259896 Wed Jan 31 11:49:33 -0800 2001 10 26 International 0 1373755 Just popped out for some smokes and spotted the young whipper snapper having a late lunch with 'is ol' muckas at Passione. Narrowly resisted the temptation to moon at the window. Am now regretting the fact that I didn't. Looked like he was going to be there for a while so if anyone has any suggestions or questions for him, I'd be more than happy pass them on..... Wed Jan 31 11:49:33 -0800 2001 0 Jon Mitchell 1 1373758 There I was enjoying a nice breakfast and catching up on Chowhound and you had to go and ruin it with mention of this cretinous buffoon. Even worse, I now know he frequents one of my fave places in town and I may even bump into him. Please God let his 15mins be up!!! Thu Feb 01 04:20:20 -0800 2001 1373755 0 Simon Majumdar 2 1373771 Simon, you remind me of Ren, the little dog on the American cartoon show Ren & Stimpy. His face contorted in a rictus of fury, he squeezes our the words "I...LIKE...to...be...ANGRY." Why bother having any kind of emotional response? There will always be celebrities with seemingly inexplicable fame. Some people like him, others surely don't. It's the inability to ignore the things we don't care for that gives discernment a bad name. (Full disclosure: I'm amused by the Naked Chef. His comic way of speaking is sort of charming, I think.) - VF Thu Feb 01 09:17:41 -0800 2001 1373758 0 VF 3 1373772 Normally I have refined turning a blind eye to the many things in life that make it a less pleasant place for me in particular into a fine art. I care not if the bus is late. I laugh in the face of rain wind sleet and sludge. I poke fun of malfunctioning cable and I snort in derision when I get a tax bill that seems to be more than my salary It is just that this oily little tick has the ability to get under my skin and everywhere I turn I see his profoundly slappable fizzog on TV, posters, and now in the best Italian in town. Please allow me this one modicum if ire. A small thing to ask in a big world I consider being like Ren a good thing BTW :) Thu Feb 01 09:58:55 -0800 2001 1373771 0 Simon Majumdar 4 1373777 A modicum of ire is the very least we can grant you. Particularly as I too have a bad case of ennui for young Jamie and his oversized pestle & mortar But my biggest concern is that I spoiled your breakfast and perhaps made you think twice about frequenting an otherwise fine establishment. Apologies Thu Feb 01 12:30:40 -0800 2001 1373772 0 Jon Mitchell 4 1373811 THAT was a much better posting...all ponts well taken. I suppose I would agree if I lived in GB, but over here we hardly see the guy. Thanks for the retort, Simon! Mon Feb 05 19:36:58 -0800 2001 1373772 0 Michael S 3 1373806 BRAVO!!! People just seem to want to criticize anyone who is on any kind of a good run at all. Jamie Oliver is entertaining, a seemingly good chef, and obviously has fun doing what he's doing. What he does sure sounds better than sitting down to the keyboard to angrily and purposelessly label someone a "cretinous buffoon." Thank you for your reply! Mon Feb 05 02:44:55 -0800 2001 1373771 0 MIchael S 4 1373807 I'm ambivalent about J.O. and have no particular axe to grind, although I do feel he's something of a one-trick pony. For someone who is basically a competent sous-chef he's done really rather well for himself. I'm sure that being a TV celeb is easier, and far more lucrative, than working long hours in hot kitchens for little reward. But let's not kid ourselves that he's some culinary wunderkind. But hey, good luck to him, his missus, and their media careers. Mon Feb 05 07:32:48 -0800 2001 1373806 0 Jon Mitchell 4 1373808 "sure sounds better than sitting down to the keyboard to angrily and purposelessly label someone a "cretinous buffoon." I would have thought that the whole point of Chowhound or indeed any other message board is to be able to get these things off your chest. So "angrily" most definitely, without purpose, absolutely not. It made me feel better. As Jon says, there is no problem with someone getting lucky and making a career for themselves. good luck to him on that score. I rather like(d) the Two Fat Ladies, I find myself liking Gary Rhodes more than I feel I should and even people like Floyd don't invoke the same feelings of loathing I have towards J.O. my problem with him is threefold a) He is no good. I don't think even at a stretch you could claim that he is in any way a talented chef. He is a competent TV cook. There's the rub. Someone Like Gary Rhodes is acceptable because he is a hugely talented Chef who could hold his own in most company. You should read the interview with Delouvier of L'espinasse and Portalis of the Gotham to see what they thought of Oliver when he went to conquer NY. I have no problem anyone making a living, but let's not hold him up to be the new face of British cooking b) You can't turn the TV on without seeing not only his face but also that of his wife. This is a purely personal thing. Some find his schtick entertaining. I do not. I also find the nepotistic appearances of his C list celeb friends and wife both on the shows and TV ads a touch too much c) Finally, and again this is just a personal thing. I hate the whole faux "one of the lads " stuff. Having met them, the whole smoking gin swigging Two Fat Ladies stuff was the real them. Gary Rhodes is exactly as he appears and Floyd, from numerous meetings, is a true case of "what you see is what you get" Mr O, on the other hand is the Nigel Kennedy of cookery, The Guy Richie of the Kitchen. Johnny Posh bloke who dips his finger in the well of laddishness to progress. That's fine. I just don't have to like it. I am sure none of this matters a jot to J.O as he has made his mint and when Warholian principles finally rid us of his face on TV, he will happily go and ride his micro scooter around Shoreditch and listen to Toploader on his MP3 player. Mon Feb 05 08:34:09 -0800 2001 1373806 0 Simon Majumdar 2 1373781 You know my opinions re: microcelebrity and all, so I won't bother with this discussion. But I must thank you for spreading the term 'cretinous bufoon' around the linguistic genepool. It is more refined, and thus maybe slightly less hard-hitting than Bill Hicks's 'mongoloid homunculus' (which I feel could very well be applied to ver geezah in question - according to Popbitch, children in his English class at school would chant 'special needs, special needs' if he put his hand up), and I shall catalogue it as such. Thu Feb 01 22:06:17 -0800 2001 1373758 0 joe muggs 3 1373792 Perhaps this is a matter of the saturation of our respective media markets, but I will continue to prefer Jamie Oliver, lisping goofily in his little kitchen, to Emeril, repeatedly hollering "BAM!" and "Kick it up a notch!" in front of an inanely overenthusiastic studio audience that cheers mindlessly every time he adds (gosh!) garlic to whatever it is he's cooking. For some reason, All-Clad has allowed him to put his name on a line of their cookware, and the supporting TV commercial features the sound of a worshipful audience parroting his taglines. Ick. If Jamie Oliver is the worst you've got, consider yourselves lucky. Fri Feb 02 10:52:39 -0800 2001 1373781 0 MU