He Be Shillin'?

[divalasvegas]

Just channel surfing and landed on HSN (that's Home Shopping Network) when my eyes beheld something I thought I'd never see: Gordon Ramsay selling pots and pans and plates--even his book "Roasting in Hell's Kitchen"--to us lovely shop-from-home ladies. Well I guess it was only a matter of time what with Wolfgang Puck, Todd English, Roy Yamaguchi, Kerry Simon, and others have all gone over to the dark side and have their own ever growing lines of products, some good, some godawful. I can't help but get the giggles at him hawking his wares and chatting it up with their cackling, perky show host. Can the Apocalypse be near? BTW, he's on right now and if you want to check out his offerings, by Royal Doulton no less, here's a link:

Ramsay's On-Air Wares

I wonder, can Tony Bourdain be far behind?

If he think's he's been in Hell before, wait until he has to suffer through those live phone calls from HSN customers who think that the vendors and show hosts are their "friends."

Edited April 1, 2007 by divalasvegas (log)

[Luckylies]

Some of it looks nice. hmmm and not terribly expensive...

[The Blissful Glutton]

I saw that too! Oy vey...

[divalasvegas]

Actually Luckylies I have to admit that he is showing some lovely cookware, similar to all-clad and the white/platinum dinnerware is quite elegant. Hey, wait a minute, am I shillin' for him now? If you're interested in seeing him live, he's back on today at 2:00 pm EST. This is his "premiere" weekend BTW.

I think Oy Vey pretty well sums up my reaction too The Blissful Glutton when I first saw him on HSN.

[Andy Lynes]

Definition of a shill from Wikipedia: "A shill is an associate of a person selling goods or services who pretends no association to the seller and assumes the air of an enthusiastic customer."

So no, Gordon Ramsay is definately not shillin'.

[divalasvegas]

Definition of a shill from Wikipedia:  "A shill is an associate of a person selling goods or services who pretends no association to the seller and assumes the air of an enthusiastic customer."

So no, Gordon Ramsay is definately not shillin'.

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Gee Andy don't go all 5-0 on me; just a harmless play on words aka a pun. Otherwise I'd think you be illin' as defined by:

The Urban Dictionary

Church.

[Claudia Greco]

[

[divalasvegas]

My husband, a non-foodie who force to watch No Reservations, the F-Word, etc., was alarmed enough to wake me up out of a dead sleep to watch Gordon work his pitchin' magic.  His only comment?  "He's so . . .  calm . . . and . . . . PLEASANT!"  That had us both rolling. 

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I think your husband and I are kindred spirits Claudia. Given what I've seen of him elsewhere, I too found his sweetness and charm to be somewhat unnerving. I'm sure that part of his laid back, calm demeanor could be attributed to the fact that, as the way too manic show host kept repeating loudly, THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THIS YEAR HE'LL BE HERE! He knew that, unlike his colleagues Todd English and Wolfgang Puck, he would not have to endure home shopping purgatory, returning every two or three months over and over and over again.

[Claudia Greco]

[quote name='

I think your husband and I are kindred spirits Claudia. Given what I've seen of him elsewhere' date=' I too found his sweetness and charm to be somewhat unnerving. I'm sure that part of his laid back, calm demeanor could be attributed to the fact that, as the way too manic show host kept repeating loudly, THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THIS YEAR HE'LL BE HERE! He knew that, unlike his colleagues Todd English and Wolfgang Puck, he would not have to endure home shopping purgatory, returning every two or three months over and over and over again.

[right']←

Or maybe they begged him - "Please do NOT say the 'f' word to our potential customers! Don't call them donkeys! And DON'T mention dogs' bollocks! PLEEEEAASE!" Maybe he already got a sense from the lukewarm reception his restauarant got in NY that regular Americans are not up for the same abuse as Hell's Kitchen contestants, or Brits (!!)

[divalasvegas]

Or maybe they begged him - "Please do NOT say the 'f' word to our potential customers!  Don't call them donkeys!  And DON'T mention dogs' bollocks!  PLEEEEAASE!"  Maybe he already got a sense from the lukewarm reception his restauarant got in NY that regular Americans are not up for the same abuse as Hell's Kitchen contestants, or Brits (!!) 

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While his abrasive style is quite popular with many Americans, it's never been my cup of tea. But I think you're right and HSN being a "family-oriented" channel simply could not risk that a few of those choice phrases might fall out of his mouth on air. I'm sure Wolfgang Puck got the same speech but it obviously didn't take to well since he still has somewhat of a reputation, flirting shamelessly using sexually suggestive phrases with whichever adorably cute female show host he's paired with--seeing them get all tongue-tied and flustered is pretty funny--and is a "potty" mouth who's said shit on the air more than a couple of times. Also, it's pretty hilarious when he's on how much disinterest or sometimes disdain he has for customers calling in to give gushing testimonials about his products. I have no doubt that if Ramsay became a regular his dark side would emerge eventually. Now that would be some must see tv.

[Chris Amirault]

I don't understand. Why is a chef wanting to want to make money selling decent quality products "the dark side"?

[jsmeeker]

It's good looking stuff, IMHO. I caught a few minutes of it over the weekend and I agree that he seemed somewhat disinterested in the whole on-air affair. Maybe he has something else on his mind? I dunno.

But if the quality of the cookware is good and the price is fair, what's the issue? I'd "sell out" in a heartbeat given the opportunity. If you can get paid, get paid. cash in on all that hard work and reward yourself.