I see that Gordon Ramsay has succumbed to the dark side of Nanny, and is advocating fining restaurants for serving non seasonal produce.
He told the BBC that fruit and vegetables should be locally-sourced, and only on menus when in season.
Ramsay claims that he has already spoken to Prime Minister Gordon Brown about outlawing out-of-season produce.
He says it would cut carbon emissions, as less food would be imported and also lead to improved standards of cooking.
Quote:
"There should be stringent laws, licensing laws, to make sure produce is only used in season and season only."
How very Nannylike of him!
Here's why he is talking bollocks:
1 We live in a free market economy, we can buy and sell what we wish.
2 If there was not a market for out of season produce, then it wouldn't be sold.
3 If the costs of supplying the produce (eg airline fuel) rise, then so does the cost of the produce on the shelves or in the restaurant. The consumer will make a buy decision based on that price, it is not up to the state.
4 We have, as an island nation, been importing exotic food and spices for centuries. Using Ramsay's "logic", we would never have imported the potato, pepper, spices etc.
5 Locally sourced food can be just as badly cooked as imported food.
6 As an island we depend on importing some food, even during the war (when the entire country was on ration) we still needed to import food.
7 Locally sourced food, being transported by a large number of small trucks from a large number of local farms, can be just as damaging to the environment as using one plane and one super sized truck to transport a container to a supermarket.
8 Define "local" and "seasonal", as already noted there are foods that we consider to be "native" yet were only brought here by our intrepid ancestors who travelled the globe.
9 Don't give Brown another means by which to raise taxes.
10 Tax foreign produce and people will buy less, thus impacting the living standards of the impoverished farmers who grow the stuff.
11 Ramsay cooks with olive oil, that's "foreign" isn't it? Will his restaurants be fined too?
12 If I pickle something in the summer, then eat it in the winter, am I breaking Ramsay's "seasonal law"?
It seems to be a very "F U" and stupid method of thinking.
I will continue to buy what I want, when I want it.
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I can already picture the Council Food Inspection Operatives turning up at the local pizza parlour dressed in stab vests and handing out on-the-spot fines for the use of unlicensed olives.
ReplyDeleteRamsay's Scottish isn't he? Explains everything.
ReplyDeleteI always respected Gordon, his passion about food and his business sense I found inspiring. I have a few of his cookbooks and very good they are too.
ReplyDeleteThis may be the turning point, it is another case of a "celeb" having too much influence with politicians, the same applies to single issue pressure groups.
Gordon is a great cook and should stick to that, we seem to have walked blindly into a fine culture in this country, even yesterday, another record fine handed to ITV....These fines are no more than more taxes, the criminal justice system should not be used as an extension to the HMRC.
I am a great supporter of tradional British food but, I am an even bigger supporter of freedom of choice.
It is alright for Mr Ramsay and those of his ilk, he and they can afford to follow the new false religion of climate change, most of us that have been taxed up to the hilt can't.
I love the flavour of British grown produce but, often can't afford it. I grow my own fruit and veg and that tastes even better but, even that is becoming expensive to do as the price of seeds rocket.
Another 'celebrity' chef preaching to the proles about what they can and cannot eat. First we had 'alright mate, mockney Oliver now this motor mouthed moron weighing in.
ReplyDeleteIt is fine and dandy for those on huge incomes (such as Mr Ramsay et al) to preach about the finest organic in season well hung venison and freshly picked fruits unsulied by nasty trips in vans to (gasp) supermarkets, but to those of us struggling to make ends meet with soaring food bills as part of the equation there is no such luxury.
As to Ramsay meeting Gordon Brown, put two egotistical control freak bullying Jocks in one room and this is the kind of holier than thou we know how to run your life best garbage that emerges.
Crikey.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about the name Gordon that seems to lead to anti-societal tendencies?
I have one of his cook books. Quite like some of the simpler recipes but, with due respect to those who thoroughly enjoy cooking, I find I lose interest in regularly slaving 'over a hot stove' for hours to see the effort consumed in minutes and pile of washing up ensuing.
I have come to like salads. I can feel good about the preparation time expended as a penance but can usually get away with far less washing up and of course greatly reduced 'carbon footprint' or, as I prefer to think of it, lower gas bills.
However I note that Mr. Ramsay's recipes are heavy on things like butter and salt which clearly are very unacceptable to the Health Fascists these days. I therefore expect him to provide a free update and correction for the 'errors' the books contain.
