Gordon Ramsay doesn't hold back when it comes to food, but not every one of the famously
furious chef's reviews are negative.
The man loves food: it just better be good!
Here are a few of the rare moments from Ramsay's many reality shows when the swearin' Scot
actually liked the food.
Back in 2005, Ramsay visited Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack, a struggling restaurant in
Brighton offering fare from the American deep south.
When Ramsay and the Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares crew first arrived, the chef wasn't impressed
by what he saw.
"God!
It's definitely a shack, on the outside, anyway."
However, he is instantly charmed by the restaurant's owner, Charita, who has never worked in the
restaurant business before, but proudly tells Ramsay that she comes from a long line of
"big mommas."
Ramsay had catfish with hush puppies and homemade pineapple salsa for a starter, which he called
"quite nice."
For the main dish, he had a plate clumsily piled high with ribs, spicy chicken jambalaya,
and corn and bean succotash.
While the dish didn't look well put together, Ramsay clearly loved it.
"This might be the first time I actually go back to the kitchen with an empty plate."
Homemade French fries may look simple, but it's tricky to get them right.
The difficulty of making such a seemingly simple dish inspired a challenge during a
Season 7 episode of MasterChef.
However, for one contestant, Brandi, it was hardly challenging at all.
She makes fries for her kids at least once a week at home, so she was already a seasoned
pro.
Ramsay knows they are winners before he even tries them.
He points out the perfect color and uniformity of the fries and then takes a bite, noting
their perfect crunch and seasoning as well.
"That is just utter perfection.
Great job."
Bazzini, a failing restaurant in Ridgewood, New Jersey, is disappointing from the start
of this episode of Kitchen Nightmares.
Not only is the restaurant not open for lunch when Ramsay arrives, but the interior is dated
and cramped.
When a very hungry Ramsay is finally served the best food the restaurant has to offer,
he's brought a parade of disappointing dish after disappointing dish.
When he bites into the carrot cake, he can tell it's made with passion and love.
He's then greeted affectionately by the creator of the delicious dessert, Sharyn, the restaurant's
charming pastry chef.
"First of all, that is delicious."
"Awesome."
"Now, whose recipe is that?"
"Mine."
"Can I have it?"
"For a price!
Everything for a price!"
In a 2008 episode of Kitchen Nightmares, Ramsay travelled to Mount Sinai, New York to visit
Handlebar.
What was once a popular spot for the upper-middle-class residents of the town has now become a run-down,
dated restaurant that can barely turn over 18 tables on a Saturday night.
The owners seem to have full faith in both the restaurant and their head chef, Melissa,
even though she doesn't consider herself to be a real cook.
First, they serve Ramsay their soup of the day, the clam chowder.
To everyone's surprise, he actually has nothing but good things to say about the dish, calling
it,
"Nicely seasoned, um, quite tasty, and perfect for a winter's day."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Nice."
"Melissa does a nice job."
But when Bill reports back to the head chef and tells her the good news, she's surprised,
claiming that she didn't think it was a good batch.
Unfortunately for the owners, the clam chowder ends up being the first and only thing Ramsay
likes that day.
"That was rancid, pointless, tasteless, a complete, utter joke."
When Ramsay arrived at Burger Kitchen in Los Angeles for a 2011 episode of Kitchen Nightmares,
he found a divided family, a chef on the brink, and terrible food.
As Ramsay investigates deeper, he discovers that the owners are not allowing the chef
to create his own recipes or order his own ingredients.
So, when Ramsay asks him to make a burger completely on his own, he proves that he does
have what it takes to run a kitchen.
He serves Ramsay a delicious and beautifully presented burger with smoked Gruyere cheese,
grilled tomatoes, spring mix, mustard aioli, a jumbo homemade pickle, a crispy bun, and
a patty perfectly cooked to medium.
"It's delicious."
"Thank you, chef."
"The temperature is perfect and the roll is crispy."
In this 2011 episode of MasterChef, Dustin, a prospective contestant, decides to cook
sausage rolls, a traditional British snack, but with a spicy Italian sausage, instead
of the traditional banger sausage.
However, Dustin doesn't start off on a good foot, as he refers to Ramsay's English heritage…
"I'm f---ing Scottish."
Ramsay watches in horror as Dustin turns this street food into a gourmet dish, adding a
spicy marinara sauce, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and a little bit of basil pesto that's, quote,
"just for show."
But that horror quickly turns to delight when he finally tries it and ends up leaving none
left on the plate for the other judges.
"That… was f---ing delicious."
"Thank you so much!
Thank you!"
In a season three episode of Kitchen Nightmares, Ramsay travelled to Zeke's, a restaurant in
New Orleans struggling post-Hurricane Katrina.
When Ramsay arrives, he orders an assortment of food from the menu, including the oysters
Cortello, a made-up dish named after the owners.
He hates everything he's served, except for one saving grace: the bread pudding.
It looks like a big sloppy mess and Ramsay assumes it will be a disappointment, but he's
wrong.
