And then owning it.
@robinann that quite a bar you have set. I will do me best!
Jenn
· 1 year ago
I always love the little prayer he says before he tries the establishment's food for the first time -- asking that their food not kill him.
I admit it, I'm a Gordon Ramsay junkie.
damien
· 1 year ago
Episodes of ?kitchen nightmares? are like free little business school case studies, and some of the best lessons are in marketing. For example, making the chef personally give samples to (wealthy) commuters on the subway platform... genius.
His ninja skill might come from the fact that his restaurant failed.
Jed Christiansen
· 1 year ago
I've grown to be a huge fan of Gordon Ramsey, myself. Each week the advice he's giving is so clear and so direct, it's no wonder that he can turn restaurants around. It's a focus on the fundamentals: people want to eat great food for a decent price in a good environment.
To clarify, the name of the show is actually "The F word." It's pretty interesting. Each week he competes against a celebrity and the celebrity's favourite recipe, there's a running competition of amateur chefs (such as firemen, lunch ladies, etc.), and there's also a series-long focus on something like raising lambs (in preparation for being butchered.)
Great post!
micah
· 1 year ago
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@jed actually the F Word is a different show. The Title is Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. I reference The F Word in the #5 lesson.
Thanks for the great comment!
Andy Brice
· 1 year ago
His ninja skill might come from the fact that his restaurant failed.
One of his restaurants failed, but it was quite a long time ago. He has opened a number of _very_ successful restaurants since.
Singapore Hotel
· 11 months ago
The CEO of 1800 Flowers once said he learned this from Jack Welch. "The reason why a lot of Entrepreneurs or Businessmen are not successful simply because they've not failed enough". That said, make more mistakes my friends.
Sunshine
· 10 months ago
I visited "The Mansion" in 12/08. I'm from Arizona so I thought that if I ordered a steak in the State of Kansas that it would be Juicy and thick since I was in cattle country. NOT. Anyway, I did not eat the almost on the verge of spoiing steak that was 1/4" thick with hash browns that tasted old and stale and dry, the toast was burnt, and the over medium eggs were over fried. The chef I was told worked "OVER" Chef Ramsey. Please have Chef Ramsey visit Herington, Kansas. I'll have a nice room for him in our home he can stay in. We all love him. We would be honored to have him visit our home. By the way, the food served at "The Mansion" was "awful". I can't believe that Chef Ramsey could have worked UNDER this man. He's supposedly from Wales. I understand through talking with the waitress that he dispised Chef Ramsey. I hope Chef Ramsey knows who I am speaking about.
Brian Moon
· 6 months ago
Good lessons, but you missed his main rule. This mantra permeates every show, every episode: KEEP IT SIMPLE>
All Comments
Last night there was a show where there was a 21 year old "head chef." Reminded me of some of the techstars founders: young, ambitious, but trying too hard.
I love when he eats the food. The look of amazed horror always makes me laugh.
It also happens to be the first thing I've read from your site. If this is the appetizer, I'm really looking forward to the rest of my meal ;-)
-RobinAnn
@tara well said. I am a firm believer in saying what you mean and meaning what you say. And then owning it.
@robinann that quite a bar you have set. I will do me best!
I admit it, I'm a Gordon Ramsay junkie.
His ninja skill might come from the fact that his restaurant failed.
To clarify, the name of the show is actually "The F word." It's pretty interesting. Each week he competes against a celebrity and the celebrity's favourite recipe, there's a running competition of amateur chefs (such as firemen, lunch ladies, etc.), and there's also a series-long focus on something like raising lambs (in preparation for being butchered.)
Great post!
@jed actually the F Word is a different show. The Title is Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. I reference The F Word in the #5 lesson.
Thanks for the great comment!
One of his restaurants failed, but it was quite a long time ago. He has opened a number of _very_ successful restaurants since.