I’ve been gripped by the recent round of reality food TV shows — who knew there was so much high drama involved in baking the perfect sponge — as evidenced by The Great British Bake Off — or impressing legendary double Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Junior in Masterchef: The professionals?
It does make you wonder whether it’s like this in the kitchens the cameras don’t see. Do these episodes of contestants facing a baptism of fire on the small screen really reflect what life is like working for a top restaurant?
It certainly appears Gordon Ramsay’s special breed of shoutiness hasn’t put people off a career in chef whites — a survey of 16 to 24 year olds by recruitment firm Office Angels found 44% cited cookery programmes as their reason for wanting to be a chef.