Of course he will not know that I have the book and therefore will be unable to send me the corrections. Therefore I suggest he just mails everyone in the country in case they have one of his books. Clearly the costs, financial and carbon, will be justified if it saves just one life. Might put him out of business but never mind.
Recognising that he is probably doing this for the publicity and nothing more, based on any publicity being good publicity, I still think he deserves to be described in terms he might understand.
Fuckwit!
Grant
mark,
ReplyDeleteapologies for apparently stealing you remark about 'Gordon'. Pure co-incidence in timing, your post was not visible when I started to compose mine.
Great Minds think alike, eh?
BTW, I didn't think the Scots used potatoes until recently, or at least some educated people from Glasgow informed me that that was the case some years ago.
They may have been taking the piss or course, it can be hard to tell. A bit like the reports that The One Eyed King is actually a man of rare insight and humour in a social setting.
Only in the 'land of the Blind' one suspects.
Grant
Grant
Ken
ReplyDeleteHere's another F-word picture you may occasional find useful.
http://tinyurl.com/56axns
No, not a dig at you.
He may be a great cook but he is also a foul-mouthed bully of the type that seems to be encouraged in the media as a role model. The marriage of government and celebrity, whereby various jobbing act-ors, minstrels and cook-boys seek to exert influence over policy making angers me. Like the marriage of government and the police. That is not democracy but celebracy. Why should Gordon Farking Ramsay have any more say than a hard-working nursing sister, passionate about health and her business, inspiring those around her?
ReplyDeleteAnd if you're reading this Gordon (either of you). Just fark off back to your over-glamourised kitchen duties you nasty thug.
Gordon Brown and Gordon Ramsey have a lot in common - They don't think before they open their mouths.
ReplyDeletePicking up on point 4 of Ken's excellent piece. Can you imagine it if Nanny and her minions had been around 300 or so years ago when the potato reached Europe.
ReplyDeleteScene: A dockside. A merchant vessel is unloading, a merchant captain is talking to an official.
Official: So what's this 'ere then ?
Merchant: It's called a potato.
Official: Well it's not on my list.
Merchant: We've only just started importing it.
Official: Ah! Right! You'll have to fill in forms V987-5a and V348-23x then. In triplicate and get them countersigned and validated with a P99/76b. Is it a controlled substance ?
Merchant: It is sort of related to deadly Nightshade but it's perfectly safe and tastes really nice cooked and covered with butter.
Official: Deadly Nightshade you say. Hmmmm! Can't have that, have to get Health and Safety and the Food Inspectorate to carry out risk assessments. Might be hazardous. Your crew covered to handle hazardous materials ? Been on the courses and got the correct certification ?
Merchant: Look, it's safe. Here's one I cooked earlier. Thinly sliced, I call them 'Cryspes'.
Merchant eats a 'Cryspe', official looks on aghast.
Official: Are those fried ?
Merchant: Yes, in ox lard.
Official: Good God! Think of your arteries. Anyhow, where are these 'potato' things from ?
Merchant: Er! Peru!
Official: So it's not seasonal then ?
Merchant: You what ?
Official: It's not seasonal. It's not grown during the summer.
Merchant: Yes, during the summer in Peru.
Official: Well mate, dunno if you've noticed but it's Winter at the moment.
Merchant: It is a bit nippy isn't it ?
Official: So, it's not seasonal, it's not grown here during the summer. Can't let you bring it in.
Merchant: But I'm planning to grow them here, they'll be seasonal then.
Official: Sorry squire. If it was down to me I'd let you in but rules is rules and the regulations state it has to be seasonal so it's more than me jobs worth. Right, what's that other thing there ?
Merchant: It's a bana...oh don't bother!
Absolutely Ken.
ReplyDeleteThe only other point to make is - watch for the creep of Newspeak.
Someone in the Inner Party at some point in the last 12 months has managed to slip into our national vocabulary the notion that the term “CO2” is to be used synonymously with “pollution”, and “change” to be synonymous with “disaster”.
If they were talking about carbon monoxide, cyanide or mustard gas there might be some justification but CO2 is like oxygen, it’s an essential ingredient for life on the planet. It’s part of the carbon cycle, it’s been around in fluctuating amounts for millions of years and will continue to be around for many more years.
However, it’s much easier to obtain acceptance for a new tax if it’s presented as a fight against pollution . Given that we all generate CO2 with every out-breath, the mind boggles as to where the whole thing will lead if tacitly accepted.