My mom loves Gordon Ramsay. It all started when we watched some episodes of his US version of Kitchen Nightmares at her house. They were free on On Demand, and we didn’t have anything else to watch. She liked it a lot, so we made a DVD with more episodes. Then we gave her Hell’s Kitchen. And she LOVES it. She mentions it all the time, and then we kind of get into it, because I’m conflicted about him.

On the one hand, I liked Kitchen Nightmares in the UK quite a bit. And I can admit that I liked the season of Hell’s Kitchen we watched when we lived in Vegas (but not enough to watch any more….the contestants are just too insipid). I agree with my mom that he actually comes off as pretty big-hearted. Yes, he can be abrasive, but I think he truly wants to help those restaurateurs and chefs in those failing restaurants, not for his own glory, but because he values the trade and craft.

On the other hand, upon becoming a vegan, I’ve really noticed the deriding and dismissive attitude toward vegetarians and vegans that prevails in the “food world.” I guess I would call myself a foodie, I certainly knew how to pronounce just about all the foods on this list, and I’ve eaten plenty of decadent stuff (nearly all made from body parts and/or excretions/secretions of animals). So I’ve been exposed, both before becoming vegan and after, to the extreme condescension (and often overt hostility) with which people who choose not to eat animals are treated. And somewhere along the way, I got that impression of Gordon Ramsay, for good reason.

However, he just recently went on Ellen (an amazing representative for at least a few despised groups), and he seemed positively giddy in his nervousness…so much so that he cut himself. (He kept repeating “I haven’t cut myself this bad in ten years!”) And he prepared an entirely vegan stirfry, with no snark or crappy comments. In addition, he’s recently indicated (after learning about industrial agriculture involving pigs) that he can see why people could go vegetarian or vegan “instantly.”

Anyway, after looking into it further, I’m definitely softening my stance on Gordon Ramsay. If even he can be convinced to at least acknowledge that people have a compelling reason to make this change, and he can honor it as a valid way of living that merits his respect (which I think he did by going on US television and enthusiastically cooking a vegan meal), then there’s hope. There is hope.