Episode 9 -- Hell’s Kitchen
Gordon Ramsay is a star TV celebrity chef who is famous for his Hell’s Kitchen series. He plays a tough, strong, pushy chef who take a no nonsense approach with his staff and trainees. He is also famous for his choice of words in reprimand. Swearing in profanity is common daily diction. His staff are afraid of this abrasive style and yet they respect him for his knowledge. Gordon Ramsay has a restaurant in London called ‘The Maze’.
The building does not look like a restaurant. It might pretty well be the entrance of an office. It is situated in Grosvenor Square. The square surrounds a park and the street numbers are all hiding somewhere. The square also houses the Canadian Embassy. So if you cannot find it, go to the Maple leaf. it is on the right hand side block of the embassy; almost right at the beginning of the block.
The décor of the restaurant is rather modern. It is not traditional with lots of wood and dark color. It uses a fair bit of light colors. There is the waiting launch followed by a bar and then the main dining area. It chooses a relaxed atmosphere as they aim at a wide cross section of clientele. The seating capacity of the restaurant is only 120 [this is the industrial index for a maximum utility of restaurant space]
The menu is not too imposing. That means you can understand what they are serving; not like throwing a lot of strange terminology which no one understands.
For dinner 7 courses will be 75P.
Dinner with wine pairing will be 125P.
And chef table will be 165P.
There is also a 4 courses lunch menu for 25P.
It is recommended to make reservation for any kind of dining.
The menu picks a variety of dishes that are common enough yet the restaurant has shown its distinction through the taste, presentation and service of the food. Upon
talking to the staff, we realized the big boss himself does show up rather frequently to work with the staff. The restaurant business is a hands-on business, a personal business. People respect a hands-on owner who gets involved with the operation. As far as the temperament of the boss; the general comment was; ‘he can be aggressive for a reason.’
The tasting lunch menu consisted of a lot of choices. There were soup, fowl, fish, meat and some other delicacies. Some of the ingredients are simple yet difficult to bring to perfection.
Duck and foie gras terrine
Simon was the assistant manager on duty. He was kind enough to show us the kitchen operation. The kitchen was clean, with a serious working atmosphere. You do
not want to see a chaotic kitchen with too much criss-cross and dirt everywhere. It was a well organized kitchen. The staff stayed with their positions and worked at bringing out the best results. The head chefs were equally attentive. They checked every dish that left the kitchen making sure top quality was achieved. It was an impressive view.
We thank Simon whole-heartedly for his hospitality.
Maze projected every bit of a well structured and organized restaurant. I felt it is trying to fulfill a good many roles; in training staff, in testing new food and concepts, in trying a lot of fusion ideas. The concept is almost without limit once the model is set. I wish Maze all the wonderful accomplishment in the years to come.
The next time when I go back, I demand to see Ramsay. It had been a wonderful afternoon.
Again to Simon, THANK YOU!