Ok, two points;

1. The man is a prat, yes. If you are vegetarian, I would expect a chef to respect that. Mind you, I read above that he was just handing things out and people were eating them. if you have any eating taboos, best to check before accepting freebies on the street eh?

2. I have eaten at his restaurant in The Hilton, Dubai Creek and it was one of the best culinary experiences I have had. (I love my food, and have been lucky enough in life to have eaten at many of the top rated places in the world.)

So lets separate the prat from the art. I use some of his recipes for dinner parties and the ones I use seem to work, and work well. (Used his method / stuffing for the goose last Christmas and it was wonderful. Other than substituting the flour (a celiac in the family) I followed his instructions to the letter and glad I did.

On the other hand, I watch Nigella Lawson whenever there is a series on, but only recently found out she was a cook. Sorry, not concentrating on what she is doing, rather how she (and the camera) is doing it.......