Can't Stand The Heat?

Some characters loom large in the public imagination for reasons we cannot always explain. Just being a bad boy surely isn’t enough to hold our attention over time, so it was fascinating to take a closer look last night at the persona presented by the culinary world’s enfant terrible, Marco Pierre White, currently giving his best Don Corleone impression in the latest series of Hell’s Kitchen.

For those of you who aren’t obsessed with foodie reality shows, Marco has taken over the reins of the programme from his one-time protégé, Gordon Ramsay, injecting it with new vigour and his own particularly curious taste in PLO-style headgear. Whereas at one point the student had become the master, now the master is back with a vengeance, striding the set like a culinary colossus – albeit a notably quirky one. When leading his team of celebrity rookies in the kitchen, Marco’s speech takes on a strange and heavily-laboured dramatic intonation, as he attempts to imbue himself with gravitas via the most extraordinarily ponderous pauses at the oddest of moments. It’s like he’s attempting to read autocue while trying not to pass out, and comes off as just plain weird, rather than the threatening mafia don impression we have to assume he had in mind. Coupled with the Yasser Arafat style of head-scarf he sports, it’s so not a good look.

However, to give him credit, the man is obviously one hell of a teacher in the kitchen. He’s managed to whip a motley crew of celebs with no discernible culinary skills into a cohesive team capable of preparing restaurant-quality meals for sizeable crowds in under a week. It’s an amazing job he’s done. Having seen previous series at this early stage, my hopes were not high for what would be on the menu last night or even that we would have been served at all. Quite frankly, I’d contemplated eating before I arrived and, time permitting, would probably have done just that. So it was an extraordinarily pleasant surprise to sit down to an amazing foie gras, followed by perfectly well-cooked veal. Best of all, though, was the theatre unfolding at the pass, liberally sprinkled with classic MPW expletives, incessant chivvying and general berating of his raw recruits.

Some handled Marco better than others. My money’s on Ms Dynamite to win. She’s cool-headed, knows how to stand her ground and seems a genuinely lovely person to boot. It takes guts to give it to MPW straight and she’s stood up for herself (and the team) calmly and assertively, stepping forward when others have stayed silent in self-preservation. It’ll be a travesty if she doesn’t pick up the prize at the end.

So what have I gleaned from the experience, apart from a fun night celeb-spotting and the chance to get up close (but not quite personal) with the rock star of the restaurant world? Simply put, attitude is everything. I watched a good friend of mine go up to the pass to talk to Marco and saw him try out his best intimidating act on her, which didn’t wash at all. It was very clear in the moment that his was an act, a bit of theatre, but one that he does exceedingly well. She wasn’t phased at all, so it was rather like watching the irresistible force meet the immovable object. Not a clash, but a moment of respect between two forces of nature. Now that was definitely worth the price of admission.

Later on we saw the more relaxed, charming off-camera Marco and that was a whole other person – with a whole other (natural) way of speaking. Of course the on-camera and off-camera split personality is a function of show-business, but it reminds us just how we create personas for the various functions in our own lives – work, home, friends and family. We are rarely the same person in every aspect of our lives. Sometimes this is a necessity for professional reasons, but largely it’s because we become adaptive to our environments, creating personas that we believe will be helpful in keeping us safe or advancing our desires in the world. Sometimes these personas help us on to great success and sometimes they trap us into inauthentic relationships and experiences. Even the ones that have helped in the past can become outmoded and limit our ability to express ourselves authentically as we grow and change.

This week, folks, I’d suggest you take a look at the theatre going on around you. What roles do you play? Do they serve you or do you feel restricted by them? Are you falling for the myth of a persona someone else is projecting? Are you allowing yourself to be intimidated by someone or are you the intimidator? If you step back and look carefully, are you experiencing people as they are or how they would like you to see them? How do you think the people around you are experiencing your persona? Are you aware of how differently you behave in different circumstances or around different people? Which of the roles you play feels more authentically you? Can you feel relaxed simply being yourself, rather than playing to the crowd? What would it take to make that happen?

Put your outmoded personas through a baptism of fire and burn off anything that’s not authentically you. This week light a bonfire of all the vanities that hold you back. We all love a good show, but never at the expense of sacrificing who you truly are.

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