Gordon Ramsay-A Dream, Not a Nightmare

Internationally famous chef and restaurant owner Gordon Ramsay is on my list of most desirable men.

Is it is handsome good looks?

Is it his bad boy, take no crap attitude?

Is it his amazing culinary skills?

Is it his British accent?

Honestly, all of the above.

Having watched many episodes on BBC America, I've tried to see beyond the fiesty, and sometimes rude persona he potrays and get to know the man behind the crisp white culinary jacket.

He is fiercely passionate about food preparation. He is strong believer in cleanliness and appearances. He has a firm grasp on the elements that make dining a pleasurable experience. It's so much more than good food.

One of his biggest complaints with the restaurants he critiques is that they tend to provide too many menu selections. He believes that a restaurant should have a few main entrees that they do very well. He's also a huge believer in buying local produce, meat, dairy and fish and making everything fresh daily.

Due to his no nonense approach, he often easily offends restaurants owners making them quite defensive. Once they begin offering excuses his temper ususually flares and you hear censored remarks for the next few minutes. There have been times that I have disagreed with his approach and felt that he could have been more effective without the barrage of insults, but his apparent success would seem to prove otherwise.

With my intense viewing of episodes of Gordon's shows, I have grown quite fond of him. Yes, we're both married, but that hasn't kept Gordon out of my dreams a time or two.

So, Gordon, if you're out there reading this, just know that you come to my kitchen anytime!

• Born November 8, 1966 in Scotland, raised in England
• Received the OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2006
• British TV personality, restaurant owner and internationally acclaimed chef
• Ranks third in the world in terms of Michelin Stars
• Married to wife Tana, and has four children.
• His TV programs include Hell's Kitchen and The F-Word and Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
• He has won numerous awards including the Catey award for "Independent Restaurateur of the Year" and only the third person to have won three Catey awards, the biggest awards of the UK hospitality industry.
• Named the most influential person in the UK hospitality industry in Caterersearch 100 list
• Restaurant Gordon Ramsay was voted London's top restaurant in food bible Harden's for eight years and only recently replaced in 2008 by one of his former proteges
• His U.S. restaurants are: Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel in Manhattan, NY, Gordon Ramsay at the Cielo in Boca Raton, Florida and Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel in West Hollywood, California.
• He acts as a consultant to numerous catering organizations
• His first documentaries were Boiling Point (1998) and Beyond Boiling Point (2000).
• In May 2005, the FOX network introduced Ramsay to American TV audiences in a U.S. version of Hell's Kitchen and it's currently in its fifth season
• Hosted a US version of Kitchen Nightmares
• Has written 20 books (see list of all 20 in this hub)
• Contributes a food-and-drink column to The Times' Saturday magazine.