During a trip to Costa Rica, where Gordon Ramsay and his crew were filming a piece on shark hunting for Ramsay’s new show “Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait”, Ramsay got too close to the action and was doused with gasoline and held at gun point by a Costa Rican gang that “specialized” in the shark fun trade.The Hell’s Kitchen star and his crew were warned by authorities when they arrived, but apparently Gordon Ramsay needed more than just a warning. In a statement made by Ramsay, he shares his experience:
"It's a multi-billion dollar industry, completely unregulated. We traced some of the biggest culprits to Costa Rica. These gangs operate from places like forts, with barbed wire and gun towers.
"At one point, I managed to shake off the people keeping us away, ran up some stairs to a rooftop and looked down to see thousands of fins, drying on rooftops as far as the eye could see. When I got back downstairs, they tipped a barrel of petrol over me."
Ramsay adds, "Back at the wharf, there were people pointing rifles at us to stop us filming. A van pulled up and these seedy characters made us stand against a wall. The police came and advised us to leave the country. They said, 'If you set one foot in there, they'll shoot you.'"
I’m sure we’re all relieved that Gordon Ramsay wasn’t hurt – and that his new show spotlights some real action and not just Ramsay’s foul-mouthed temper, but literally stepping into the line of fire is just stupid. After the never-ending bad press in 2010, I’m sure Ramsay feels he has to do something drastic to spruce up his career, but getting shot isn’t the answer.
My two-cents: Gordon, if you really want to gain positive media attention and live on the edge, how about serving up a public apology for your bad behavior and then taking action to fix your mistakes? That would provide you with positive buzz for months, maybe even hero status, and it would be far less life-threatening!
It looks like Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares isn’t just about the restaurant anymore. According to The Daily Mirror, the Kitchen Nightmares’ star and executive producer has added a number of irrelevant questions to the Kitchen Nightmares contestant application. How much a contestant weighs, as well as their height, eye and hair color are just a few of the questions that have been added. But my favorites of all of them are these:
- Have you ever had a restraining order filed against you?
- Does your family have a history of depression?
- Are you easily upset?
A friend of mine had filled out an application for Chef Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen (as a joke) and told me that they had similar questions on the application he filled out, which he thought was strange. Considering that Kitchen Nightmare’s is supposed to be focused on the restaurants and not the contestants, asking such personal questions doesn’t seem right.
Moreover, Chef Gordon Ramsay should be focused more on cleaning up his muddied image instead of adding to his laundry list of drama and evil doings.
Are those questions even legal? But then again, does he really care?
More on Gordon Ramsay and Hell's Kitchen:
The Sharks that Gordon Ramsay Killed: The Movie (warning: video contains graphic violence)
Gordon Ramsay Tossed to the Sharks (Warning: Contains graphic photo)
