Gordon Ramsay, Raymond Blanc or Michel Roux Jr?

There are three very different TV programmes currently showing, each of them fronted by a Michelin star chef and each of them aimed at the young professional or gifted amateur chef whose dream is to open his or her own restaurant. There the similarity ends.

At one end of the scale we see Gordon Ramsay turning the air blue as he yells and stamps his way around Hell's Kitchen USA (ITV2) tearing his hair at the ineptitude of his terrified proteges. At the other end of the scale is quietly-spoken Michel Roux Junior who has joined Gregg Wallace for the latest series of MasterChef (BBC2), this one aimed at young professional chefs who aspire to Michelin standard. Somewhere between the two falls Raymond Blanc, mentor to nine couples all vying for the ultimate prize in The Restaurant (BBC2).

Each of these chefs is very different in style and demeanour, and each seems to inspire entirely different feelings in the young chefs who appear before them. Gordon Ramsay is apparently adored by most of his students, even though he shouts and swears at them, throws things around the kitchen and generally terrifies the living daylights out of them. But underneath all the bluster they know he's a big pussycat really, and they will do anything in their power to win his approbation.

Raymond Blanc does not seem to inspire adoration in the way that Gordon Ramsay does, but he inspires respect. The nine sets of restaurateurs know that he is at the top of the profession they aspire to. They respect his opinions and decisions because they know he is simply the best at what he does.

When the young professional chefs first enter the MasterChef kitchen and see Michel Roux Junior standing in front of them the first reaction is usually one of shock, awe and sheer reverence. They glow with pride when he praises their food, and look utterly dejected if he has cause to criticise.

It is fascinating and quite informative to have the chance to compare the contrasting styles of these three great chefs almost simultaneously, and to ask myself which of the three competitions I would prefer to enter. But wait a minute.... first I suppose I ought to learn to do a bit more than boil an egg!

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