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 : 0:1:38

[youtube b5jO-lELVfM]

Duration : 0:9:32

[youtube 9gJtiqbR3oo]

Duration : 0:1:2

[youtube kprBqkNkTzU]

Duration : 0:7:50

[youtube Uum6AeOmPE0]

Heston’s duck confit is coated in a rich aromatic sauce and served with shiitake mushrooms.
Serves 4

Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time 30 minutes
Ingredients

* For the mushrooms and aromatics
* 140g/5oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced 2cm/0.8in thick
* 15g/½ ginger, finely sliced
* 50g/1¾oz spring onion, finely sliced
* 25g/1oz minced shallot
* 5g/¼oz minced garlic
* 2g seeded and sliced Szechuan chillies (about 6)
* 2 Szechuan peppercorns, crushed
* 1 small fresh red chilli, thinly sliced
* For the glaze
* 65g/2¼oz white port
* 50g/1 ¾oz Shaoxing wine or fino sherry
* 500g/17½ oz reserved cooking broth (from the crown poaching liquid used in Heston’s Peking duck recipe) or alternatively duck stock
* 3.5g thinly sliced ginger
* 2g crushed star anise
* sherry vinegar, to taste
* For serving the duck confit
* grapeseed oil or groundnut oil
* reserved mushrooms and aromatics
* reserved glaze
* 4 pieces duck confit, preferably legs, meat shredded
* soy sauce
* sesame oil
* 1 head of iceberg lettuce, separated into individual leaves

Method

1. For the mushrooms and aromatics, prepare all the ingredients as listed and set aside.
2. For the glaze, pour the port and wine into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Set the alcohol alight and let the flame burn out while simmering.
3. Add the broth (or stock) and reduce the liquid to a consistency that coats the back of a spoon.
4. Remove from the heat and add the ginger and star anise for a few minutes, then strain the stock through a fine sieve. Adjust the acidity with the sherry vinegar. Set aside.
5. For the duck confit, heat a wok or a large sauté pan until very hot.
6. Add a small amount of grapeseed oil, the reserved peppercorns and chillies, and swirl to coat the pan lightly. Add the reserved mushrooms, ginger, spring onion, shallot and garlic, and quickly stir fry to keep them from burning.
7. When the mushrooms have started to wilt and the pan smells very fragrant, deglaze the pan with about three-quarters of the glaze. Add the shredded duck confit.
8. Bring the pan to a simmer to warm the meat through. Add more glaze if necessary: it should just coat the meat and vegetables.
9. When everything is hot, remove the pan from the heat and add the soy sauce and sesame oil to taste. It’s important not to add the sesame oil until the very last moment or the nutty aroma will be lost.
10. Serve with the iceberg lettuce – the stir-fry can be wrapped up in lettuce to serve.

Duration : 0:1:33

[youtube HkcXHvjmK_s]

The master of food and foul language sits down with QTV host Jian Ghomeshi

Duration : 0:19:33

[youtube q5vlFqqHxWs]

Watch Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares FREE on 4oD http://www.channel4.com/4od

Buy on DVD http://www.play.com/Channel4/DVD/DVD/4-/861176/Ramsay_Kitchen_Nightmares_Revisited/Product.html

Visit the official website at Channel4.com http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/ramsays-kitchen-nightmares/

Duration : 0:1:54

[youtube 7ojZaTaijRU]

Duration : 0:3:39

[youtube OvSKoG5aZ80]