This week, I rediscovered Kitchen Nightmares, a docuseries that follows award winning chef, Gordon Ramsey, as he helps pull restaurants from the brink of closure and bankruptcy. I laughed. I cried. I had no idea that this series had so much more heart than the high-steaks (pun!) cooking shows that I used to watch growing up.
When I told my husband that Ramsey is seriously misunderstood, he literally laughed out loud. Ramsey, of course, is internet-famous for his punchy one-lined slams while rating other people’s food. The show is littered with iconic insults, mean enough to make even Great Aunty Cheryl pause in absolute horror.
“You put so much ginger in this, it’s a Weasley.”
“For what we are about to eat, may the Lord make us truly not vomit.”
“This is a really tough decision…’cause they’re both crap.”
I think what people seriously misunderstand about Ramsey is this: he really cares about the restaurant owners he harasses. He spends a lot of his time yanking them out of denial and then rebuilding their self-esteem. He’ll go back to those restaurants years later and the owners will be in tears thanking him for the wake-up call and for saving their business.
This is one of the reasons I believe creative nonfiction is such an important genre, no matter what median it’s presented in.
There’s a depth to people we just won’t understand until we see their stories up close and in person.
So, whether it be a trash-reality TV show or a presidential biography, read, watch, listen, and learn.
Excellence appears when passion is in place.
And passion is built in the murky, slimy depths of the human experience, where the conflict of this world spurs our dedication to change it.
Want to hear more about everything nonfiction?
Join the Nonfiction Nook, where you can find book reviews, giveaways, and so much more.
subscribepage.io/07mERD
Government and Major Accounts Technology Consultant at The Miller Company
2moI'm taking it KFC US hasn't read her deleted tweets? 😂 read the room