http://blogs.nypost.com/tv/archives/2009/01/gordon_ramsay_d.htmlA group of reporters didn't do much reporting--failing to ask "Hell's Kitchen" host Gordon Ramsay about his alleged affair with Sarah Symonds or about reports that his restaurant empire is teetering.
Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room. You guys get an "F" in Journalism 101.
Instead, a steady stream of dot.com reporters and scribes from small, never-heard-of-'em publications asked Ramsay--on the phone to promote Thursday night's season premiere of "Hell's Kitchen"--softball questions, like whether one particular "HK" contestant "really looks like Neil Patrick Harris," or if he watches other cooking shows (he doesn't).
Does anyone really care about this? And did some of these people actually address Ramsay as "Chef"? (Answer: yes.)
The Post had every intention of asking Ramsay to respond to stories that broke late last year, in the British press, that he had a seven-year affair with Symonds, who once wrote a book entitled "Having An Affair? A Handbook for the Other Woman."
Ramsay, a married father of four--has vehemently denied the charge on a BBC cooking show. He has yet to address the story in the US.
And, had we been able to get through to ask Ramsay a question--despite no fewer than 20 attempts--we would have asked him to comment on reports that he's been forced to close his Foxtrot Oscar eatery in London two days a week, and that he's reportedly in talks to sell two other London-area restaurants (which he's also denied).
Instead, we listened to Gordo chat about how much time he puts into coaching the chefs on "HK," or how he likes to "focus on the talent" on the show while ignoring the prime-time fame that goes along with it all.
Feh! - Michael Starr
