Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
In <em>Top Chef</em> Era, Fame Spotlights Chefs' Foul Language
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 16, 2008
Modified Apr 16, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 16, 2008
Modified Apr 16, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Sure, the stress and time pressures of the kitchen inevitably spark infernos of obscenity, but recent shows like Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen have exposed the salty language of star chefs to untold millions. Last week’s Top Chef episode raised eyebrows for its higher-than-normal profanity quotient, when contestants lit into each other with so much F-bombing “the resulting bleeps ran together like a test of the old Emergency Broadcast System,” according to the Times.
Most audiences seem spellbound by the larger-than-life persona of the macho, trash-talking chef, as embodied by Gordon Ramsay (pictured) and Anthony Bourdain, who says he owes his livelihood to cussing these days:
I’m making a living at it. I do a lot of speaking engagements and sometimes I feel like I’m being paid to curse in front of people who haven’t heard it in a while. I’ve been pushing it and pushing it and have unloaded like a marine in front of a vast roomful of blue-haired ladies, and they seem to get it.
But Culinary Institute of America L. Timothy Ryan insists all this foul language is hurting the profession and turning back the clock to an era when chefs were not considered professionals. Bourdain couldn’t disagree more: “It indicates a real move from servant to professional status. Better than professional. Who gets away with talking like that to their customers?”
Ramsay even called profanity the “industry's language” last month. But white-hot chef David Chang, whose massive New Yorker profile a couple weeks back highlighted his potty mouth, seems repentant: “It’s not like I want to do it, I just want to get my point across and unfortunately I’m not that eloquent or articulate. If I could find a better way – and I’m trying – to communicate, I will change in a heartbeat.” Chang must be out of his fucking mind; half the fun of his tiny new Momofuku Ko is that the open kitchen gives diners a front row seat to watch some colorful cooking fireworks, as seen on TV.
Tagged
anthony bourdain
chef
cook
cursing
david chang
gordon ramsay
obscenity
profanity
swearing
top chef
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian food is delicious but underrepresented in the city.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Oct 10, 2026
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .