Gordon Ramsay is known as the expletive-loving Michelin-starred chef with a hot head and an even hotter kitchen. Yet, his award-winning food has been met with pretty frosty receptions by some. Now, genuinely, we’re not usually ones for schadenfreude, but we can’t help but relish seeing one of the world’s most celebrated gourmets being roasted for his cooking abilities. And that is, indeed, what happened back in 2009 when Ramsay tried to whip up a feast for a group of those notoriously harsh critics… Buddhist monks. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The clip from The F Word (which still sporadically does the rounds on social media), follows the restauranteur as he prepares an iconic dish for worshippers at a Thai temple in south-west London. In the intro to his mission, he explains: “I love Thai food, I love cooking it, and I love eating it. But this has to be the most daunting task so far.” He explained that his diners – a “small and revered group of Buddhist monks” – are forbidden from cooking by their religious teachings. “So it's up to the local Thai community to offer the one meal the monks are allowed to eat at 11 o'clock each day,” he said – adding that now, he would be offering his own contribution. “Helping me fulfil this honour and privilege is Chang, executive chef of the Blue Elephant, one of London's top Thai restaurants,” he continued. Joining Chang in his kitchen (not without a quick dig at its “tight” layout), Ramsay acknowledged that the “pressure [was] on.” “Are they fussy eaters?” the Hell’s Kitchen star asked Chang, to which he replied: ”No, they are really nice, they're really kind.” Asked if they “ever send food back”, the Thai expert reassured his fellow chef: “No, never.” Ramsay then explained that the Blue Elephant “prepares the very best dishes to offer to the monastery, and every dish has to be perfect”. Clearly, he expected his own efforts to fulfil these high standards, but was soon left with egg (and fish sauce) on his face. Gordon tries to make Pad Thai | The F Word www.youtube.com The celeb chef got to work preparing his “take” on Thailand’s national dish, pad thai, explaining his method to the viewer before adding nervously: “I’ve never cooked for monks before [...] I hope they’re going to be happy with this.” However, before he was able to send his steaming plates of noodles out, Chang demanded to “test” the food first. As he chewed thoughtfully on his forkful, it swiftly became clear that the chef was unimpressed by Ramsay’s “quick and easy” version of his nation’s most beloved meal. "How is it?" the anxious cook asked his judge. “This is not pad thai at all,” Chang replied brutally. Explaining his assessment, he continued: “No, pad thai has to be sweet, sour, and salty." Clearly not used to receiving such damning critiques, Ramsay gave it a try himself. "I think that doesn't taste too bad,” he announced. “It's not perfect... " But Chang wasn’t having it, and interjected: "For you, but not for me." “You’re a tough cookie,” the defeated Ramsay replied. Well, takes one to know one, and all that. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
Gordon Ramsay is known as the expletive-loving Michelin-starred chef with a hot head and an even hotter kitchen.
Yet, his award-winning food has been met with pretty frosty receptions by some.
Now, genuinely, we’re not usually ones for schadenfreude, but we can’t help but relish seeing one of the world’s most celebrated gourmets being roasted for his cooking abilities.
And that is, indeed, what happened back in 2009 when Ramsay tried to whip up a feast for a group of those notoriously harsh critics… Buddhist monks.
Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
The clip from The F Word (which still sporadically does the rounds on social media), follows the restauranteur as he prepares an iconic dish for worshippers at a Thai temple in south-west London.
In the intro to his mission, he explains: “I love Thai food, I love cooking it, and I love eating it. But this has to be the most daunting task so far.”
He explained that his diners – a “small and revered group of Buddhist monks” – are forbidden from cooking by their religious teachings.
“So it's up to the local Thai community to offer the one meal the monks are allowed to eat at 11 o'clock each day,” he said – adding that now, he would be offering his own contribution.
“Helping me fulfil this honour and privilege is Chang, executive chef of the Blue Elephant, one of London's top Thai restaurants,” he continued.
Joining Chang in his kitchen (not without a quick dig at its “tight” layout), Ramsay acknowledged that the “pressure [was] on.”
“Are they fussy eaters?” the Hell’s Kitchen star asked Chang, to which he replied: ”No, they are really nice, they're really kind.”
Asked if they “ever send food back”, the Thai expert reassured his fellow chef: “No, never.”
Ramsay then explained that the Blue Elephant “prepares the very best dishes to offer to the monastery, and every dish has to be perfect”.
Clearly, he expected his own efforts to fulfil these high standards, but was soon left with egg (and fish sauce) on his face.
Gordon tries to make Pad Thai | The F Word www.youtube.com
The celeb chef got to work preparing his “take” on Thailand’s national dish, pad thai, explaining his method to the viewer before adding nervously: “I’ve never cooked for monks before [...] I hope they’re going to be happy with this.”
However, before he was able to send his steaming plates of noodles out, Chang demanded to “test” the food first.
As he chewed thoughtfully on his forkful, it swiftly became clear that the chef was unimpressed by Ramsay’s “quick and easy” version of his nation’s most beloved meal.
"How is it?" the anxious cook asked his judge.
“This is not pad thai at all,” Chang replied brutally.
Explaining his assessment, he continued: “No, pad thai has to be sweet, sour, and salty."
Clearly not used to receiving such damning critiques, Ramsay gave it a try himself.
"I think that doesn't taste too bad,” he announced. “It's not perfect... "
But Chang wasn’t having it, and interjected: "For you, but not for me."
“You’re a tough cookie,” the defeated Ramsay replied.
Well, takes one to know one, and all that.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
