I also love Top Chef, although I only watched last season (I was rooting for Hung all the way). I record Kitchen Nightmares, but after the last episode am thinking about not doing so anymore. Gordon Ramsey has become way too much of a dick. Since the show is about him, he is always presented as being right, but if he weren't such a massive douchebag people might actually listen to him. I guess that wouldn't make for such good TV though. Maybe I should try to find the British version.

If you watch the BBC version you begin to see why he is such a dick. On those shows he deals mostly with either British chefs who are very stoic or mopey and need a good kick, or French chefs who are arrogant and need to have someone get through to them that they suck. The first couple episodes of the series he was much softer and it didn't work as well.

It is almost a deal where he thinks he has to break them all the way down so that they will accept what he is teaching them. Otherwise, they pretty quickly go back to old habits. I just love the BBC version (1) because there are so many interesting expressions that are funny ("shambolic" is my fav so far) and (2) it seems like the restaurant owners/chefs are more interesting and bigger characters.

I agree that the US version isn't that great so far. Hopefully it gets better. I do like Ramsey.

Patrick's brother is LDS and was in our High Council. The Inn is amazing.