Chef Gaston Gourmand,[1] but always just Gourmand, is a recurring villain in Wild Kratts. He is a traveling chef that uses animals to make various original and unusual dishes.
He is voiced by Zachary Bennett.[2]
Background
Gourmand, growling at a honey badger
In most of the episodes he appears in, Gourmand attempts to make a dish out of at least one animal. Although the type of animal varies, he prefers animals he deems "rare" and "endangered". At the end, he is always defeated, and is never able to integrate an animal into his dish. At least while the Wild Kratts are around.
Gourmand, making shark fin soup
Gourmand first appeared in the episode "Platypus Cafe". In that episode, he attempted to make an omelet out of platypus eggs. He also kidnapped Chris Kratt, bound him, and threatened him by saying he was the side dish. He was defeated when a trap set by Chris set off, which threw a stockpot onto him and his patrons, Zach Varmitech and Donita Donata, sending them floating downriver.
Vultures snack on Gourmand's drumstick.
In the episode "Honey Seekers", Gourmand attempted to make a dish involving a honey badger covered in honey. While searching for the honey badger, he traps the Kratts in a net, and leaves them with a date with 5,000 killer bees (Aviva saves them). When Martin Kratt lures honey badgers to his outdoor restaurant, he freaks out, and unfolds his camper and drives away. His patron, Zach Varmitech, also freaks out and flees in his jet.
In the episode "Stuck on Sharks", Gourmand tried to make shark fin soup, but was defeated by the Kratt brothers, and he gets sent out on his boat aimlessly in a cage.
In the episode "Raptor Round Up", Gourmand decided to make dishes out of various raptors. While searching, he catches the Kratt brothers in a mist net. He is defeated when he gets trapped in a drawstring bag in the Tortuga HQ, and is taken to Antarctica via Aviva's "Guineafowl Flappers".
In "Happy Turkey Day", Gourmand hunted for the largest turkey in the northern woodlands. He chases a large turkey which really is Martin to a corn maze, where he gets trapped and is unable to get out.
Chef Gourmand and a hummingbird
In "To Touch a Hummingbird", Gourmand's dish was chocolate-covered hummingbird eggs. He never got to dip the eggs in the chocolate sauce, and was instead thrown into his plane and sent away.
Gourmand prepares to collect harpy eagle eggs, one of the ingredients for his rainforest stew.
In "Rainforest Stew", Gourmand attempted to make a stew out of various rainforest animals. The Kratt brothers and Aviva grabbed all of those animals after he left in his jet. Chris also dropped him onto a tree, and is left to deal with a provoked harpy eagle.
In "The Hermit Crab Shell Exchange", Gourmand tried to make hermit crab poppers. He was hurled into his boat at the end of the episode, and then he admitted defeat.
In "Under Frozen Pond", Zach Varmitech invited Gourmand, Donita Donata, and Dabio to a conference he was hosting above a frozen-over pond. While Zach and Donita were arguing over how they were to defeat the Wild Kratts, Gourmand pushed them aside and demanded that he get outside to get some fresh air. They find the Wild Kratts and some kids outside. The villains demanded that they leave, but the Wild Kratts decided to settle the dispute with a game of pond hockey. The first to reach five points gets to stay while the loser leaves. At first, thanks to Donita's skills in skating and Gourmand's thick armor as defense while he was goalie, the villains scored four consecutive points. However, after the Kratt brothers activated their Creature Power Suits, the tides turned and the Wild Kratts score five points. The villains deserted each other.
In "Opossum in My Pocket", Gourmand found and took Chris's backpack. For the dish, he attempted to integrate an opossum into a calzone. Aviva and the Kratt brothers retrieved Chris's backpack and the opossum, and Gourmand was left with only himself and his camper.
Description
Physical appearance
Gourmand has a huge upper body, and big, hairy arms. He has an abnormally large and bulbous nose with visible nostrils. His eyes are grayish green, and above them are his thick eyebrows. He has a small English mustache and a shaved head. Gourmand typically wears a white, drooped chef's hat, a white chef's jacket, a dish rag across his belt, black pants, and black boots. He often sports a brown, cylindrical shoulder bag, which holds some of his cooking utensils.
