This makes our earlier story stronger that for some weird ratings mania Channel Nine and the ACA team especially attacked one of the networks top rating shows personality with what is now looking like a mostly incorrect statement that Gordon Ramsay slandered Tracy Grimshaw by calling her a “Lesbian” in front of a crowd of the faithful at the Melbourne Food Festival. It has been proven by multiple witnesses and other media that this is not the case, yes Gordon Ramsay did make fun of Tracy Grimshaw which obviously was a low blow but the primary driving and sensational reason for Tracy Grimshaw’s vigorous and aggressive attack on Gordon Ramsay was that she stated he called her a “Lesbian” and in her own words she is most certainly not.

A great deal of Channel Nines airtime has now been wasted and also it appears the news staff also have reported upon this as a victory now that Gordon Ramsay has apologised. But why are we so obsessed with Gordon’s language, is this not one of the reasons why people flock to see his shows? Gordon is a great chef, but really he is better known for his wordy if not colourful quips and mannerisms. We all seem to watch “Kitchen Nightmares” and flock around the water cooler or at the local coffee shop to chat about the previous night’s episode, we accept the language as it is used in context. Maybe there is a little more language added for effect but if Australia and the world have been upset by this then the show would not work and be off the air. Channel Nine even defended the show after its initial and subsequent seasons, which begs us to wonder why this attack was kept up.

And our Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had to put his 2 cents worth into this as the advocate for all, why? What could possibly be his political drive here, perhaps he is now going to censor what Australian want to view or even say. I myself do not swear (as much as possible) in earshot of females, but Gordon Ramsay is from a country where the dropping of the F – Bomb is not generally offensive, it is a common part of the language.

When this is all reviewed it reminds me of Brendan Behams quotation that in the theatrical or television industry “There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary” and I think history will prove this to be true for both Channel Nines ACA program and Gordon Ramsays’ continuing adventures.

Apparently at the Melbourne Food Festival (Melbourne Australia) during one of the chef presentations Gordon Ramsay has been accused of apparently calling Tracy Grimshaw (from Channel Nine’s A Current Affair program) a “lesbian” as the excerpt from the AAP article below shows. Why not have a read and then I will continue?

From Internet article resulting from interview with Ms Grimshaw

June 9 2009

Tracy Grimshaw slams Gordon Ramsay over ‘lesbian’ jibe

They’ve never been friends. He’s an “arrogant narcissist” and a bully. And no, she’s not gay. So says Tracy Grimshaw, host of the Nine Network’s A Current Affair program, who has hit back after being publicly denigrated by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay in Melbourne on Saturday. Before an audience of several thousand people at the Melbourne Good Food and Wine Show, following an interview with Grimshaw the previous day, Ramsay described her as “a lesbian”. He then showed a picture of a woman, who appeared naked. The woman was posed on her hands and knees but had multiple breasts and the facial features of a pig. “That’s Tracy Grimshaw,” he said. “I had an interview with her yesterday, holy crap. She needs to see Simon Cowell’s Botox doctor.” Ramsay’s publicist later said the comments were a joke and that Ramsay and Grimshaw had a good relationship. Ramsay made further digs at the A Current Affair host in his appearances at the show on Sunday and yesterday. Grimshaw was having none of it, returning fire with a withering editorial during her show last night. She said Ramsay and his publicist asked before her interview that she not ask about his private life – Ramsay’s image has taken a battering after an alleged extra-marital affair made headlines earlier this year. “… Gordon Ramsay made me promise not to ask on Friday about his private life. He then got on stage on Saturday and made some very clear and uninformed insinuations about mine,” Grimshaw told viewers. “Obvious Gordon thinks that any woman who doesn’t find him attractive must be gay. “For the record, I don’t. And I’m not.” Grimshaw told Fairfax Radio today that the personal attack upset her and her mother. “It upset my mother and when you upset my mother you upset me,” she said. This contributed to her decision to respond. “Mum was upset for me, she was upset that someone would attack me like that so I thought, dammit, I’ll have a bit of a crack back at him,” she said. The comments were no joke, she said last night. “Truly, I wonder how many people would laugh if they were effectively described as an old, ugly pig,” she said. Grimshaw said she had considered not responding to Ramsay’s comments. “But we all know that bullies thrive when no one takes them on, and I’m not going to sit meekly and let some arrogant narcissist bully me.” She said she had no idea what prompted Ramsay’s spray. “Gordon Ramsay has always had fair and generous treatment on this program but, despite what his publicist said in damage control, we do not have a great relationship. We do not have a relationship at all,” she said. “I’ve played along with him in interviews because it’s entertaining, and that’s my job, and I walk away afterwards and I don’t think about him again.” Grimshaw told Fairfax Radio she did not expect an apology from Ramsay. “I don’t want one, I don’t care – there’s nothing more he can do to me now and he can’t make it better,” she said. “I’m not interested in speaking to the bloke again – I can’t imagine any circumstances where I would want to interview him again.” AAP

I find this interesting that channel Nine is the only television network appears to have any level of interest in this story, this smacks of a ratings grab for attention.
It would be normal that if any professional media or otherwise was too had been slandered in this manner they would have taken swift legal action against Gordon Ramsay. As for the ACA programs airing of exclusive behind the scenes bad behaviour, what went to air appeared to be out of context moments and thanks to Tivo I was able to watch many of the sections over which made me sure that there is no substance to this beat up.

