http://www.praguepost.com/articles/2008/12/17/around-town-gordon-does-prague.phpI didn’t want to like Gordon Ramsey: from the crass character he appears on any number of his television shows, to the press kit that came in a purple bag with his name on it and not the name of the restaurant, or the pre-emptive warning that no personal questions would be allowed when meeting the celebrity chef.
He does talk a lot, and most, if not all, of his statements at a Prague press event Dec. 15 were sales pitches for his Maze restaurant at the Hilton Old Town, from the repeated mention of a new menu and constant praise of Czech produce and what is apparently newly praiseworthy: Czech beef and lamb.
But then, there was something — and not just the Scottish accent — that made you want to like him. More likely it was that when photographers started gathering around him as he answered a reporter’s question, he asked them to move so that he could make eye contact. Definitely, it was when a translator tasked with converting his lengthy soliloquies into Czech was talking and he poured her a glass of water.
In he marched with two cohorts — Maze Prague Chef Phil Carmichael and Maze London Chef Jason Atherton — all lined up in their white chef attire. The photographers surrounded Ramsey like he was the pope, while reporters were guzzling as much free Pellegrino as they could. Ramsey made a brief statement, then took three or four questions — with full responses — before agreeing to one more because, “It’s Christmas, why not?”
Known to most through several incarnations of reality shows based in his kitchens, where he vocally and psychologically terrorizes employees, Ramsey is actually known in the culinary community for his cooking, his restaurants having received nine prestigious Michelin stars.
He compared the contemporary Prague culinary scene to “what happened in London 15 years ago.”
“What is happening here now, restaurants are becoming more un-intimidated,” he said. “There is a revolution taking place; it’s festering. How do we evolve that?”
And what does he think of traditional Czech food?
“Of course, it is somewhat different. It is what people had to deal with for so long,” before pointing to traditional English cuisine as an example how a country can create innovative foods from humble beginnings. “You can get a lot of bad food outside the M-25 in London, or in Versailles or the Hamptons — certainly in New Jersey.”
How about the global financial crisis, will that threaten high-end restaurants?
“It makes things more pressurized,” Ramsey said. “We are going back to a more old-fashioned way of cooking: vegetables with no glamour.”
Welshman Carmichael is the head chef at the Prague version of Maze, another reporter asked him what his least favorite thing about Prague was. Carmichael’s politically correct answer came: “We are not as busy as we want to be.”
Ramsey, the media pro, stepped in: “If I could ban smoking, I would run for Parliament.”
As Ramsey’s press engagement ended, he mumbled, “We ended five minutes early this morning,” alluding to an incident at another event where a reporter asked about an ongoing British tabloid scandal over an alleged extramarital affair.
Ramsey apparently blew up and abruptly ended the meeting, storming out of the room. At least that was the rumor I heard.
