North chefs to star in Gordon Ramsey’s F Word

Nov 13 2009 by Tom Mullen, The Journal

A TEAM of North cooks is all set to put on a TV culinary masterclass before celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey.

Gourmet chefs from the Bouchon Bistro in Hexham, Northumberland, will go head to head with cooks from another French-themed restaurant in the new series of Channel 4’s Gordon Ramsey’s F Word.

Tuesday night’s show will see Bistro owner Gregory Bureau and two of his employees, Nicolas Duhil and Craig Wanless, cooking for 50 invited guests.

Diners will then tell the chefs whether or not they would be prepared to pay for the dishes – as foul-mouthed favourite Gordon looks on.

Bouchon Bistro’s opponents will be Surbiton-based restaurant The French Table, who are equally well respected in the South.

But the Bouchon chefs believe their simple but effective French fare will triumph.

Head chef Nico said: “I think because we’re trying to do truly good food, we put a lot of effort into what we’re doing and somehow it must work out OK.

“It’s quite traditional so we don’t go mad in the creativity and stuff. It’s quite traditional French. All made from scratch, and everything is fresh. The menu says what it is basically.”

Second chef Craig, 24, said: “I think we’ve picked the market right for what we’re doing, because we are a bistro at the end of the day and we keep the price down. But we give everyone who walks through the door a good experience of ingredients and flavours they would never even think of trying.

“We balance our menu quite well. And a lot of hard work goes into the food we do so that we can balance the cost and give the customer a really good product.”

The chefs will be able to cook the main courses of their choice, but Gordon Ramsey will select a starter and dessert.

Being scrutinised by one of the country’s most revered celebrity chefs will of course be a daunting task, but it is a challenge the Northumberland cooks are relishing.

Craig added: “When I started off I did have the dream of taking it and learning as much as I possibly could in trying to get up to that level you see Gordon at and the chefs in his kitchen.

“The dream is one day to be recognised as that good.”

Film crews have already been to Hexham to capture the team in action in their everyday environment.

The chefs then travelled to London for more filming at the Channel 4 studios.

Owner Gregory said: “We are used to working in a high pressure environment and cooking for a living.

“The camera crew came and filmed us just to see what we were like and make sure that we were comfortable on camera.

“I know that Gordon has a reputation for swearing and becoming irate but I think we will be able to handle working with him.”