You know Australians are renowned for their sense of humour and ability to laugh at themselves, this is one instance where the Nine network need to take a good look at themselves. If there has never been a showing of the ACA program that has never made fun or light of anyone, be an Aussie and take it on the chin and perhaps just give a smart quip back next time.

Duration : 0:8:9

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A Current Affair, October 23, 2006.

Duration : 0:4:2

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Gordon James Ramsay, OBE (born November 8, 1966 in Johnstone, Scotland) is a British celebrity chef, television personality and entrepreneur. He has been awarded a total of twelve Michelin stars, and is currently one of only three chefs in the UK whose restaurant is rated at three Michelin stars. He is famous in the UK for presenting TV programmes about competitive cookery and food such as ‘s Kitchen and The F-Word. He is best known in the United States as the host of FOX’s ‘s Kitchen, which premiered in May 2005, and of Kitchen Nightmares, which premiered in September 2007, based on his successful British show Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

Duration : 0:10:48

Duration : 0:2:14

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Duration : 0:1:34

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Up at the ‘Paris’ end of town, Bourke Streets vibrant pre-theatre strip used to be bookended at number 1 by The Hard Rock Cafe, replete with (mostly, if not completely) tacky Americana including a sign out front advising all nuclear weapons to be left outside.  Inside it served typical American mass-consumer fare : over-sized, under-seasoned and over-here!  The Hard Rock Cafe played out rather like a Burger King to TGI Friday’s McDonald’s.

But its not what used to be located there, it’s the venue we’re interested in! 

The Hard Rock closed last year and its Windsor Hotel owners stripped it down and left it with bare bones fittings to be used as a corporate conference venue.  Presumably they figured they could either make more money this way (debatable) or possible they just couldn’t be bothered with the hassle of finding a new tenant to take over this admittedly large venue and do it justice.  After all their core business is hotels, not a property landlord.  A conference venue is much easier to maintain and look after even if it doesn’t create the same revenue.

The advantage of setting the Ramsay restaurant here is not only is it a good size, but restoring it to its previous function of a restaurant wouldn’t be that complicated.  It represents another blank canvas waiting to be painted on.  There’s nothing there in the way of building that would need taking out. 

And I have I mentioned the location?  It’s higher profile than Oliver’s Fifteen, in an already successful strip of similar good quality restaurants and cafes.  From the European round the corner all the way down Bourke pretty much to Exhibition St the venues are all good and another can only add to the areas reputation – and not only as a pre-theatre strip!

Anyway, The Windsor’s owners should think again – the opportunity to host a prestigious venue like a Ramsay restaurant isn’t going to come up every day, and the prestige and publicity can only be a good thing.  Get creative guys – visitors to Melbourne could even be tempted to staying at the Windsor if there was a cross package with a restaurant of this profile affiliated with it!

Pros : Well established area in the CBD, large size, blank canvas of the current conference room.

Cons : Convincing the hotel to restore it to its previous use?

So after a brief beer or two we’ve come up with a list of the Top 5 places, which we’ll reveal one at a time starting today.  These five are all central locations in or close to the CBD – we may do an outer suburb top 5 if time permits.  

So without further ado, lets kick off with number #5 – Abbotsford Convent!

There is little doubt that the Convent is a roaring success since it was saved from being turned into just another bland residential townhouse development and handed over to the community.  They’ve done an admirable job in turning it into an Community Arts venue hosting cottage scale artists and a small selection of eating venues (bakery, organic cafe selling beer).  And lets not even get into the success of the Farmers and Slow Cook markets that keep the place thronging with crowds every other weekend.

Yet for all the micro-developments that have so far moved in, the vast size of the place means most of the convent and its adjoining buildings and outhouses still lie disused, derelict and in need of restoration. 

What better choice then to house a top-class restaurant sympathetically decored in keeping with the style of the Convent?  The Convent is ideally located close to the CBD and public transport (via Collingwood train station) and has ample car parking facilities opposite.  The blank canvas of many of the building still empty leave vast scope for creating an interior in a wide range of ambient non-corporate decors – given a talented designer all bets are open for the style and ambiance of the place! 

As for cons?  Well the micro-style of the existing convent places means anything too large might be hard to get away with, so may limit the size of any restaurant.  Also I suspect (purely my guess here) the parts of the Convent still empty are empty for a reason – they’d cost more to renovate to a usable standard.

Stay tuned for Location number 4 as we head West-wards…:)