"Loved the bread pudding."
"He likes the bread pudding?
There we go.
Loved it."
One of the most popular and over-the-top contestants ever to appear on MasterChef is Tommy Walton,
a fashion designer-turned-chef.
Given his background, he always makes every dish he prepares beautiful to look at, often
claiming that you have to eat with your eyes before you eat with you stomach.
In one episode, Walton is excited to set the bar, as he is called first to the judge's
table.
He brings forward a beautiful Bananas Foster with apples, maple-bourbon cream, and a sweetened
cream cheese filling.
And Gordon goes gaga for it, praising it with no reservations, a rare thing indeed, even
in the MasterChef kitchen, which is always filled with at least a few very skilled home
cooks.
"Wow.
It's rich, it's sumptuous, and it's steeped in alcohol, but you've just burnt off the
right amount of liquor."
In this Season 4 episode of Kitchen Nightmares, Ramsay travels to Plainfield, New Jersey to
visit Blackberry's, a soul food restaurant.
We know from his Momma Cherri's experience that Ramsay loves good soul food, but Blackberry's
fare just isn't cutting it.
The food at Blackberry's is so bad, in fact, Ramsay ends up sick in the bathroom by the
end of his first meal.
However, when he comes back to his seat, he is met with something truly delicious: Mama
Mary's red velvet cake.
The cake is so good, he even gives the sweet matriarch a kiss on the cheek.
"I've been saved by Mother Mary."
"Good and crusty" apple pie
During a season three episode of MasterChef, the contestants were asked to bake apple pies
as part of a pressure test.
Last up to the judging table is Christine Ha, the show's first blind chef.
When she brings her pie to Ramsay, she assumes it looks like, quote, a "pile of rubbish."
However, she's overcome with joy to hear from Ramsay that it looks stunning, with a crisp,
dark brown color on the edge and a beautiful glaze across the top.
"Can you hear that on top?"
"Yes Chef."
"What does that sound like to you?"
"It sounds good and crusty."
"Good and crusty!"
When he finally takes a bite, he marvels at the flavor and congratulates her on her fantastic
accomplishment.
On one episode in the first season of MasterChef Junior, the contestants are challenged to
take on Ramsay's signature dish, the famous and notoriously difficult-to-make Beef Wellington.
For this particularly challenging dish, all the contestants were paired up.
One pair was comprised of two incredibly talented young chefs, Troy and Alexander, both of whom
had produced some impressive dishes in the past.
When they bring their Beef Wellington up to the judge's stand, Ramsay immediately comments
on how beautiful it looks on the outside, and the boys are hopeful that the inside will
be just as perfect.
They wait in anticipation as Ramsay cuts it open, and they are delighted to see that perfect
color on the inside.
The moment of truth comes when Ramsay takes a bite, and the boys breathe a sigh of relief
as Ramsay confirms his delight.
"You have just nailed one of the most sophisticated, one of the most difficult dishes…"
"Good job, man."
"... anywhere in the world to cook."
If you've ever watched a Gordon Ramsay show, you've probably heard him talk about his disdain
for vegans.
In fact, in 2016, in response to a fan who asked him on Twitter if he's allergic to anything,
Ramsay simply replied "Vegans."
However, his aversion to non-meat eaters makes this moment from MasterChef Junior all the
more special.
In a season five episode, one young contestant, Shayne, brings forward a beautifully plated
southwest vegan burger with avocado fries and a sriracha sauce.
He explains to chef Ramsay that he used a plethora of ingredients to get the patty to
bind so well, including black beans, brown rice, peppers, onions, and tomatoes.
"I never thought I'd say this but…"
"What are you going to say?"
"You've just turned me vegan for the night, Shayne the Train.
Well done!"
"Thank you!"
If Ramsay doesn't like your food on his live cooking-slash-chat show The F Word, you'll
have to take his criticism unedited in front of millions watching at home.
In one episode in the first season of the American incarnation of The F Word, Ramsay
calls forth the captains of the two competing teams: Licensed to Grill and Chop it Like
it's Hot.
Since both teams were instructed to cook a skirt steak with chimichurri sauce and chorizo
and white bean fricassee, Ramsay has to use his refined palate to judge the differences
between the two dishes.
Debbie, representing Licensed to Grill, is asked to bring her plate forward first.
Ramsay expresses his initial worry about the dish in the beginning, but eventually reveals
that he loves the rustic nature of the dish and how the heat balances out the freshness
from the chimichurri.
Up next is Patty from Chop it Like it's Hot.
She explains that her team decided to add a quesadilla to their dish with cheese and
roasted red peppers.
While this is a slight deviation from the original, he admires the rich and creamy taste
of the dish.
After he's done judging both dishes, he's delighted by how good they both are.
"Yeah, since we started this competition I've never seen two teams so close and neck-and-neck.
I can't fault anything here."
No faults found in two consecutive dishes?
That has to be some kind of record for Ramsay.
"It's not funny.
It's not funny.
I'm f---ing pissed off."
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