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Can a great chef like Gordon Ramsey walk into a shitty fastfood restaurant and make something great using only their ingredients and cookware?

JackSwift

JackSwift

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,274
Say Gordon Ramsey walks into a shitty fastfood restaurant like Pizza Hut... using only their ingredients onhand and whatever cookware, stove, oven, etc. they have there, do you think he can create something so good that he would have it on his own menu at one of his Micheline rated restaurants? (If he has one, idk)
And he would even prepare/cook it the same way with the same ingredients at his own restaurants, it's that good.

Or any other great chef, at any other shitty fastfood restaurant. Is it doable?
 
Ferrio

Ferrio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,115
Using processed food as ingredients? Hell no. I'm sure it wouldn't suck but there is no way they'd serve it.
 
El Bombastico

El Bombastico

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
36,087
This would make a great show, OP. Too bad I doubt McDonalds or any big fast food chain would ever allow it...
 
nded

nded

Member
Nov 14, 2017
10,621
They could probably make something very good. Not sure if it would be good enough for their own restaurant though, unless the shitty restaurant has access to interesting ingredients or equipment.
 
EVIL

EVIL

Senior Concept Artist
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
2,783
JackSwift said:
Say Gordon Ramsey walks into a shitty fastfood restaurant like Pizza Hut... using only their ingredients onhand and whatever cookware, stove, oven, etc. they have there, do you think he can create something so good that he would have it on his own menu at one of his Micheline rated restaurants? (If he has one, idk)
And he would even prepare/cook it the same way with the same ingredients at his own restaurants, it's that good.

Or any other great chef, at any other shitty fastfood restaurant. Is it doable?
Click to expand...
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Shitty fastfood restaurants still use normal ingredients, like tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices etc. its all you need.
 
badatorigami

badatorigami

Member
Dec 5, 2019
493
No. Technique is important of course, but cuisine at the Michelin level really depends on the quality of ingredients. Shitty fast food places have textured soy protein and freezer-burned potatoes.
 
idolminds

idolminds

Member
Nov 2, 2017
135
I imagine McDonalds doesn't have a spice rack in the back. Without that and being limited to a lot of the prepackaged ingredients I doubt he could make something he would serve at his own place.

Would be a fun challenge to see what he'd make, though.
 
RiOrius

RiOrius

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,086
He could make something great, but not something worthy of his restaurants. Those require both top tier skill and top tier ingredients. Top class skill and trash tier ingredients would still be delicious, but not Michelin-worthy.

I think. For what it's worthy I'm basically a culinary idiot, but this seems super obvious?
 
PBalfredo

PBalfredo

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,510
Fast food restaurants already excel at taking their selection of processed ingredients and reconfigerating them into as many arrangements as possible. I don't think you can make anything transcendentally better without better (and fresher) ingredients.
 
OP
OP
JackSwift

JackSwift

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,274
RiOrius said:
He could make something great, but not something worthy of his restaurants. Those require both top tier skill and top tier ingredients. Top class skill and trash tier ingredients would still be delicious, but not Michelin-worthy.

I think. For what it's worthy I'm basically a culinary idiot, but this seems super obvious?
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This is probably the most likely outcome of this scenario.
 
Dice

Dice

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,594
Canada
Depends on the cook/chemist. Good spices? Good ingredients? Good dishes?
This question is actually maybe complicated.
A good chef is important too, for sure. Hopefully he's got more than salt and frozen fries to work with.
 
OP
OP
JackSwift

JackSwift

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,274
Man there should be a show with famous/celebrity chefs competing against each other like this. Each episode is a different fast food restaurant and worst dish at the end gets cut. Keep going until only 1 remains. Judges are the current CEO of that restaurant.
 
Bishop89

Bishop89

What Are Ya' Selling?
Member
Oct 25, 2017
34,853
Melbourne, Australia
If kitchen nightmares has taught me anything, it's that there are quite a few restaurants with ingredients that should have been destroyed years ago
 
ItIsOkBro

ItIsOkBro

Happy New Year!!
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
9,542
McDonald's has fresh eggs. In sure he could do something with that as the core.
 
Kwigo

Kwigo

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
8,060
There's a reason why great chefs handpick their ingredients (or at least their providers). The quality of the ingredient has a huge impact on flavor.

But I'd absolutely watch a show based on that idea!
 

bastardly

Member
Nov 8, 2017
10,600
He's not going to win any awards with it, but I'd bet he'd can make a killer eggs benedict with McDonalds ingredients
 
TechnicPuppet

TechnicPuppet

Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,859
I've watched a show where pro chefs where tasked with recreating fast food to taste exactly the same.

They couldn't do it, everything was too nice. They also keep messing up even the simplest details if my memory is correct.

