4Food’s Charlie Cottrell joined Gordon on set as he filmed the trailer for the new series of the F Word
Imagine a Benetton advert where everyone is wearing a chef’s hat – this is the scene I walk into on set of the F Word trailer. There are Chinese chefs and Indian chefs, French chefs, Rasta chefs and chefs with Mexican ‘taches. None of them are Gordon.
Apparently, Gordon has a reputation for being a bit late, but once he’s on set, he’s brilliant. “I worked with Gordon on a day when there was an awful story about him in the press,” says Phil, director of the trailer. “Off set he was on the phone, fuming, then he’d come on-set, say ‘What do you need me to do?’ and just nail it.”
In this series of the F Word, Gordon is on the hunt for the UK’s best independent restaurant. The trailer will show him being fed forkfuls of food by contesting chefs – which explains the cluster of ethnically diverse cooks. Amazingly, the entire range of world cuisine is being cooked up by three home economists working in a cramped corner of the set on what looks like a couple of Bunsen burners but is actually a competent, if compact, kitchen.
Chief home ec-type lady, Beth, is busy lining up spoons, forks and skewers ready to shove into Gordon’s mouth.
“Are you worried someone will stab him in the face with a fork full of curry?” I ask her
“We’ve sanded down the sticks on the kebabs so we don’t poke him,” she assures me.
By the time Gordon arrives and is taken through the script, the once-hot food has been sitting for a while. Congealed risotto? Rather him than me.
“How are those slipping down?” I ask him after the first cut.
“It’s all cold – f**king disgusting,” he moans, “cold quiche, cold goujon and ice cold raw f**king chips.”
True to form, Gordon is a real sport, swallowing 10 mouthfuls of unidentifiable food, before resorting to the spit bucket. I count at least 30 servings after that, there could have been more; what is certain is the grimace on Gordon’s face is the real deal.
“What the f**k was that?” he cries as a spoonful of frogspawn-like pitahaya is popped into his mouth by one of the chef extras.
When feeding time is over, I ask Gordon if any of the independent restaurants he’s visited so far have impressed him. “There’s a Spanish place in South London,” he muses. “And a Chinese place in Edinburgh, where they make these extraordinary dumplings.”
What about the celebrity guests – are they back this year?
“Jordan’s coming in. God help us. Kelly Brook was in looking great – especially when she was getting food out of the back of the oven.”
When the anecdotes turn to Max Beesley and a deer penis, I take my leave.
“It was about 16 inches long!” Gordon calls.
Worth tuning in for.
Comments
could anyone tell me what the back- ground song is called?
Would somebody please point out to Gordon Ramsay that restaurant is a word of three syllables – rest-aur-ant – not two syllables – rest-runt!
How do I book a table for the new series of the F Word? Thanks
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