We'll still be sweeping up the biscuit crumbs left from the Jennifer Saunders webchat as we prepare for the return of Gok Wan to Mumsnet Towers on Friday 11 October at 1.45pm. Since his last visit in Summer 2010, Gok has produced 2 cookery books and his latest, Gok's Wok is published this week.
Gok shares many of his family's traditional recipes but gives them a modern twist as he teaches us how to cook, simple, fast meals with flavour and a splash of Gok originality. Chapters cover all occasions from lunches to dinner parties and include curries, stir-fries, noodles, salads, soups and desserts.
Join Gok on Friday at 1.45pm or post a question to him in advance to this thead and you'll be entered into a draw to win a SIGNED copy of Gok's Wok.
We have also teamed up with Gok and Sainsbury's to host a live cookalong on Google+. On Wednesday 16 October at 7pm Gok will be making two super-delicious dishes from his new book and he'd love you to join him in cooking them. Find out more here.
WEBCHAT GUIDELINES: 1. One question per member plus one follow-up. 2. Keep your question brief. 3. Don't moan if your question doesn't get answered. 4. Do be civil/polite. 5. If one topic or question threatens to overwhelm the webchat, MNHQ will usually ask for people to stop repeating the same question or point.
MNHQ have commented on this thread
Mumsnet webchats
GOK WAN: Live Webchat - Friday 11 October, 1.45-2.45pm
RachelMumsnet · 09/10/2013 14:41
I don't think it is hypocritical to be a bit 
at the tone of some posts on the webchat.
I would say that taking issue with Gok over this using a similar hectoring, demeaning tone (or whatever negative you want to call it) that he has been accused of using on his show is actually far more hypocritical.
I don't watch this kind of TV so had to google it. This kind of show is a tad low rent 
.
@Valpollicella
C'mon. Really? This webchat is no more that others have descended into.
Has there been some kind of push from his PR/publicists/etc? In all my years here I have never seen this.
It's rally interesting that a big name came on, who has backing from other big names, and now the threat of being BANNED for asking a bit of a bantery/bad/cheeky/rude q is being propositioned as the way forward for w/c?
Hi Corporate Person
HI MN People!
Do you feel you espose you values
HI! Will you be bring out a range in pink and blue?
YES! Yes we will!
Aren't pink a blue a bit steroetyped? Why would your org do that?
Hi X company, I've read you have shares in Slavfes XL. How do you feel about us knowing about that?
thats not what the chat is about
And so on
No, no push from Gok camp whatsoever. Not a dickie bird. As said I think this was the worst I've seen. Lots of folk have agreed that it was unpleasant and bullying in tone. We don't want chats to deteriorate like this, so if one was to do so in the future we will be quicker to delete and ban those not following the guidelines.
@TunipTheUnconquerable
I think it depends how far you want to push the 'guest in your house' analogy because it seems to me to set up a really problematic imbalance.
If even Scherezade Goldsmith came to my house, I would be utterly lovely to her. I would make her cups of herbal tea and ask her questions about keeping geese and totally stay off the difficult questions like 'How do you seriously think someone who is stinking rich and clueless about how normal people live their lives can seriously give us advice about being more environmentally friendly?'
But if she was in my house it would likely have come about because she was a friend of a friend or something which would imply a certain equality between us and set up responsibilities on both sides. If she said 'Can I come to your house to advise you about saving energy and sell my book to you?' I would say no thank you. Same with Gok.
If you say 'the rules are that you must treat them like a guest in your house' when they haven't actually come on those terms, you are basically saying 'you must put them on a higher plane than you'; they can ignore our politely-expressed questions all they want and once we've asked our question-plus-a-follow-up we must humbly stay quiet or get banned. I am really uncomfortable with this because it's part of the thing I hate about modern celebrity culture, where celebrities are treated as a higher class of individual just like the Victorian aristocracy were a higher class of people and the common people were not allowed to engage on equal terms.
By doing this, you also cannot avoid the fact that by inviting people you are giving them a Mumsnet stamp of approval. I would suggest this gives you a greater responsibility to be selective in terms of who you ask. Personally, I much preferred the set-up where Mumsnet said it wasn't implying approval because the posters would hold the guest to account if they felt they were unacceptable. But if you go with the guest-in-the-house rule, that will not be how it is any more.
Obviously it's your website and as webchat organisers you see a side of it and deal with problems we don't know about, but one thing I have always loved about Mumsnet is how seriously it takes its posters. So I would say that if the rules are going to be enforced this strictly, you absolutely MUST set the terms of each webchat more clearly, because it is not fair on posters not to do that. If Gok is only going to answer questions about his cookery book then fine, but you need to tell us from the off so we don't waste our time hanging around here waiting for him to talk about the thing we are actually interested in.
I don't disagree that this thread went too far, though I am detecting a whiff of hypocrisy here given how bullying Gok himself can be in his interactions with women who are at his mercy on tv. But I AM very uncomfortable with what your post implies about the new regime for webchats. It doesn't really seem to be in the spirit of the Mumsnet I know and love.
Not everyone's as polite to their guests as you, Turnip
. Obviously we will use our discretion. I think this chat crossed a line from robustness into nastiness. That's what would trigger a response from us in future.And I can't say enough times that there was never a plan that Gok was not going to answer anything other than cookery stuff. He didn't address the tougher questions because he didn't want to interact with what he saw as bullying behaviour.
@PeteCampbellsRecedingHairline
Anyway, Justine is on the next webchat. I'm looking forward to that one.
Wah! You're all going to bully me
. Second thoughts, [lightbulb], I can just delete the tricky stuff...
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hmm, maybe I should get upset that Justine's ignored both my apology and my question.
@ I can just delete the tricky stuff
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