Edit: Wasn't only fast food it turns out, one I saw was a Burger King Whopper.

www.channel4.com

Snackmasters

Fred Sirieix sets a challenge for top chefs to create some of our best-loved snacks
www.channel4.com
 
LinkSlayer64

LinkSlayer64

One Winged Slayer
Member
Jun 6, 2018
2,298
from my experience, it comes down to spices.
If the restaurant has some variety of spices, bang, you're set.
 
RestEerie

RestEerie

Banned
Aug 20, 2018
13,618
most great food are street food.

Luxury highclass restaurant using premium ingredients doesn't means the food served are good.
 
Kthulhu

Kthulhu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,670
Probably not. These places have very specific equipment and inventory to make their items as cheaply and quickly as possible. Yeah restaurants do this to a certain extent but you see a lot more conventional equipment vs a lot of fast food places.

I have no doubt a creative chef could make something good, but they'd be limited and they certainly wouldn't be able to do it cheaply and quickly as the normal menu.
 
nullref

nullref

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,066
Given enough, uh, prep time... probably. I don't think the equipment is a huge issue; the quality of ingredients is tougher. He could make good food, but refining poor ingredients into something of high caliber would take quite a bit of iteration. (Don't get me wrong, they could immediately make something better than what the restaurant was already serving. I mean a dish they'd be willing to serve in their own restaurant.)

JackSwift said:
And he would even prepare/cook it the same way with the same ingredients at his own restaurants, it's that good.
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Click to shrink...

Oh—probably not. There would always be a lot of room for improvement from better ingredients and technique.
 
Last edited:
fulltimepanda

fulltimepanda

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,814
Big chain fast food typically design their meals so that they can be cooked and put together to an acceptable standard by 14 year olds. This includes the ingredients and equipment.

A good chef would be able to make something better, just with the amount of care they'd put in but will still be limited.
 
chuckddd

chuckddd

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,262
Ramsey could never dream of coming close to the perfection that is the bacon, egg and cheese McGriddle.
 
OP
OP
JackSwift

JackSwift

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,274
There's this combo Taco Bell / KFC restaurant down the street from me and I can't help but think that I would pay good money for a one night RSVP event held there hosted by Gordon Ramsey.
 
bye

bye

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,426
Phoenix, AZ
No

Fast food restaurants often don't even have ingredients, like you won't find a walk-in full of vegetables in McDonalds, outside of LTO. You won't even have basic spices to work with either. Just processed junk, all of it.
 

Imperfected

Member
Nov 9, 2017
11,737
He can make something better than what's on the menu, but no, he can't make you a $500 meal out of $5 ingredients.

Gordon is the first guy to tell restaurant owners to stop being cheap with their ingredients and get fresh local produce.
 
Speevy

Speevy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,395
He'd probably throw all the ingredients away and have Burger King or whatever shut down before service.
 
Rubblatus

Rubblatus

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,169
Pizza Hut's dough comes in frozen. All of their sauces are pre-packed. They don't have any un-mixed seasoning on hand (unless you count those parmesean cheese dust packets or crushed red peppers) and they certainly don't have any actual baking supplies on site so that he could make a dough that wasn't mediocre. The only fresh ingredients they have are their toppings.

TL;DR - no. If you're using Pizza Hut as the restaurant, all Gordon can really do to express himself is futz around with topping ratios and maybe try to cut some of the regular tomato sauce with the sweeter tomato sauce they use for their stuffed crust pies.

whatever cookware, stove, oven, etc
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Back where I worked, that would include sheet pans, deep dish pans, breadstick pans and two conveyer belt ovens that wouldn't even hit temperatures Gordon'd be happy with.
 
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nekkid

nekkid

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,823
I doubt it. Walk into a Pizza Hut kitchen and I doubt you'll find many raw ingredients he could actually use.
 
Irrotational

Irrotational

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,218
Heston Blumenthal worked with little chef in the UK to try and revamp their restaurants and menus. He had some neat ideas and it was an interesting food concept. The dynamic between him and the little chef bosses was a bit hard to watch though.

No idea if it's streamable somewhere

Heston Blumenthal: Big Chef Takes On Little Chef (PAL) (REGION 0): Amazon.co.uk: DVD & Blu-ray

Buy Heston Blumenthal: Big Chef Takes On Little Chef (PAL) (REGION 0) from Amazon's Movies Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk

youtu.be

big.chef.takes.on.little.chef. part 1

Heston Blumethal takes on the man.
youtu.be youtu.be
 
Rubblatus

Rubblatus

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,169
UnderNewOwnership said:
They don't even have that generic (I think it's salt, pepper, garlic powder and MSG) spice mix?
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I feel like you're asking about the breadstick seasoning. That comes in pre-mixed, that's not made on site. My point is that they don't have just straight salt or pepper or garlic powder. It's all controlled from corporate.

/I worked at a carry out only location, so maybe it's different at the dine-in restaurants. Those don't really exist anymore where I was from.
 
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