Gordon Ramsay’s daughter, Tilly
No sooner had we expressed the “hope and suspicion” that TV chef Gordon Ramsay’s kids would soon get their own cooking show—that our wish was granted on the Asian Food Channel, by way of the new program, “Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch,” topbilling the perkiest among dad Gordon’s daughters, nicknamed Tilly.
True enough, when we watched Tilly’s show last week, we were impressed with her deft and daft combination of cooking skills and chattily expressive personality, unusual to find in somebody so young.
But then, she grew up with food, cooking and TV all around her, so it’s no surprise that she’s taken to her dad’s milieu and work syndrome like a fish to water.
The show astutely underscored Tilly’s youth, vivacity and foodie and “cookie” penchant for whipping up simple but tasty meals and snacks.
The kitchen is this TV princess’ castle, and she fills it with her own bubbly personality, an intentionally far cry from her father’s famously gruff, tough and perfectionist ways.
Tilly is partial to picnic food and snacks taken and eaten on the run. Kitchen and cooking scenes are adroitly contrasted with frequent outdoorsy expeditions, so the program is as visually diverting as it is a yummy feast for the ever-hungry teen tummy.
Tilly adds her own creative and fun touches to some of her culinary concoctions, but it’s clear that she feels confident about coming up with her clever variations, because she’s secure in her knowledge and even precocious mastery of a wide range of cooking techniques and options.
The most gleefully and giddily creative trick and treat that chef Matilda came up with was her daft decision to cap her picnic spread with a new presentation of its fruit component—a whole watermelon.
Usually, this yummy element is served sliced, while more creative chefs use the fruit itself as a bowl for shakes or dessert.
But Tilly went beyond those already fun flourishes, and came up with the extrabright brainstorm of using her big watermelon table centerpiece as—“explosive” fireworks to cap the meal in a truly inventive way!
She achieved that unexpected effect by instructing her friends and siblings to sequentially encircle the huge melon with many rubber bands—all the way up to the point when the pressure of the cumulative constriction made it pop! in a huge explosion of juice and melon bits that made everybody’s day!
Tilly was being slap-happy-silly, but she was also being bright as a firecracker—so, we know that her cooking stint on the tube will be more than just a summer job or fling.
Move over, daddy Gordon, this kitchen princess is on TV for keeps!