The 10 Douchiest Moments in Celebrity Chef History
Douchebag Level: Celebrity Chef.
Image via Complex Original
Douchebaggery does not discriminate. It creeps its way into the psyche of an unsuspecting person and all of a sudden you're wearing a fedora and driving a Segway across the street. This is why douchebags can be found in all shapes, sizes and scenarios: Charlie Sheen, every time Ashton Kutcher wears a trucker hat, and on most college lacrosse teams. But a unique flavor (sorry) of douchebag? The celebrity chef.
Long ago, in happier times, Food Network viewership was relegated to those actually interested/capable of cooking and those strange morning hours when there's nothing but infomercials on TV. Then people realized the Food Network gave viewers the weird joy that comes from watching other people cook incredible food while your fridge sits empty. Culture shifted and the celebrity chef was born. Then the celebrity chef got a little too hype. All of a sudden, everyone with a spatula and a smile had a two shows, three books, and a line of cookware. Of course, with fame comes douchery.Here are the 10 douchiest moments in celeb chef history. And, yes, Gordon Ramsay is on the list.
RELATED: The 15 Celebrity Chefs Who Made It
Rachael Ray "Writes" a Cookbook
Douchieness level: Tribal tattoos
Rachael Ray bypasses a specific moment of douchebaggery and goes for entire programs of it. Ray used to host a Food Network show that taught 30 minute meals that would actually take at least an hour. She also originated the Taylor Swift overly-exaggerated emotion face (see: the skin-pulling smile after she takes the first bite of her meal). But her awfulness made itself apparent to housewives everywhere when the New York Timesaccused her of being a liar. According to the Times, Ray is one of many cookbook writers who don't actually write their own books. Ray defended herself against the ghostwriter allegations but we're going with the Times on this one.
Guy Fieri Admits to Being Terrified of Gays
Douchieness level: Frosted tips
Fieri embodies the douche aesthetic to a tee: spiked, blond hair that looks a wet hedgehog, those small hoop earring baby girls wear, and a circle beard streaked with bleach. '90s boyband manager asthetics aside, Fieri has been accused of some pretty heinous stuff, including spouting off sexist, homophobic and anti-Semitic slurs. His number one douchiest offense? Sending threatening e-mails to his staff, which a Food Network producer later submitted to court as part of his suit against the network. Producer David Page described the offensive comments Fierimad on the show's set, including homophobic remarks ("You can’t send me to talk to gay people without warning! Those people weird me out!"), and nasty emails he sent to staffers that went a little something like "I hope you die so I can dance on your fucking grave." Fieri should embrace his natural hair color and a little more tact.
Bobby Flay Throws Down, Offends All of Japan
Douchieness level: Instagramming stacks of cash
For the four years that Throwdown! with Bobby Flay was on TV, the world got 30 minutes a week of Flay being smug with a knife in hand. The premise of the show was trickery. The rundown of every episode: get a lesser-known chef all hype that they'll be on the Food Network for a special program, host a party with their family and friends, and then have Flay and his smirk crash said party and challenge the unsuspecting chef to a cook-off of a dish they've mastered cooking. Flay and his smirk always won. But before Flay was one-upping small-time chefs, he was offending entire cultures. Flay appeared in an Iron Chef Japan episode where he jumped and fist pumped on his cutting board after winning the challenge. Celebrating a victory is fine, but the cutting board is considered sacred to Japanese chefs, and was consider a major cultural faux-pas. Do better, Flay. Do better.
Graham Elliot Bullies Yelp Trolls
Douchieness level: Naming your restaurant "Grahamwich" (which he did)
Whatever gods created the Internet probably did not know they would revolutionize the way people complain. YouTube comment sections are straight comedy and there is nothing better than a scorned Yelp-er. Graham Elliot, chef and owner of multiple restaurants with questionable names, is not a fan of the comment clapback and "publicly humiliates" restaurant patrons who complain online. It's unclear what this humiliation entails, but aggressive hashtags are probably involved.
Jamie Oliver Slits a Lamb's Throat on TV
Douchieness level: Compression shirts outside the gym
Oliver slit the throat of a fully conscious lamb on television and defended the killing as a sign of his aunthenticty as a chef, saying "a chef who has cooked 2,000 sheep should kill at least one, otherwise you're a fake." Sometimes it's not necessary to keep it that one hunnit, Jamie. Maybe faking it would have been the better route.
Anthony Bourdain Insults South Africa
Douchieness level: Grown men in Ugg boots
Bourdain has never been shy about coming at the necks of whoever he sees fit. But he may have taken things a step too far during his trip to South Africa for his show Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown. In the show Bourdain visits a monument commemorating soldiers who fought for the country. Evidently confused at the statue, Bourdain asks, "Who are these ugly dutch guys?" and like anyone else would if no one replied to that first question he continues, "Who are these assholes?" Bourdain is welcome to explain how fighting oppression and dying for your country equals being an asshole.
Nigella Lawson Smokes a Spliff
Douchieness level: Making a response to "Control" when Kendrick didn't call you out
Lawson's story is more sad than douchey. Colorful anecdotes about the chef's alleged drug abuse and abusive husband are all over the news now and so is her confession to smoking weed in front of her kids. Save the blunts for after bedtime, Nigella.
Paula Deen Says She Wants a "Plantation-Style" Wedding
Douchieness level: Paula Deen
Good 'ol Paula Deen. Deen decided step it up and hit the world with the 1, 2 douche punch. Douche Move 1: Hiding her Type 2 Diabetes for years while pushing a diet of butter, fat and sugar, only to reveal her disease when she became a spokesperson for an insulin company. Multi-faceted Douche Move 2: Using the n-word, wanting to have a plantation-style wedding for her brother with an all black waitstaff, and crying all over Matt Lauer. Her douchieness paid off, with her book sales skyrocketing immediately following the n-word controversy. Apparently racism sells.
Mario Batali Steals Tips (Allegedly)
Douchieness level: Owning a fedora
Mario Batali has a well-documented (word to Twitter) history of saying really regrettable things, i.e. comparing Wall Street bankers to Nazis. Apparently, Batali's track record extends past reckless tweeting. Batali apparently stole from his employees. While the full story remains under wraps cause the chef settled the lawsuit, he gist is that employees across his restaurants accused him of pocketing their tips, which is clearly very illegal. It's one thing to whip out disrespectful metaphors, it's another to allegedly take money from people making two bucks an hour waiting tables. Shame on you, Batali.
Gordon Ramsay's Makes Ample Use of His Favorite Expletive
Douchieness level: Wearing an Ed Hardy shirt to your friend's wedding.
Honestly, Ramsay should be commended for his incredible command of the English language. Top insult moments from the Brit include "panini head," "bison's penis," and "toilet brush." Clearly, Ramsay's imagination runs wild and free when it comes to destroying the self-esteem of fragile aspiring cooks, but even he favors the classic on occasion. So, yeah, he called a dude "dickface." Of course when the chef mentions that dickface isn't actually his name, Ramsay decides donkey is a good replacement. What a guy.