‘Hell’ is back with a vengeance on Fox - Entertainment, TV, Television - Army Times

‘Hell’ is back with a vengeance on Fox

Gordon Ramsay is perfectly comfortable having a friendly conversation. Heck, he’s even downright warm, as he profusely apologizes for calling late. His mother had come over for a visit, see, and he lost track of time.

He is polite and a thorough gentleman. Just once, however, you wish he would lose his cool and scream that you’re a donkey.

“What is it with that ‘donkey’ word?” Ramsay sighs in mock exasperation. “Everybody wants me to call them a donkey. I just came back from Australia, and they don’t have donkeys there, and they still wanted me to say it.”

It was during the second season of “Hell’s Kitchen” that the famously foul-mouthed chef used the D-word as an insult. Now, as the show launches its fifth season, 42-year-old Ramsay finds himself stuck with a catchphrase.

That’s the thing about Ramsay’s TV fame: Viewers love to watch him scream, shout and kick things. It kind of puzzles the chef.

“I was doing a book-signing in London, and this man comes up with his children and asks me to write ‘Merry Christmas and (expletive) off,”’ he says, sounding perplexed. “I can’t write that in a book! And he stands in line with his children to ask me this?”

On the other hand, the chefs aspiring to win “Hell’s Kitchen” all seem to cower in fear at the thought of the volatile Ramsay hurling an insult their way. It is part of what makes the show so dynamic: Thanks to Ramsay’s nervous energy, you never know when he is going to blow.

“We spend more time with the individuals in ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ than we do with our families,” he says. “It’s highly emotional and claustrophobic. To be honest, the closer you get to them, the bigger you can kick their (rear).”

And he promises to kick plenty of (rear) during the new season. It’s not merely for the cameras. The winner, after all, gets a high-profile job as head chef at the tony Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.

“If you start disintegrating under the pressure, don’t become a chef,” he says. “Then just make cakes for your family and be a phenomenal person and don’t cook in the premiere league of restaurants.

“When I start to see people crack, that’s nowhere near the pressure of running your own business, managing a large staff, paying a mortgage, etc. If you want to aspire to be a great chef, there’s a price to pay for that.”

Ramsay knows that first-hand. He operates more than 20 restaurants around the globe. His books are regular bestsellers. In addition to “Hell’s Kitchen” and his other U.S. program, “Kitchen Nightmares,” he tapes additional series that air concurrently in his native United Kingdom. And thanks to his chiseled good looks, he has become something of a sex symbol to foodies around the globe.

“It’s exciting,” he says. “To be honest, I’ve got the most amazing team, and that helps tremendously. It’s a juggling act, I’ll admit, but the children and my wife come with me to Los Angeles, so we do manage.”

And despite his Michelin Star reputation, Ramsay knows how to loosen his culinary guard.

“I have a craving for In-N-Out burgers,” he confesses. “They’re extraordinary. I swear to God, I’m so addicted. The first thing we do when we reach Santa Monica is go to In-N-Out. The kids and I want nothing else.”

Not even McDonald’s?

“McDonald’s?” he asks incredulously. “For God’s sake, now you are being a (expletive) donkey.”

And my 2009 is officially off to a good start.