The Food Trend Gordon Ramsay Hates With A Fiery Passion

It's no secret that Gordon Ramsay has some strong opinions about food. After all, the celebrity chef and restaurateur has made a career out of blowing his top over a variety of culinary circumstances. However, the food trend that he hates with a fiery passion is truffle oil.

"The worst thing, for me, is truffle oil. That thing needs to be let down," he told PopSugar in an interview. "When [people] use it, they use the same f***ing top [as any other oil], so they pour it, and it comes out in abundance. This thing needs to be let out in tiny, tiny, little [amounts]."

Ramsay feels that truffle oil's particularly strong flavor is so overpowering that it pollutes whatever food it touches. He describes it as overrated and pungent and says chefs would be better off using a pipette to add droplets instead of a bottle with a pour spout commonly used for olive oil.

Truffle oil is a trendy finishing oil that you may have noticed popping up on more and more menus in such dishes as truffle fries, truffle mac and cheese, or perhaps drizzled on a pizza. It's a modern fad, originating in the mid-20th century. Its exact creator is unknown. Just as there are white and black truffles that vary in taste, there are different varieties of truffle oil, but generally, the flavor is described as very umami and earthy.

However, truffle oil has a somewhat controversial reputation. Although there are real truffle oils that use extracts from actual truffles, some are synthetic. (There are label clues that can tell you if truffle oil is the real deal, so be sure to read the ingredients.) This artificiality bothers some chefs, including Ramsay and the late Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain once said on "The Tonight Show" that truffle oil is "about as edible as Astroglide and made from the same stuff."

Besides truffle oil, there are quite a few other items on Gordon Ramsay's list of food trends or ingredients he hates. A controversial topping once earned his signature expletive on an episode of "The Nightly Show." "You don't put f***ing pineapple on pizza," Ramsay declared while ordering pizza for the audience. It seems the pairing of sweet pineapple with savory cheese on the popular Hawaiian pizza is not Ramsay's favorite combination.

Ramsay also hates the wagyu beef trend for one specific reason: It's so overused that diners have lost their appreciation for it. In his PopSugar interview, Ramsay bemoaned wagyu's ubiquitous appearance on nearly every fine-dining menu, especially in the form of meatballs.

Foams are another culinary trend that Ramsay can't stand. While they may be acceptable on top of a dessert or in sweet dishes, Ramsay feels they have no place in savory meals. They just resemble "toxic scum in a stagnant pool."