Eric Ripert has ripped on Gordon Ramsay before, so it’s uncertain why he chose yesterday to tweet: “Nothing personal against Gordon Ramsay but he is a poor inspiration for professional chefs in his shows,” and “I have my bad days to but always try to improve. TV or not — its no excuse! Ultimately I believe in the goodness of Gordon but he is very wrong.” The Daily News thinks he may have been referring to the suicide of Joseph Cerniglia, the former Kitchen Nightmares subject and owner of Campania in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, who jumped off the George Washington Bridge last week. “In a later tweet,” the paper concedes, “Ripert denied he was blaming Ramsay for the apparent suicide of Cerniglia” (that tweet has apparently been deleted).
For his part, Ramsay (who told Cerniglia “your business is about to f—king swim down the Hudson” back in 2007, but then praised him in a 2008 follow-up show) has nothing but condolences for the “brilliant chef.” Suicide experts say Nightmares shouldn’t be held accountable, and there’s now speculation that Cerniglia’s “secret girlfriend,” a pastry chef at the restaurant, may have had something to do with the state of his mind. But in any case, you can add this tragedy to the pile of woe that the show has created for Gordo.
’Suicide Chef” Had Secret Girlfriend at Restaurant [FOX News]
Suicide of Joseph Cerniglia sparks food fight between TV chefs Eric Ripert and Gordon Ramsay [NYDN]
