Let’s talk about Gordon Ramsay

This is a post about Gordon Ramsay I didn’t expect to write.

Sometimes, when I am flicking through the channels on TV, I stumble upon old episodes of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA.

I missed them the first, second and probably third time round but although the formula is identical and the cast of characters very similar in almost every programme, they make riveting and almost compulsive viewing. For example:

Gordon heads to the historic Olde Hitching Post in Hanson, Massachusetts, where he meets an owner so stubborn and set in his ways that he doesn't realise he's the reason his restaurant is losing money.

Gordon heads to Boston for the first of two visits to La Galleria 33, an Italian restaurant opened in 2006 by raucous sisters Rita and Lisa. The sisters blame everything from the weather to the tablecloths for their failures.

Gordon confronts restaurant owners and sisters Rita and Lisa with an ultimatum. His stand-off with the siblings is just the beginning of the explosive action. He finds himself stuck in a war between the waiters, chefs and owners over who is to blame for the restaurant's failings. Can Gordon wrangle these hapless proprietors and stubborn employees back into one productive team and save the restaurant?

One thing is clear. For all the shouting and stage-managed confrontations with under-performing managers and staff, Ramsay does appear to care about the people and the restaurants and his advice and problem solving are the product of both a heart and a keen business brain.

The same qualities are evident in Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars that concluded its first series on BBC1 last night.

I’m only writing about it because I think it’s been unfairly panned as an inferior copy of The Apprentice. The Telegraph review gave it one out of five stars, The Times and Guardian gave it two.

It’s true that FFS (see what they did there?) is a shameless rip-off of The Apprentice. A similar group of young would-be entrepreneurs compete through a series of tasks (some very familiar) for an investment in their business.

There were nods to other programmes too. For example, Ramsay jumping out of a helicopter at the start of the first episode (a stunt widely mocked) appeared to be nicked from I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.

Despite that the series worked, for me at least. OK, it was undemanding but one of the criticisms - that it features a soft-boiled, reined-in Ramsay - ignores the fact that this was part of its charm.

The aggressive, foul-mouthed Ramsay of old may have been watered down if not neutered but he was still hands on, wanting the contestants to succeed, and that’s what I liked.

Yes, Future Food Stars was derivative of The Apprentice, a programme long past its sell-by date but still attracting viewers, but compare Ramsay’s contribution to that of Sir Alan Sugar.

Sugar appears at the beginning and end of The Apprentice (for the admittedly important boardroom denouement) but apart from that he's largely absent during the tasks.

Ramsay, in contrast, is a permanent presence, encouraging contestants (or barking orders) and offering advice.

What I also liked about FFS, compared to The Apprentice, is that contestants were set up not to fail (for the entertainment of viewers) but to succeed.

It has always annoyed me that contestants in The Apprentice may be tasked with launching a new brand or product or creating a marketing ad or video in 24 or 48 hours but are given no professional advice despite their obvious lack of expertise in that particular area.

Instead the technicians and graphic designers brought in to ‘help’ create their videos or brand marketing sit there mute, unable to express an opinion or correct some very obvious mistakes. The results are invariably dreadful to the point that the contestants are often humiliated.

Compare that to the final of Future Food Stars where each contestant got expert help and advice and the results - including a smartphone video for a Japanese style soft drink - were something they could all be proud of.

The contestants too seemed nicer and far less pushy than some of their counterparts on The Apprentice, although that’s something I blame the latter's producers for.

So, no, not perfect but worth another series - unlike Britain’s Top Takeaways (BBC2), a programme I watched once a couple of weeks ago but never again.

Talking of BBC2, it was a mistake I think to put Future Food Stars on BBC1. Other reality competition series such as The Apprentice, The Great British Bake Off, The Great British Sewing Bee and Interior Design Masters all began on BBC2 where they had an opportunity to build an audience before switching.

PS. Now you know the type of programmes I watch I should add that the series I have enjoyed most this year have all been dramas - Magpie Murders and Murder In Provence (both on BritBox), The Ipcress File (ITV) and Slow Horses featuring a wonderful and often very funny performance by Gary Oldman (Apple TV).

I am currently watching The Staircase with Colin Firth (Sky Atlantic) and The Essex Serpent with Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes (Apple TV).

The only problem is the cost of all those channels – I also subscribe to Netflix and Amazon Prime – not to mention the BBC licence fee.

Top tip: ITV dramas often appear on BritBox within a day or so of being broadcast on ITV or streamed via ITV Hub.

Although you have to subscribe to BritBox it means you can watch them without ad breaks. I can’t tell you what a huge difference that makes.

Combined with my new wall-mounted TV (the single best thing I’ve bought in years), I think I’m falling in love with television again.