2/5 A Huge Disappointment
  by A. Anderson (Danbury, CT)
I was happy to see that there is another Gordon Ramsay series that I had not seen before. I was sure that it would be interesting and fun to watch after following Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. Instead, it's deadly dull! Certainly, the scenes of Gordon raising Christmas turkeys with his children are fun. Unfortunately, he spends way too much time chatting with people who are presumably well-known in Britain, but certainly not in the U.S. The food critic that appears on each episode is unbelievably full of himself; why is he on the show so often? The show sometimes includes odd choices of topics. Who cares which supermarket in Britain sells the saltiest food? Why are we subjected to a discussion of sperm counts? There are scenes where Gordon attempts to teach some cooking, but they go by way too fast to actually pick up anything useful. I often find myself watching this series in the background while doing laundry or checking my mail since there is so little to hold my interest. Maybe this show has some appeal to British viewers, but I certainly won't be buying Series 2!

5/5 the human Gordon
  by Cheri (California)
I love to see this side of the Hell's Kitchen Gordon and the Kitchen Nightmares Gordon - this is the family man Gordon - the dad, the husband, the friend. You see the vulnerable Gordon, the funny Gordon. You also get good cooking ideas and with this show you actually see Gordon support his staff of the day when he feels the critisism of the diners is too harsh.

5/5 F is for fantastic
  by Reine des Coeurs (New York, NY USA)
Love him or hate him, you can't deny that Gordon has a real passion for food. This series, in my opinion, gives viewers a better opportunity to see how strongly Gordon takes his commitment to good food. Quality is integral to fresh, well-produced fruit, vegetables and meat and I think it's a very positive thing to know exactly what we as consumers and home cooks should be looking for as we make a stronger effort to eat better, support local economies and commit to a better standard of living.

In this particular series, Gordon (together with his children) raise turkeys and garden veggies. At the same time, he starts his controversial Get Women Back Into the Kitchen campaign with several celebrity guests (including Joan Collins, infamous in Ramsay's backstory as she was kicked out of one of his restaurants together with a warring food critic). He's got an excellent recurring segment in which he shows you how to prepare the very meals being served in the show's restaurant.

The only thing that I disliked about the DVD itself was the editing of Gordon's other favorite 'f' word. Anyone familiar with Ramsay, his shows or his personality would know before purchasing any of his DVDs that this word is an integral part of his lexicon. The edits are annoying and unnecessary, in my opinion.


5/5 The Real Gordon Ramsay?
  by P. Tsai (Chicago)
I love this show and catch it on BBCA whenever I can (I'm watching season 3 on my DVR at this very moment). Here you can see the real Gordon Ramsay at work with real people. Yes, he's demanding in the kitchen but it's not the over dramatized Fox version we see in the US.

The F Word (which is Food, not that other four letter f word he likes) is a variety show set in The F Word restaurant. Every week he invites a brigade of amateur cooks to serve 50 people each weekend, then rates them based on how many customers pay at the end of the day.

Throughout the cooking service there are segments that include: a run through of the recipes being cooked, a check-in with a British celebrity guest, making fun of celebrity chefs, alternative food sources (e.g. haggis, squirrel, horse milk), teaching busy people to cook, celebrity cooking challenge and other food related topics.

I especially like the honesty from a culinary point of view, particularly the segments about where our food comes from, something we Americans aren't always so keen to know about. In Season 1, Gordon takes the viewer through the experience of raising his own turkeys and then processing them for a meal in his kitchen. You get to meet his wife and four kids in the process too. Season 2 follows pigs and Season 3 follows sheep.

Being a program from the UK, they do show a lot more than most American shows (e.g. during the butchering process), but if you're willing to learn a bit more about your food and would like to see more of the real Gordon Ramsay, give this series a chance. If you're not sure, find someone who has BBCA and you can catch the occasional re-run or new Season 3 episodes (Winter 2009).

BTW, I ate at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road (his three Michelin Star flagship in London) in October. It was most excellent, though the weak dollar was a bit of a bummer.