As Magda Gessler sailed through Gar, her latest restaurant in Warsaw, she greeted waiters and patrons, enjoying her position as one of Poland’s biggest food celebrities, a combination of Martha Stewart, Gordon Ramsay and Nigella Lawson.
In September, her television show “Kuchenne Rewolucje” (Kitchen Revolution) — which debuted in spring 2010 and resembles Mr. Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” — broke into prime time and now averages more than four million viewers a week, though the number includes repeats on Saturday afternoons.
It seems as if every other restaurant in Warsaw these days has some association with her. She owns two patisseries and two traditional Polish restaurants and she is a partner in 12 others that have franchised her name and use her as a consultant on everything from the menu to the décor.