The Plonker Club

GORDON RAMSAY: COOKALONG LIVE CASTING

ATTENTION ALL COOKS – ANY LEVEL!!!

Do you have the passion for cooking, but lack certain skills?

Have you always wanted to work alongside a professional chef
to observe his or her technique?

Do you watch cooking shows to get ideas for recipes and meals for your family? Read more…

It has been confirmed that Gordon Ramsay’s popular Cookalong Live television show, will be coming to US audiences this year, December in fact, according to a report in Australian newspaper the Herald Sun.

The setup of the very popular UK show is simple; viewers cook live with Gordon Ramsay having pre-bought and prepared ingredients as instructed via the internet. In an effort to get more people to cook at home, the wanna-be chefs invite friends around for a dinner party with their Head Chef Gordon Ramsay barking orders at them via the television. A number of viewers also have cameras in their house following their progress as Gordon and his celebrity come sous chef prepare for the live audience and guests and regularly cross over to see how poorly they compare!

The show is brilliant to watch but definitely less enjoyable for the chef in each home as they desperately try to keep up with Gordon Ramsay’s hectic pace. In the UK the shows were an hour, so with this one-off two hour show, the pace should be a little more relaxed – although it may allow the chef and guests to get more drunk in the process!

For a taste of what to expect, here is a sample of what was on the menu for the last series of Gordon Ramsay’s Cookalong Live UK.

In a demonstration of how professional and passionate Gordon Ramsay is about this show and his effort to get Britain cooking at home again (which at first sounds counter intuative for a man who owns a bunch of restaurants) episode number four was shot days after the infamous claims of him having an affair with serial offender Sarah Symonds. As seen in the video, Gordon at the top of the show merely mentions that it has been a tough week and continues on with the same amazing energy and zest.

Gordon Ramsay is the man – look out American wannabe home chefs (and Fox censors) Gordon Ramsay is coming your way in December 2009!

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

With all of the bad press Gordon Ramsay has been copping lately, one would be forgiven for thinking that his latest award could be something negative. Recently Gordon Ramsay has won or made the top ten in best looking as well as ugliest man surveys – not to mention his no regulation Michelin stars and other culinary prizes.

This prize however, is another on his mantle for television. Only a few weeks ago Gordon rRmsay won a broadcast award for Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live. The award was for Best New Programme at this and according to the Optomen website (producers of many Gordon rRmsay shows) ““Brave” was the word that cropped up most frequently in comments from the judges on one of the year’s biggest live TV events. I don’t think this was chosen necessarily because one of the episodes aired only days after the Sarah Symonds allegations of infidelity. At the start of that episode Gordon Ramsay even says “well, it’s been a tough week but…” and then just got on with the show!

other comments from the article (which can be seen in full at http://www.optomen.com/newsitem.aspx?content=898) include – Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live was a refreshing change from the studio-dominated cookery format and it was this, plus the level of interactivity, that pushed it ahead of the competition.

The ambitious, interactive set-up had the potential to be a logistical nightmare for the show’s producers, prompting one judge to comment that Cookalong Live was ”an innovative and risky way of involving the viewer.” Another went further, describing the show as “inclusive of the whole nation”.”

Optomen Television was also shortlisted for Best Popular Factual Programme for Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and for Best Independent Production Company.

David Driscoll
The Plonker Club

The Unofficial Gordon Ramsay Fansite
www.theplonkerclub.com

Months ago, the Plonker Club reported that Gordon ramsay would be hosting his own Cookalong Live show in the US, Gordon Ramsay has now confirmed this in a recent interview and also talked about another new cooking special he will be shooting in May.

Here is a direct quote from Gordon Ramsay when asked about the new show

Gordon Ramsay “Yes, of course. First of all, I have to say, cooking in Hell’s Kitchen is like a live scenario anyway. The producers are constantly chasing my butt saying, “We would like to see this.” I’m saying, “What would you like to see?”

I’m not interested. All I want to see is food on a plate. I can’t script a service. I don’t know how early or late the customer’s going to turn up, so everything is very natural. So in that sense we cook live.

The live cook along, yes, it has been picked up and it’s going to be a huge excitement. I can’t wait to go live. I suppose the frustration is the sort of cooking shows on air currently that don’t cook.

It’s one that was prepped earlier by some home economist behind the scenes and that’s not cooking. Cooking is a passion and it’s live and it’s really nice to show that journey from a raw ingredient to an hour later something finished. And for me the confidence levels go up tenfold, a 1000%, because you’re following it and it’s changing its texture and the flavor’s getting better and you get more and more confident as you start with a raw ingredient. So, I’m really excited that Fox is excited about the live show and it’s something I can’t wait for.

No cursing, that’s the deal. So I’m fucked.”

Gordon Ramsay’s other show, was also brought up in a later question – again here is a quote

Gordon Ramsay: “So I have a huge excitement this May on visiting India for the first time in my career and I’m going on a journey, because I’m going to the region, I’m backpacking and I suppose I want to come down two or three divisions and sort of get to the heart of the food of the people.

And it’s called Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape and I’m really excited about it because it’s being left in a situation along with sort of …, but going a little bit deeper into the sort of cult social following and where it started, and looking at the beginning, the heartbeat of how that dish was formulated. And to what’s happened, to how many people have abused it along the way to where we are now. So yes, always learning; constantly.”

These comments were part of a much larger interview which can be flouond at http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/features/article_1456611.php/Hells_Kitchens_Gordon_Ramsay_the_full_interview

We can never have enough Gordon Ramsay!

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

So I have a huge excitement this May on visiting India for the first time in my career and I’m going on a journey, because I’m going to the region, I’m backpacking and I suppose I want to come down two or three divisions and sort of get to the heart of the food of the people.
And it’s called Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape and I’m really excited about it because it’s being left in a situation along with sort of …, but going a little bit deeper into the sort of cult social following and where it started, and looking at the beginning, the heartbeat of how that dish was formulated. And to what’s happened, to how many people have abused it along the way to where we are now. So yes, always learning; constantly.

Throughout November and December, it was only our friends form the UK that could take up this amazing offer of seven one hour cooking lessons with Gordon Ramsay – courtesy of Channel 4 in the UK. Now, many others are taking up the call to get back into the Kitchen via the Channel 4 Website (and the odd proxy server) or by other means.

Although the rest of use don’t have to feel the pace and pressure of live television, the cooking lessons (and preliminary lessons in preparation) really are excellent. This series is something I would be happy to pay good money for and I only hope my local foodie channel pick up this series. I really don’t think anything is lost by not having this screening live – so here is a teaser – to show you exactly what was offered each week – seven three course dinners, twenty one dishes plus lots of Gordon Ramsay intensity, passion and entertainment!

Enjoy

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