Friday, November 23, 2012

Feuds: 10 People Who Have Gordon Ramsay on Their Shitlist

Feuds: 10 People Who Have Gordon Ramsay on Their Shitlist

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Now that Gordon Ramsay has managed to piss off even more people with the revelation that he has applied for UK trademark rights to "The Spotted Pig," the same name as April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman's New York restaurant, it's a good time to take a look at all the people Ramsay has been pissing off over the past couple of years. Some anger has been expressed formally via many, many lawsuits, while matters have been aired in the media or over Twitter. Here now, 10 people who count Gordon Ramsay on their shitlists, including his family members, business partners and fellow chefs.


Anthony-Bourdain-ramsay-150.jpg1) Anthony Bourdain: In light of the news that Ramsay had applied for the UK trademark rights to April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman's The Spotted Pig, Bourdain spoke up in defense of the New York restaurateurs. Bourdain called Ramsay's move "pathetic" and "shameless."


olver.jpg2) Jamie Oliver: Also related to the Spotted Pig debacle, Oliver concurred with Bourdain and added that "we like originals" in London. Oliver has feuded with Ramsay before, accusing him of being disrespectful of Indian chefs and just generally exchanging a whole ton of barbs throughout the years.


chris-hutcheson-ramsay-150.jpg3) His Father-In-Law: Following a year and a half long drama-filled battle, Ramsay won a £250,000 lawsuit against his father-in-law Chris Hutcheson for wrongly withdrawing millions of dollars, hacking Ramsay's computer, bankrolling his mistress and many other accusations.


ramsay-father-in-law-mistress-150.jpg4) His Father-In-Law's Mistress: Hutcheson's former mistress Sara Stewart has filed a lawsuit against Ramsay for breach of privacy. Per the lawsuit, Ramsay allegedly hired a private detective to take "intimate" photos of Stewart and Hutcheson and sent a text message to her son threatening to go public with the shots.


laurier-bbq-ramsay-150.jpg5) His Former Business Partner: Ramsay is also suing his former business partner Danny Lavy to stop Lavy's company Sensio from distributing his "Everyday" line of kitchenware at Kmart stores. Lavy claims a letter of intent both parties signed last year is a binding agreement, while Ramsay disagrees. For more backstory to this feud, don't forget that Ramsay also sued Lavy's Montreal restaurant Laurier BBQ earlier this year for booting him from a consulting gig for reportedly never showing up.


sam.jpg6) Marcus Samuelsson: One of the juicy tidbits from Marcus Samuelsson's memor Yes, Chef involved this one time Gordon Ramsay called him a "fucking black bastard" for not naming Ramsay among his favorite British chefs. Ramsay's spokesman denies the account, accusing Samuelsson of writing it simply "in order to garner publicity" for his book.


Phil-Hall-ramsay-150.jpg7) A former News of the World Editor: Ramsay settled a lawsuit earlier this year against the British tabloid's former editor Phil Hall, who admitted to obtaining information about Ramsay by "illegitimate means." This, of course, relates to Ramsay's legal issues with his father-in-law.


duco-events-ramsay-150.jpg8) A New Zealand Events Company: Ramsay settled a lawsuit with a New Zealand events company for $81,000 after the company claimed he failed to appear at a fundraiser.



mario.jpg9) Mario Batali: In late 2008, Ramsay and Batali had a great period of feuding in which Ramsay continually referred to Batali as "Fanta pants" and Batali banned the shouty chef from his restaurants. Though Ramsay once called stories of the feud "cow shit," he continues to make fat jokes and, well, The Spotted Pig is also one of Batali's investments.


eric-ripert-ramsay-150.jpg10) A Whole Bunch of Other Chefs: Legendary French chef Jacques Pepin has expressed issues with Ramsay, saying "I wasn't crazy about Hell's Kitchen. ... When I saw a show like that where everyone is yelling, everyone gets terrorized, there is no way you can produce great food under that type of condition. You cannot give of yourself." Meanwhile, Eric Ripert has been famously critical of Ramsay's "racist" verbal abuse on Kitchen Nightmares — comments he has made more than once. Finally, José Andrés has also been famously embarrassed by the way Ramsay treated people on Hell's Kitchen.

· All Gordon Ramsay Coverage on Eater [-E-]




Handmade Canvas & Leather Weekend Bag

Handmade Canvas & Leather Weekend Bag

Perhaps you've learned, as I have, that style takes a second place to durability in the luggage department. If you can get a little style along with durability, then, hey, you've done well. This Handmade Canvas & Leather Weekend Bag hits just the right note with its carry-on size and utilitarian materials. If you don't already have a good weekend bag for your holiday travels, it's something to consider.

Speaking of holiday travels, have a nice Thanksgiving holiday; if you're on the road or at the airport, be careful/stay safe/etc. We'll be back on Monday with our regular posting schedule.