Personality
Gourmand is always confident that he will succeed, despite always being foiled by the Wild Kratts. He is clever and cunning, tricking and outsmarting the Wild Kratts several times. He even went as far as putting the Kratt brothers in situations more life threatening than the other villains, such as leaving them to be stung by African honeybees in the episode "Honey Seekers" and setting a trap with rattlesnakes in the episode "Opossum in My Pocket".
Gourmand has a strong yet dark sense of humor. When he gets the chance, he frequently makes a joke. This includes mocking the Kratt brothers when they are not in his sight and laughing when the Kratt brothers suffer through the situations he brings them into.
Gourmand's knowledge on the natural world is much better than the other villains. Gourmand knows where to look for his all-natural ingredients, is agile in the wild, and understands the Wild Kratts when they mention the natural world, although he could care less about what they have to say.[3] He is never afraid to leave the "comforts" of his vehicles, and he can and will do his own dirty work, in contrast to the other villains.
Gourmand enjoys bragging about his abilities and accomplishments. In the episode "The Hermit Crab Shell Exchange", Gourmand claimed that he is stronger than the Kratt brothers because of a new vitamin program he said he was taking. In the episode "Honey Seekers", Gourmand claimed that he never cooked the same dish twice.
Gourmand speaks in a gruff tone and often hums or sings quite off-key.
Abilities and technology
Unlike the other villains and even the Wild Kratts, Gourmand depends very little on futuristic and science fiction-like equipment. His weapons arsenal mainly consists of cooking utensils, pastry dough, and his nose, which he uses to sniff out ingredients. In the episode "Platypus Cafe", he bragged that his nose can match a seasoning to any dish. Occasionally, he uses nets and cooking utensils modified into weapons.[4][5]
Gourmand has several means of transportation, all of which feature a fold-out restaurant complete with a kitchen, a few tables and chairs, lighting, and decorative plants. They include a white and gray camper,[6] a red-hulled fishing boat,[7] and a white and gray propeller plane.[8]
Relationships
Gourmand leaving the Kratt brothers hanging in the episode "Honey Seekers".
With the Wild Kratts
- The Kratt brothers: Gourmand and the Kratt brothers, Chris Kratt and Martin Kratt, see each other as enemies. Gourmand does not hesitate to crack a joke on them when he gets the chance. He also enjoys threatening to eat many of their "animal friends" and trapping them in life threatening situations. He has given them nicknames: for Chris it is "Green Grape", and for Martin it is "Blueberry".[4][9]
- Aviva: Gourmand and Aviva see each other as enemies. Aviva does not like it when Gourmand destroys, takes, or messes with her inventions.[5][9]
- Koki: Sometimes, Koki is the one who finds out that Gourmand is hatching a plot.[4][10] She first met Gourmand in the episode "Raptor Round Up".
- Jimmy Z: Jimmy first met Gourmand in the episode "Raptor Round Up". He and Gourmand have never interacted with each other, but since Jimmy is a Wild Kratt and Gourmand is a villain, they nonetheless see each other as enemies.
With other villains
- Zach Varmitech: Zach is a patron of Gourmand, and Gourmand notes him as one of his "best and highest paying customers."[6] However, Gourmand sees Zach as weak and annoying.[11][12]
- Donita Donata: Donita is a patron of Gourmand, and Gourmand notes her as one of his "best and highest paying customers."[6]
- Dabio: Gourmand and Dabio have never interacted with each other.
Trivia
- If somebody is a gourmand, he or she is very fond of eating food, often to the excess.
- Time to time, Gourmand will speak French.
Quotes
"Au revoir."
"So, fly boy. Can't move so fast now, can you?" Gourmand taunting Chris Kratt (not shown).
Gallery
References
- ↑ Steinberg, Danielle. (December 3, 2012). "Episode 140: Raptor Roundup." PBS Parents. PBS. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- ↑ Gourmand's voice actor is listed in the credits of every episode he appears in.
- ↑ "Rainforest Stew." Wild Kratts.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Honey Seekers." Wild Kratts.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The Hermit Crab Shell Exchange." Wild Kratts.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Platypus Cafe." Wild Kratts.
- ↑ "Stuck on Sharks." Wild Kratts.
- ↑ "Raptor Round Up." Wild Kratts.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Opossum in My Pocket." Wild Kratts.
- ↑ "To Touch a Hummingbird." Wild Kratts.
- ↑ "Under Frozen Pond." Wild Kratts.
- ↑ "Happy Turkey Day." Wild Kratts.
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