Why do I love Marco so damn much? I guess because he has the guts to admit that any chef who is successful enough to have several restaurants is probably not even cooking in one of them. That's what his retirement amounted to. I continued to eat at MPW venues after he quit and they, for the most part, maintained their quality or even (L'escargot) improved.
He's the only celeb chef with a half way sensible attitude to the 'celeb' side of that equation. Ramsay's shouting & swearing is dull and cultivated whereas Marco is the real, and very mercurial, deal. I love the way Marco keeps bringing up Ramsay and Heston in conversation too to remind us that they were glorified pot boys to be used as slaves when Marco was already amazing. Sure, Heston was only in Marco's care for a short time but Marco made them AFAIC. Mario Batali too. People rave about Heston and Ramsay but ultimately Heston owes too much to Adrià & Keller and Ramsay is still, after all these years, a Marco-wannabe. None of them are as significant as Marco was, for the food. They've parlayed that food into a very different kind of fame for sure, but it that really laudable for a chef? The food should come first.
That said I've not liked the first couple of episodes of this 2nd series as much as I did the first, now two years past. Marco hasn't really let out his more playful side yet, but I think that will come. Hopefully there will be a more Marco-whimsy, like the hilarious night when Marco stayed in his office making all the deserts...
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