Ironically Ramsay would be my example of a master who's too detached from being a beginner to be a good teacher.

I absolutely love his shows and youtube videos as entertainment, but he will frequently not mention measurements, temperature or cook time, not mention WHY he's doing something, just that it should be done.

He has a video along the lines of "Cheap simple dorm room meals for college students" that requires expensive ingredients like Saffron and fresh mozzarella, lamb shanks.

> I absolutely love his shows and youtube videos as entertainment, but he will frequently not mention measurements, temperature or cook time, not mention WHY he's doing something, just that it should be done.

As Alton Brown's videos demonstrate, this takes up a LOT of time on air.

The problem, I suspect, is that most of Ramsay's videos are time constrained. When he doesn't seem to be time constrained, he's absolutely delightful to watch.

I've watched him teach things like "how to cook scrambled eggs for breakfast" that are absolutely wonderful.

And watched him screw up the timing of the toast. :)

Given his ability with kids and the times I have seen it shine through in videos, I suspect he is a very strong teacher.

Have you watched his Home Cooking series, with his family? I can't remember the details intricately, but it did seem far more grounded and specific than his other work (which, to be fair, Master Chef and his others are aimed at dissecting people who should be accomplished cooks and need honing and refining).

I’m also a huge fan of Ramsay and have watched many of his shows. There was once he mentioned that be never gives you the measurements because that should be up to each person to decide. He only does so when it’s chemically important like in his baking videos.