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Salty Ramsay Marinates in Hypocrisy

Push for local, seasonal food in UK restaurants has critics roasting TV chef

By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff

Posted May 18, 2008 11:58 AM CDT

(Newser) – Borrowing some of Gordon Ramsay's favorite vulgarities, Rob Lyons lashes out at the famous chef's push for British restaurants to use seasonal, local foodstuffs. "There have been plenty of people lining up to point out the hypocrisy of Ramsay’s position," Lyons writes in spiked, pointing to observations that his restaurants hardly fall in line—and would face the fines Ramsay advocates.

"If eating such food has negative consequences for the planet—and it is far from clear that it does—then surely the right approach is to figure out how to get the benefits of a global food market without the negative side effects," Lyons writes. "But this problem-solving approach doesn’t fit into the moralizing approach to consumption so typical today, exemplified by Ramsay’s demand to criminalize chefs."

Not enough Britons question the practicality of criminalising the importation of food when the UK cannot grow enough food to meet its needs, Rob Lyons writes in sp!ked of Gordon Ramsay's local push.
Not enough Britons "question the practicality of criminalising the importation of food when the UK cannot grow enough food to meet its needs," Rob Lyons writes in sp!ked of Gordon Ramsay's local push.   (AP Photo)
Chef Gordon Ramsay arguement for local, seasonal food in British restaurants is full of holes, Rob Lyons writes in sp!ked.
Chef Gordon Ramsay arguement for local, seasonal food in British restaurants is full of holes, Rob Lyons writes in sp!ked.   (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sheryl Nadler)
Chef Gordon Ramsay poses for the media in London in a Sept. 6, 2004 file photo. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was accused Tuesday, June 19, 2007, in a lawsuit of faking scenes for a new U.S.-based reality television show.
Chef Gordon Ramsay poses for the media in London in a Sept. 6, 2004 file photo. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was accused Tuesday, June 19, 2007, in a lawsuit of faking scenes for a new U.S.-based reality...   (AP Photo/Richard Lewis, file)
This is a man who operates a restaurant in Dubai, for God%u2019s sake, where absolutely nothing is local or seasonal, a British food critic says of salty-tongued chef Gordon Ramsay.
"This is a man who operates a restaurant in Dubai, for God%u2019s sake, where absolutely nothing is local or seasonal," a British food critic says of salty-tongued chef Gordon Ramsay.   (Getty Images)
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