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By Marie-Louise Gumuchian LONDON (Reuters) -Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay goes behind the camera for a new series, "Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars", that shines the spotlight on restaurants working to attain the coveted culinary accolade.    The multi-starred restaurateur and TV personality is an executive producer of the eight-part Apple TV+ series premiering on Friday, which visits eateries in the United States, Britain, Italy, Nordics and Mexico seeking to gain, or retain, stars. "(It) is a sort of a real reflection on what goes on in these businesses: what's at stake, what kind of jeopardy is up for grabs and then the emotions," Ramsay told Reuters.    "This is (an)…unscripted, real version of life in the culinary world and the extent you go to for the badge of honour … Actors want Oscars, football players want F.A. Cup winners’ medals, chefs want Michelin stars."    Episodes show host Jesse Burgess meeting chefs as they compose menus, primp up dishes and seek to impress that lone diner who may be a secret Michelin inspector. There is also input from the anonymous Michelin inspectors, voiced by actors.    "We ask them questions and they answer. In reality, it was all … very secretive so that none of the producers or nobody actually saw the real-life inspectors," Burgess said.  "They just judge the food on the plate." The first Michelin guide was published by the French tyre company in 1900, with the restaurant star rating introduced in the 1920s. The annual guides award up to three stars. Ramsay received his first Michelin star when he was head chef at London restaurant Aubergine. His own Restaurant Gordon Ramsay has held three stars since 2001. "You become an overnight sensation and then you've got the fight and the slug to maintain it … you need to understand the word delegation, teaching, creating, and most importantly, passing the baton on," he said. "I have one foot in the kitchen and one foot in the media world and am I there 16 hours a day? No, of course I'm not. I am there like a conductor and I'll sign things off, but I want to hear from them … And so maintaining it is where the real work starts." Asked if he still gets nervous when Michelin issues new editions of the guide, Ramsay said: "I do get nervous … no one likes losing … (going) down to even two stars is unique, but … it's major headlines if you do. I'm often asked, ‘What would you do if you did lose a star?’ Then, I'd fight and win it back." (Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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(Reuters) -Comedians in Congo are mining their country's chronic instability for laughs, entertaining people displaced by the war with the M23 rebels with their dark humour. "Can you imagine Kabila as an emergency room doctor?" one of the comics said, setting up a joke about how former President Joseph Kabila's slow speaking style would mean some patients would die before they even got seen. "Kabila as an emergency room doctor would sound like this: 'Thank you. Those with broken feet will be here, those with tibia problems will also be here … I'll start again, I did say those with broken feet … oh, they're already dead'," he said, to roars from the audience. The comedy show was before Kabila was sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes for his alleged role in backing the advance of M23. Kabila, who led Congo from 2001 to 2019, has denied wrongdoing and said the judiciary has been politicised. ORGANISER OFFERING 'MASS THERAPY' Another comic during the open air set in the government-held city of Beni went on an extended riff contrasting upbeat, rumba-influenced Congolese music with the sad, down-tempo hits of some Western singer-songwriters. "When a white person sings, you can tell he's had time to think, write, get into the studio … I want these problems," he said. In the crowd was Placide Itula, 28, who fled Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, in February, travelling more than 100 km (60 miles) on a motorbike taxi and pirogue boat to get to the safety of Beni, a city that has for years welcomed displaced civilians in makeshift camps and residents' homes. Goma fell under the control of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in late January. Itula's wife had a miscarriage as M23 approached the city and has been unable to make the journey, meaning he has been staying there alone. Itula said he attended the comedy show "with the hope of reducing stress and anxiety and seeing if at least I can find a little smile when I see others". Goma's fall was part of a lightning advance that saw M23 seize more territory than it has ever held and spurred fighting that killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of others. Rwanda has long denied backing M23 and says its forces act in self-defence. But a group of U.N. experts said in a report in July that Kigali exercised command and control over the rebels. Christian Kabwe, who organises the comedy shows, said there was a need to "de-stress" the population. "We told ourselves, as the French say, that laughter is therapeutic, so we wanted to offer this mass therapy," he said. (Reporting by Congo newsroom;Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet;Editing by Alison Williams)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)