I Never thought I would sit down and watch an episode of ITV’s Loose Women, as when ever I visit my mother-in-law at that time of the afternoon she will be glued to the TV watching this programme, and on more than one occasion, I have teased her about what could probably be male chauvinistic remarks, but it is only a little teasing on my side.
On the 9th of January I just happened to walk into one of these programmes, and was amazed to see Raymond Blanc sitting in-between the ‘Loose Women’, and being interviewed, he seemed to be in his element.
However, I took up immediate interest when the subject of some of the reality chef shows came up.
As you probably know by now, I have no time whatsoever for certain celebrity chefs, who in my opinion are nothing but a disgrace to the chef profession. , and who have sold their souls for a bit of fame and of course big pay outs.
I was so pleased, but not surprised at Raymond’s reply, which summed up, basically that if these chefs behaved and preformed as they do in the work place, they would soon find them selves in court. He stated that some of their actions were nothing but criminal. He went on to say that how can you motivate, teach and nurture youngsters by treating them in this way.
I know Raymond Blanc and in my opinion he is what I would call a true ambassador to our chef profession. He is a motivator and true leader when it comes to teaching and giving criticism in a constructive and inspiring way, rather that belittle and insult young aspiring chefs.
I can assure you that the likes of Alain Ducasse, Paul Bocuse, Michel Roux and many more would never act in this way and must be looking on in horror to see how these chefs act on the international stage.
We have chefs who have the most notorious background of bad behaviour, and a record of abuse to their staff, who are still after years, being pushed forward by TV companies.
This is not what the modern day kitchen is all about and it should not be portrayed as such.
Well done to the 4 Loose Women and ITV for raising this matter, and I will not be teasing my mother in law any longer with regards to her loyalty to it. Hopefully ITV will now look into their future programmes and who hosts and judges them with more scrutiny to their moral backgrounds.
In the photo you can see Victor Lê a good friend and excellent chef from Tours, who is helping me with a demonstration of Vietnamese dishes to students from Memphis Tennessee, USA. Victor is a true gentleman, who treats youngsters with kindness and respect, never raises his voice and has time for anyone who wants to learn.








