[imagesource: Kitchen Nightmares]

Whenever I see a bad recipe online or a bad dish presented to me at a restaurant, I can’t help but run a reel of Gordon Ramsay’s shouting and swearing in my head.

What can I say? It makes the bad meal experience slightly better.

The 55-year-old chef is famous for his expletive-laden mocking of food, dating back to the success of his show Hell’s Kitchen.

Now, he is taking TikTok by storm having become the second most-followed British creator on the platform that usually favours young dancers.

He is almost up there with the platform’s biggest stars, 17-year-old Charli D’Amelio, 20-year-old Addison Rae, 21-year-old Khaby Lame, and fellow foodie Emily Mariko.

Amazingly, Ramsay’s follower count is “more than the population of Australia and nearly three times as many as his 19-year-old daughter Tilly Ramsay,” according to Business Insider.

He has just shy of 30 million followers at the time of writing.

The thing about Ramsay that is buttering everyone on TikTok’s bread is that his carefully curated character is perfectly suited to the platform.

As an extension of his TV personality, he makes quick videos mocking dishes that fans have asked him to “rate”:

In his typical scathing style, Ramsay critiques videos of people preparing food as if they’re misguided contestants on one of his shows, getting a stern (and sometimes expletive-filled) talking-to.

“Man, what are you doing to that hotdog?!”, he screams, as molten cheese gets poured on top of a frankfurter sausage. “You’re going to get whacked for this!” he shouts at a chicken nugget-based “Italian tragedy”.

Check those videos out:

@gordonramsayofficial#duet with @aldentediva This is definitely a Sunday Supper I’d like to avoid 🤦‍♂️ #ramsayreacts #tiktokcooks #chickenparm♬ Spongebob – Dante9k

@gordonramsayofficial#duet with @mrforge_ #HotDog ??? More like Hot Mess ! #ramsayreacts #tiktokcooks #summer♬ original sound – Mr Forge

While Ramsay’s videos, shot in his kitchen selfie-style, feel more authentic and less planned out, internet expert Hussein Kesvani says we shouldn’t be so sure:

“His team have figured out how to use his sweary TV persona in very limited, marketing savvy ways,” he told Insider. “His character is given very clear limits: shit food,” he said, referring to Ramsay’s main genre of TikTok video, which involves criticising other people’s recipes.

…He trades on a brand of purposefully rude humour that doesn’t rely on offense or outrage, striking a delicate balance that other public figures of a similar demographic have failed at, such as Piers Morgan, who Kesvani cited as a “good example of someone who didn’t define his character online, so now he just comes off as needlessly aggro.”

Plus, everyone loves food because it brings people together:

“In the same way as sharing a meal is the classic communal-building ritual, sharing a picture of a meal is a classical way of communal engagement online,” [said Kesvani].

His videos are also a part of a larger trend referred to as “dunking”, which is basically an “epic takedown” of something a bit more political and serious to gain traction and become a part of a person’s “personal brand”.

Although, with Ramsay, nobody feels left out:

@gordonramsayofficial#duet with @foodmadesimple Maybe if this chef thing doesn’t work out I’ll be a singer…..#ramsayreacts #tiktokcooks♬ Nothing – Bruno Major

He is also one of the first accounts that TikTok punts to new users, because:

“For people who are new to TikTok and are maybe slightly uncertain as to what it is, Ramsay is a recognisable face from traditional TV and they know exactly what they’re getting from him,” [journalist Chris Stokel-Walker] said.

“If a celebrity like him is one of the first accounts you follow after downloading the app, you’re not going to be immediately confronted with content that’s bad or that you don’t understand.”

So TikTok is using Ramsay, and Ramsay is using TikTok, and both appear happy with the arrangement.

Aside from those getting dunked on, perhaps.

[source:businessinsider]