Okay, so I kind of lied. I *said* I’d be blogging about the Ferran Adria/Anthony Bourdain Times Talk. However, I just came from the Gordon Ramsay one-on-one with the Times’ phenomenal Dining reporter, Kim Severson, and I can’t keep it to myself. Call me fickle. I already suspected that Severson was cool as shit, not least of all because she wears natty suits to formal events. And Gordon Ramsay, well, he’s Gordon Ramsay.

Since I can’t very well chronicle the entire conversation from start to finish, let me deliver some choice zingers. Ramsay, who was passionate, pumped, and red in the face for much of the interview, has remarkable energy and intensity. But what impressed me maybe more was Severson’s cool. She was every bit his match—smart, funny, and extremely witty. Do I see a TV deal in the works? Hope so. Without further ado:

GR on what drives him to be a superstar chef: "It’s not greed or TV or stick your ass to the window to endorse Dunkin’ Donuts."

GR on coming home each night to his old girlfriend in France: "It was like having a rottweiler strapped to my chest."

KS, in agreement: "You don’t have to tell me…"

GR: "…the second asshole of Britain." (Not sure what this means, but it sounds cool.)

GR: "Are you out of your TINY MIND?" (Didn’t say this to Severson, thankfully, or an unwitting audience member. Rather, he was referring to a waiter who offered him a giblet club sandwich in the South of France. And it was great.)

Props to KS for this one. Only a privileged few can utter this statement with conviction, but I couldn’t agree more: "I don’t like eating tasting menus. You feel like the chef’s ego is on your stomach."

GR, on the worst thing he has ever eaten: "Veal spinal cord salad in Paris. I mean, the French would eat each other."

GR, on hunting puffins in Iceland: "Slightly cuddly, but delicious."

On overfishing: "We’re kicking ourselves in the balls."

And some other interesting tidbits: Gordo never sends food back to the kitchen. His way of showing a chef his dissatisfaction? He leaves it on the plate. And a shocker: Ramsay encourages diners to communicate to the waiter what is wrong with the food. "Tell the chef what you want." I thought I misheard him, but he repeated himself three times! I guess the disher can take it.