If anyone can offer advice to a man who does 2,222 push-ups a day and has arms that measure 24 inches around, it’s Gordon Ramsay. When the famed British chef joined retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant and former White House Chef Andre Rush on the set of his Tubi reality show “Kitchen Commando,” Ramsay, a TV veteran of nearly two decades, offered some sage wisdom for the small-screen newcomer.
“He said, ‘Just be you. Do what you do and how you do it,’ and he was there for me,” Rush told Tasting Table in an exclusive interview. “So, knowing that you have someone behind you in your corner that’s rooting you on and supporting you 100% and you’re just not just an entity that’s going to do a job, it makes all the difference in the world.”
Through his production company, Ramsay is a producer on “Kitchen Commando,” a show in which Rush works with restaurateurs in the Washington, D.C. area who are struggling in business. With an approach cultivated from his experiences in both the military and on the line in kitchens, Rush pushes them to rediscover their passion for hospitality while helping them reimagine their space.
Combining Experience And Insight
Rush served in the U.S. Army from 1993 to 2016 in both combat and culinary roles. He was tapped by the Obama White House to join the executive mansion’s culinary team and cooked for the first family and visiting dignitaries. He coupled the wealth of knowledge he gained from those experiences with notes from Ramsay, who he likened to a mentor.
“I took a bunch of notes and anecdotes from Gordon from how he did Kitchen Nightmares,” Rush said. “And then also I put a lot of my military background, leadership, tact, being a little forceful, but also being a little compassionate, being tough when I need to be. So, I used all those parts to marry together to make a pretty good show… He supported me and as he still does support me, 100%, so that made it even easier for me to go in and do my very best.”
Ramsay even had Rush come on his popular show “MasterChef” to serve as a guest judge. In an exclusive clip sent to Tasting Table, Rush and Ramsay demonstrated how to use MREs — short for Meal-Ready-to-Eat, which are shelf-stable military rations — as the base for tasty and appetizing dishes. Rush flexed his ample cooking muscles by turning a bland packet of cooked lentils into a vibrant lentil ragout with a beurre blanc created from a lemon-lime electrolyte drink.
