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Oh man I’ve been watching the BBC version, too, and I loved your article about what Gordon Ramsey can teach software developers.

I like how he always cuts out peoples’ pre-conceived notions of what their customers are like.

If you haven’t seen the show “Gordon Ramsey’s F Word”, I strongly recommond it. It’s amazing how well he can lead and inspire a team that he’s never even worked with.

Great show… but why do they have to show him changing into his chef’s shirt??

I, too, have been enjoying Gordon’s BBC show.

Funny how the same theme repeats itself over and over.

It’s all about simplify, simplify, simplify and quality, execution and value. A core lesson that translates to many other things.

Incidentally, the UK version of Kitchen Nightmares is actually produced for Channel 4, not the BBC . I didn’t realize BBC America should shows from other UK broadcasters.

http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/ramsays-kitchen-nightmares/

The above site is currently advertising the US version of the show as they have just started showing that over there. The US version is entertaining in an OTT kind of way but it’s not a patch on the UK version.

Must remember to hit preview before submitting…Must remember to hit preview before submitting….

Of course, that should read “I didn’t realize BBC America showed shows…”

I’ve been a big fan of the UK version of the show on Channel 4, and have more recently been watching Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares USA as it’s billed over here.

The thing that’s really struck me is how horribly produced the US version is. It’s lazily edited together out of sequence, so you clearly see peoples clothes changing between shots, or it changing from light to darkness and back again outside.

There’s a constant stream of annoying reaction shots, they’ll show someone shouting at a waitress, followed by the waitress crying, followed by a talking head shot of the waitress speaking to camera saying “when he shouted at me, I cried”. Strangely we know that you cried when he shouted at you, we just saw the clip of him shouting and you, and you crying!

It’s fascinating to compare the differences between the two shows which nominally have the same format. The US version is really hard work to watch, and there only seems to be about 20-30 minutes of actual content in each episode.

I think your script to replace “Don” with “Norman” is going a little too far!

It’s just depressing that the US version of this show basically ruined everything that is great about the UK version. Also, it’s amazing how often Gordon can find the chance to take his shirt off while talking to the camera.

This guy is amazing. He is more than a chef … that’s for sure! Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to watch this show!

“That last item reveals one more reason to design for yourself first: It keeps your passion alive. There’s no substitute for that.”

Maybe I’m missing something, but the owner attempted that. And ended up with a totally fucked up menu. The chefs, on the other hand, would be designing for themselves…and would be happy.

So in the end…sometimes to be more successful you can’t design for yourself. You have to do what makes others happy or makes more fiscal sense.

You probably should’ve thrown in the 37 signals standard “simplify” lines instead showing that reduction in the menu allowed them to focus on the ingredients and perfecting the fewer dishes.

Maybe I’m missing something, but the owner attempted that. And ended up with a totally fucked up menu.

No, you’ve got it backwards.

He attempted a menu that would make everyone single possible customer happy. That’s why it was fucked up. No one was happy because he tried to make everyone happy.

Odd. I see what the owner was doing as very similar to those kinds of places that sell really expensive jeans that are built to customer specifications.

He offered a huge amount of choices. While generally this is bad for a product it works in some areas.

I still see it as the owner designing for himself; however, I still think that design is / was flawed.

it would be like me putting all of my favorite dishes on a single menu. That would be complex and would most importantly, lack cohesion.

Another interesting thing that at least the ‘curry lounge’ episode made very clear to me is the very often overlooked marketing factor of authenticity. Food that is authentic with a culture or history is more appealing then say new creations although most of the guests don’t actually know what authentic food from a specific region in India tastes like. Sports cars from certain Italian manufacturers have great appeal to many people not the least because the founders character and charisma brought a certain authenticity and uniqueness to the company and it’s products. Hand crafted shoes are not just lovely because they wear great but because they are not coming form a mass production line. The appeal of 37signals or Apple’s products to many people is not just based on how useful they are or what features they deliver or how easy they are to use, it’s also based on the fact that these products are being authentic with the believe systems and opinions of their creators (have you ever seen a hatchback on a Ferrari…?).

I think there is a good marketing lesson to learn from this. Obviously for a startup creating their first software product it is more difficult to be authentic with their history (since their is none) but it becomes clear that making a strong point and showing some attitude (if it’s truly yours) can go a long way against the mediocre bla bla that we usually hear from startups that want to fit the standard corporate venture capital bill.

I’d be interested to explore more on this topic

The great thing about Gordon (other than the swearing and the stylish way that he mocks people) is that he both a creative type and a person that knows that the numbers don’t lie.

Financial statements tell the tell in a business. Both he and 37 seem to be growing both profits and revenues. That means they have a winning combo. It’s that simple.

I saw this episode on the TV in the UK a while back. I love your analogy to software development! :-)

Gotta love Gordon, I think he could turn any business around. He’s on Channel 4 tonight so I’ll go get some inspiration.

Great footballer too. :-D