The first advertisement I noticed for Gordon Behind Bars was on a billboard in Birmingham. Three images showed the famous chef holding one of those white signs you see on arrest photographs and the gist of the show was laid out somehow. I looked up at it from my Megabus seat and thought about how tacky the triptych looked, as well as what a job he might have in this project.
For three weeks I didn’t think of Ramsay or the upcoming television show at all, nor did I tune in to Channel 4 enough to see it advertised.
Dinner was rather unplanned tonight (I haven’t been feeling so well) but for routine’s sake I decided to whack a chicken breast and some mushrooms in the microwave at about 9pm. I retired to the living room to find some undemanding entertainment whilst I enjoyed my bland concoction and faced the dilemma – New Girl on E4 or How I Met Your Mother on E4+1? Mindless indeed… Are there no cooking shows on the telly on a Tuesday night? Earlier in the year I would watch about 2 hours of Come Dine With Me a day until everything in my head was narrated by Dave Lamb, and my boyfriend continues to remind me that I could cook nicer meals if I’d only watch a bit of Jamie. Yes, you caught me – I like to watch food when I eat food, and yes, I am well aware that it’s probably part of the slippery slope to morbid obesity or something equally as appalling.
Flicking towards Channel 4 my spirits were lifted when I saw Gordon Ramsay’s name. Granted, I have never intentionally tuned in to his shows but anything felt more appealing than hearing that God-awful canned laughter that goes hand-in-hand with American sit-coms.
Unsure of what to expect anyway, I found that Gordon Behind Bars was not another ‘how-to’ cookery show but the documentary of a sociological study involving cookery. The show is set in Brixton prison, reputably one of London’s rougher areas, and sees Ramsay trying to occupy a small group of prisoners by setting high-pressure cookery tasks. I refuse to spend more time than necessary describing the show so I urge you to watch it instead – the link to the shows on 4OD is at the bottom of this blog.
What I did notice was that of all the TV chefs there is nobody better than Ramsay to be working alongside convicted burglars and drug dealers. With previous show titles such as The F Word if you remember one thing about him, it is probably the swear words. You see, Jamie Oliver is the sort of nice lad you could invite to cook a Sunday roast for your grandparents. In stark contrast Ramsay is comparable to the bad boy you remind about your Christian upbringing and find that he subsequently describes Nick Clegg as a ‘cunt’ and the potatoes as ‘fucking fantastic.’ As far as mainstream TV personalities go, Ramsay is a badass, and enough so to connect with these guys.
In this episode (the third, that is, I have no idea what happened in the first two…) Ramsay makes it his aim to market food made by the prisoners to the public. In particular, Ramsay outlines that he would like to crack into the £5billion UK coffee shop market (I know, I don’t want to believe that amount either. Incredible.)
One buyer asks “Was it made by a paedo?” That was particularly odd. So what if it was?! The individual may need reminding over a cuppa and a kind chat from somebody that paedophilia is a mental sickness rather than some flu-like disease you can catch through food preparation.
With 138 prisons in England and an excess of 80,000 prisoners each year, we do often wonder what they’re getting up to in there. If Ramsay’s goal of turning these under-stimulated and unfortunate individuals into hard-working individuals with an ever building skill set is achieved, then he will deserve every bit of praise he has ever received in ten-fold.
You can catch up on the last three episodes if you click here for it on 4OD...
Or you can do whatever else you do with your life, I don't actually give a shit.
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