Handmade Canvas & Leather Weekend Bag open

Handmade in California with 100% canvas, soft homerun leather, and nickel plated rivets and buckles.
Dimensions: 18″ wide x 11″ tall
Has a 6" hand strap and detachable shoulder strap.

Handmade Canvas & Leather Weekend Bag




Thursday, November 15, 2012

'Buckswire: Starbucks to Buy Teavana For $620M, Plans to 'Globally Transform' Tea Industry

'Buckswire: Starbucks to Buy Teavana For $620M, Plans to 'Globally Transform' Tea Industry

teavana-starbucks-1000.jpgStarbucks continues its march to take over all of the world's caffeinated beverages with today's announcement that the coffee chain is shelling out $620 million for the tea chain Teavana. According to a press release, Starbucks not only plans to expand Teavana's mall-based stores, but also add an unspecified new "high-profile neighborhood store concept" to the company portfolio. As CEO Howard Schultz explains in the release, "the tea category is ripe for reinvention and rapid growth."

Of course, Starbucks has long owned Tazo Tea and even announced plans back in June to open a stand alone Tazo tea shop. This is all part of the great Starbucks plan to dominate and "globally transform" the tea landscape, per the release. As Schultz further explains in a blog post today, "Teavana complements Tazo and, in fact, unleashes Tazo to compete aggressively as our premium entry point for consumers seeking an innovative and differentiated tea experience while providing us with flexibility to pursue a two-tiered global tea marketing strategy."

This is just the latest in Starbucks power moves, what with a rapid expansion of coffee shops across the world, its new Evolution Fresh juice bar concept, a vending machine rollout and its purchase of chain of San Francisco bakeries.

· Starbucks Announces Agreement to Acquire Teavana to Globally Transform Tea Industry [Starbucks via WSJ]
· Our Commitment to Tea [Starbucks]
· All Starbucks Coverage on Eater [-E-]




Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Scandals: Yelpers Distraught Over Ryan Gosling Abandoning His Los Angeles Restaurant

Scandals: Yelpers Distraught Over Ryan Gosling Abandoning His Los Angeles Restaurant

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Hey girl, Ryan Gosling's sorry he missed you at Tagine. [Photo: Tagine / Facebook]

Actor/feminist icon Ryan Gosling is an investor in the Beverly Hills restaurant Tagine, and breaking news you guys: he hasn't been there for literally months. The Toronto Sun broke the news (Gosling is Canadian) over the weekend that a waiter told some Vancouver tourists that "Ryan hasn't been around in months." Can you even imagine the nerve of this guy?

Tagine touts Gosling's involvement in the restaurant on their website, and even says he created the restaurant alongside chef "Ben" Benameur. But Yelpers have definitely noticed his absence: "The only thing that didn't sit well with me, was I kept waiting for Ryan Gosling to come through the doors," writes Raji R. "Only downfall..not being able to run into Ryan Gossling [sic] who is part owner of this fine establishment," says Adrienne S. Hey girls, sorry to disappoint you.

Gosling has been in Austin, Texas recently filming an upcoming Terrence Malick-directed movie, so maybe that has something to do with why he's not in the restaurant? Anyway, Gosling, get on it: your fangirls are waiting.

· Ryan Gosling M.I.A. at Own Restaurant [Toronto Sun via Videogum]
· All Los Angeles Coverage on Eater [-E-]




Portlandia Wire: Here's a Preview of the Portlandia Guide For Visitors

Portlandia Wire: Here's a Preview of the Portlandia Guide For Visitors

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[Photo: IFC]

portlandia-guide.jpgHere's a quick preview of Portlandia: A Guide for Visitors by the television show's creators Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. It's unclear whether the book can function as an actual guide to actual Portland, but it does provide a handy map to the Brunch Village from the show's season two finale (above).

Also included: a heavily-coded guide to the dining scene, which includes symbols denoting pretend-vampire menus, restaurants where reservations are scorned/mocked, retro menus (from both the '20s and the '70s) and clothing optional restaurants.

Portlandia: A Guide For Visitors is available now from Grand Central Publishing (buy on Amazon). Below, the key to the dining guide's symbols and a video preview from Armisen and Brownstein.

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Video: Preview For Portlandia: A Guide for Visitors

· Thinking of Visiting Portlandia? [IFC]
· All Portlandia Coverage on Eater [-E-]




Sunday, November 11, 2012

But It’s Part of the Act!

But It's Part of the Act!

See, first I load up the table with crystal and fine china — y'know, stack everything really high, so it look like it'll fall down any second, and then there's a drum roll and on the count of three, whoosh! I yank out the tablecloth and nothing falls!

Now I'll grant you, some nights the "nothing falls" part is a bit iffy…


Via Dog Shaming, currently available for children's parties.


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