The Plonker Club

4.0 out of 5 stars What’s that all about?, 31 Oct 2008
By Discrepancy (Oxford, UK)

I am usually not impressed by Gordon’s “rushed” which he calls “high-energy” approach to cooking. Nevertheless his recipes are usually easy to follow and as tasty as it gets – if that’s what you are looking for you won’t be disappointed. Cooking books do not need anything else than that – so why have I rated it as 4 stars only? The simple answer is I do not like his non-cooking, not recipe related introductions and the title. On one occasion he’s ranting about Delia’s “cheat approach” which led him to donate all his Delia cooking books to a charity shop. My second “favourite” is the revelation that his wife has started to cook something vegetarian for the kids once a week. These statements are not only unnecessary they distract from the subject which is food. I do love cooking and great food but hey in the end it’s food not world peace so stop ranting, argueing and self-praise. In my humble opinion the only absolute in the world of cooking is to COOK YOURSELF and avoid fast food/ ready meals. So it does not matter if you are using cheats and cheap ingredients if this creates the basic conditions to make you cook.

The other annoying point is the title. Nothing in this book relates to “cooking for friends”, it’s just a selection of recipes, which are suitable everyday and anytime.

To summarise: A decent cookbook with a misleading title but a good selection of very nice recipes written by a chef with an attitude.

5.0 out of 5 stars Gordon Ramsey: Cooking for Friends, 10 Oct 2008
By Cook book Addict “GC” (London)

I have all Gordon Ramsey’s books and this one is ideal for people who think everything he creates is expensive
This book deals with things like Oxtail soup which is a simple recipe and easy to make
I really recommend this title for everyday cooking with the Ramsey touch

David Driscoll
The Plonker Club
The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com

If you missed Gordon Ramsay on NBCs The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, here is there link (sorry, it appears to only work in the US – I’m sure the savvy internet surfer can find alternative sources!)
www.theplonkerclub.com

It’s March 5 and time for the Summary of all of the Gordon Ramsay news for this day.

Previews for the next Episode of Hell’s Kitchen

Quogue Chef still in the running on “Hell’s Kitchen” – 27east.com – Southampton,NY,USA
Chef Robert Hesse of Quogue has made it through the first four elimination rounds of the Fox reality television series “Hell’s Kitchen” and will continue to compete for the grand prize, a head chef position at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City.
Each week, one chef is eliminated from the unscripted program hosted by hothead chef Gordon Ramsey. Though the chefs have varying degrees of experience, they are all passionate about their craft and determined to prove their culinary skill to Chef Ramsey.
In a previous interview, Mr. Hesse, who is a Quogue native and has worked at Q Restaurant East, said that he is confident he has what it takes to defeat the competition.

Gordon Ramsay’s Accounts Become Public and it seems that papers can’t decide if he is doing well or poorly??
A chef’s chef, a bad boy’s bad boy – The News Journal – Wilmington,DE,USA
By PATRICIA TALORICO • The News Journal • March 4, 2009 Gordon Ramsay, the profanity-spewing star of “Hell’s Kitchen,” may come off as the restaurant world’s baddest bad boy, but his U.S. fans may be surprised to know that he learned his tantrum- throwing schtick, and some of his cooking skills, from master chef Marco Pierre White. The two men are now bitter rivals — a dinner service dressing down by White once made Ramsay cry — but more on that later.

Ramsay 2007 accounts finally available
– Quick Bites – London,England,UK
The 2007 accounts for Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) were finally available at Companies House this morning, some seven months late. …

Ramsay’s new kitchen nightmare: how to balance books of his … – guardian.co.uk – UK
For more than a decade it has proved to be an extremely successful recipe: take one fiery Scottish chef, fold in 11 big-name restaurants and several million pounds and the result is a concoction that has turned Gordon Ramsay into a globally recognised brand. But yesterday it emerged that the formula may not be quite as lucrative as it once was for the chef, who appears to be having trouble with a different sort of F-word – his finances.

David Driscoll
The Plonker Club
The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com

Gordon Ramsay will be a guest on the Tonight show with Jay Leno tonight Wednesday March 4.

All I could get from the NBC website is a mention of Hell’s Kitchen, so he may be discussing the current series or possibly the new one that he is hooting at the moment.

Let’s just hope that it will be a little more sane than the recent appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

Check your local guides (torrent pages) or even video sites and enjoy Gordon Ramsay almost in the flesh!

David Driscoll
The Plonker Club
The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com

3.0 out of 5 stars Cooking for Friends, 30 Dec 2008
By Mr. G. Kania (UK)

I concur with other reviewers here who have said that there are rather too many mugshots of the Grand Cuisiner himself. It IS offputting to try and cook, for example, Artichokes Braised with Onions and Lardons, with the lardon himself staring out at you rather than a picture of the dish itself.

In addition I was somewhat disappointed when I decided to try out his method of making shortcrust pastry for some mini-quiches. Referring to the ‘basics’ section at the back he mentions the ingredients – butter flour, beaten egg and water etc, but in the method omits to tell you what to do with the beaten egg ! What a contrast with the cookbook I normally use – Julia Child’s classic where she has gone to the trouble of six pages of instructions with line drawings and NO mug shots.

However, this book is in a different league and is aimed at doing things simply and straighforwardly. His recipes give inspiration, are simple enough to follow, and as he says, they are but a guide. It’s a useful addition to my library – but I shan’t be watching his TV show.

4.0 out of 5 stars er…. is this a Gordon Ramsay authored book?, 9 Dec 2008
By S. Hampton (London, UK)

Firstly the recipies in this book are excellent and I’ve really enjoyed those that I have cooked so far.

However, the 1st page of text reads:

Food: Mark Sargeant
Text: Emily Quah
Photographer: Ditte Isager
Stylist: Christine Rudolph
Art Director: Patrick Budge
Publisher: Harper Collins

This begs the question what exactly did Gordon Ramsay do for this book? I think it has been mis-sold as a Gordon Ramsay book. There are indeed pictures of him in the book, perhaps an addition to the above should read:

Photographer’s Model: Gordon Ramsay

I do recommend buying this book as the recipes are great, it is a shame that it seems to me to be mis-sold.

5.0 out of 5 stars I love everything about this book, 16 Nov 2008
By Gayle Hartley “Orce Serrano Hams” (Andalucia)

This book is full of inspiring and easy to follow recipes, delicious photography and lots of personal touches and anecdotes which make it a ‘real’ book. I like the way the dishes are made using accessible ingredients as sometimes celebrity cook books are full of ingredients which are difficult to come by or expensive. In fact I love the old fashioned and ‘simple food’ element, but above all the recipes are for ‘proper’ good food, ideal for family meals and social gatherings without days of worry and preparation beforehand.

A must have for everyone who loves to cook good food with simple, quality ingredients.

David Driscoll
The Plonker Club
The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com