Hell’s Kitchen Goes Meatless
Yeah, right, that’ll be the day! Hardly a single meal on that show is vegetarian, but I got a chuckle a couple episodes ago. Here’s why…
The hotheaded chef Gordon Ramsey had cooked up a little taste-test challenge for the contestants. He asked them to identify the missing ingredient in several main courses. While they guessed the usual herbs and spices, none of them noticed the very bulk of the dish was what was “missing.” In every case, the animal protein, spanning the species from fish to bovine, were all made from soy! 
Of course, the chef considered this a major failing of their palettes, but I was cheering on the fake meats all the way. Not because I eat them anymore—too processed and high in sodium to be truly healthy. Rather, it suggests even die-hard carnivores have no excuse.
Unfortunately, such was not the conclusion of this guy, who after a week-long attempt at veganism, threw up the white flag and congratulated those of us who live it on a daily basis. 
Clearly, he hasn’t had well-prepared vegan food, despite his claims in the, as you might expect, copious comments such a piece garners. Depending on your mood and experience, it’ll have you laughing, crying, sympathizing, or raging. Worth a read anyway, especially the well-educated responses.
Tags: fake meat, Gordon Ramsey, Hell's Kitchen
June 5th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Erin
what a great post! It is unfortunate that so many cooking shows don’t give healthy alternatives to meat ((even though I do eat meat - I sure don’t consume half the “crap” they cook on those shows with tons of butter and cream sauces) - and I agree with you - processed “fake” meat is out of my diet plan for the reasons you mention.
But I gotta say I just love watching that show - Chef Ramsey is one tough cookie!! Glad I don’t have to work for him - it would shorten my life span despite trying to eat healthy.
I still think you should move to sunny California and open up Erin’s GOURMET VEGETERIAN FINE DINING!!!
June 6th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Thank you, Irit, for the kind words all around!
Regarding these reality/cooking shows, it’s bound to happen someday. I recall one of the Next Food Network Star seasons had a vegetarian cook, but she didn’t last long. I thought her food, including some colorful salads, looked really good, but alas.
Have you ever watched Take Home Chef? He’s come close to meatless meals before, but somehow always manages to include fish and still calls it vegetarian! Ugh.