Most of it originated in his original two bouts against
Iron Chef Morimoto. He deeply offended the people there when he jumped up on the table and stood on the cutting board. That is just not the done thing to do, evidently, because it shows a lack of respect for the art.
Well, if that were all, I could deal with it. The second time, though, he made light of the previous offense, and at the end took the cutting board, threw it on the floor, and stood on the counter. I'd call that 'dicketry' at it's most definitive.
Anyway, he's what a lot of people hate about modern cuisine. He's taken a synthesis of a couple of styles of cooking and made it "his own". I think a lot of people just see it as the same kind of mindless trend as back a few years ago when everything was "blackened".
For me it is just his 'tude. I used to watch his show where he cooked for his friends in an ordinary kitchen, and I couldn't stand his tone. Outside of all the offense and food criticism, I think he's just a jerk, frankly. Just my opinion, of course.
